Rosie recently visited the surgery due to a fast growing lump on her toe. After initial treatment for the lump no improvement was seen and the decision was made to amputate the toe and send the lump off for testing. Rosie has had a long recovery which has needed substational care with dressing changes every few days on her foot due to excellent care from her owners, Rosie is nearly back to her normal self and is managing fine on her 3 toes. Dogs are digitigrade animals, meani

Scout first visited the surgery some weeks ago. Scout being a very excitable puppy had managed to fracture his trochanter tip femur. Scout was put on strict cage rest and follow up x-rays showed the fracture had started to repair. The growth plates in a dog are areas of cartilage that develop at the end of the long bones of the legs. Over time, they calcify developing into denser matter as your puppy gets older and works their muscles more. As your puppies grow , how and whe

Scooby a very cheeky rabbit visited us recently due to a sore leg. Scooby had to have an X-ray on his leg to see if there was any obvious broken bones or fractures. X-raying a rabbit can be very challenging due to their size, and easily stressed nature. X-rays are like light except they can travel through the body. For an x-ray a rabbit lies under the x-ray machine which sends a beam of x-rays through the rabbit’s body onto a photographic plate. When the plate is developed we

Meet Rosie who recently decided to start a fight with some chickens! Rosie came off worse for wear when a piece of hay became embedded in her eye causing an ulcer. Rosie had a dye called fluorescein placed into her eye the dye sticks to the damaged areas of the eye and shows how far the corneal ulcer extends, by highlighting luminous green under a florescent blue light. Cats have better night vision than us humans but the basic structure is much the same. Because the eye is

Cooper recently visited us as he had sliced his tongue whilst playing with another dog. Cooper had to have a general anaesthetic and quite a few sutures placed in his tongue. Did you know a dogs is like a It's a radiator, a water-lapper, a healer of wounds, a food conveyor, a register of tastes, a texture sensor, and a wet equivalent of a dog's handshake. A dog's tongue has more responsibilities than any other part of the dog anatomy -- excluding the brain. And oddly enough,

Enzo visited the surgery after suffering from intermittent lameness over a short period of time. Enzo has had extensive test including a CT scan of his leg. Enzo was diagnosed with a fractured medial coronoid process. This is a developmental defect of one of the coronoid processes, two small bony protrusions on the end of the ulna within the elbow joint. In this condition, one of the coronoid processes develops a fissure or crack and separates from the rest of the bone. Enzo

As we head into Autumn and the nights draw darker we need to be conscious of the dangers around for our pets. * Conkers - While serious cases of poisoning are rare, ingestion can cause marked gastro-intestinal signs such as drooling, retching, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. The conker’s case and conkers themselves can also cause intestinal blockages. *Oaks and acorns - The toxic ingredient is thought to be tannic acid, which can cause damage to the liver and kidneys

Bonny visited the surgery and after consultation with Steven she was found to have a Grade 3 left sided heart murmur, she was admitted for a heart scan with Steven. The scan showed Bonny had mild cardiomegaly, mitral valve regurgitation and mild pulmonary valve regurgitation and Mitral valve disease stage B2. Bonny has been started on medication for her heart and we hope shes feeling much better. Having the most advanced and modern equioment allows us to offer the best pet c

Naughty Frankie the Irish terrier managed to steal 180g of Chocolate. Chocolate poisoning affects the heart, central nervous system and kidneys. Symptoms of dogs eating chocolate usually occur between four and 24 hours after your dog has eaten chocolate. The effect and signs of chocolate poisoning in dogs depends on the amount eaten and the size of the breed. Freddie was given a drug to induce vomiting emptying his stomach contents, he was then fed activated charcoal. Activat

A favourite past time for pets is chasing bees and wasps in the garden, Lily got a little more than she bargained for when the bee decided to chase her and sting her paw. If your pet is stung and starts to have difficulty breathing or showing signs of an allergic reaction like swelling, fitting excessive drooling call us Immediately. We can administer an injectable steroid or anti histamine medication to provide immediate relief (usually within about 30 minutes) and reduce th

Blu visited the surgery on Saturday after he ran into a fish tank, as fish tanks have sharp corners this made a deep wound on Blu. Wounds vary according to: Cause - puncture wounds, abrasions, or lacerations Location - paws, abdomen, eyes, etc. Level of contamination - clean (surgical) wounds, contaminated (infected) we consider all these factors when deciding the best way to treat a specific wound. Sometimes the location or the amount of skin loss prevents surgical closure o

Be careful when using a cooling mat and make sure your pet is supervised at all times. Naughty Ted decided to chew his new cooling mat and eat the contents, the contents of this cooling mat were not toxic but swelled when they came into contact with water. Ted was made to vomit the contents of the mat up so it would not cause an obstruction. Every cooling mat is different and the contents vary if your pet does eat a cooling mat please contact the surgery. #dogcoolingmat #cool

Ariel the ferret recently visited us due to a lump growing on her back, after further investigation it was decided the lump must be removed due to the rapid rate of growth and ulceration. Ferrets have to be monitored very closely during an anaesthetic as they can develop hypothermia, heat pads and bubble wrap are used to help keep them warm during surgery. With any lump removal the veterinary surgeon must make sure they obtain good margins, Lumpectomy margins are the rim of n

Today we saw Lexi who visited us for a Laparoscopic Spay. There are two types of laparoscopic spays a Ovariectomy where only the ovaries are removed or a ovariohysterectomy where the ovaries and womb are removed. By removing the womb, any chance of womb cancer is eliminated. The most important piece of equipment in a laparoscopic spay is the LigaSure machine. The LigaSure is a vessel sealing device. With this device, you simply clamp it on the vessel, squeeze a button, wait a

Yesterday our Standish branch had a very unusual case, Indi decided to get some exercise on the trampoline. Indi slipped and it resulted in a spring becoming lodged in her hock. Indi was very lucky as the spring missed all vital tendons and she is now back at home recovering. Although lots of dogs love trampolines we do not recommend them for our pets #standishvets #vet #wiganvets #mawdesley #parbold #haighhall #petwalks #walkies #laparoscopic #orthopaedic #orthopaedicvet #ve

If you are thinking of breeding your own pet it's important to make sure you are fully aware of the complications, costs and work involved. It's no small task having a litter of puppies or kittens and involves a considerably large amount of work. We always advice clients to make sure they plan and save for the worst and hopefully they have a smooth pregnancy and delivery. The main cause of veterinary surgeons preforming emergency caesareans is dystocia of the pup: Dystocia

Riley decided to open his owners bin in the night and ate a large amount of tin foil. Riley was admitted for x-rays and we were able to locate tin foil in his stomach. The Tin foil was removed under general anaesthetic using Endoscopy which a minimally invasive procedure. An endoscope is a flexible tube with a camera attachment. The tube is placed through the mouth into the stomach. After the foreign body is located, a grabbing instrument is inserted through the endoscope. By

Meet Bailey who visited us with a sore leg he had damage to her cruciate and had a surgical procedure called a TPLO One of the most common injuries to the knee of dogs is tearing of the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL). This ligament is similar to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in humans. There are actually two cruciate ligaments inside the knee: the cranial cruciate ligament and caudal cruciate ligament. They are called cruciate because they cross over each other insid

Luna presented at the practice with a corneal ulcer in her eye caused by extra eyelashes rubbing on the eye surface. Luna was diagnosed with Distichiasis this is where an extra row of hairs which can be long and stiff grow on the eyelid and irritate the eye, resulting in a corneal ulcer. The severity of the problem depends on how stiff the hairs are, how long they are, where they’re located, and how many extra hairs there are. Luna had the eye lashes removed and diathermy wa

This stray cat was brought in by its new owner due to a nasal discharge, breathing difficulties and eye issues. After examination it was found to have a whole in the roof of its mouth. This called cleft palate. A cleft palate typically looks like what it sounds like: a hole in the roof of the mouth. That hole may be larger or smaller and it may vary in location (closer to the front or back of the mouth), but most are readily identifiable at birth. Some cleft palate defects ma