Siberian Husky

6 years old

Male

Spinal injury

Problem

Oscar had fallen 10 feet from a window and was unable to use both his hind legs. He was brought into the hospital and immediately assessed by the veterinary surgeon who suspected possible spinal, limb and potentially pelvic damage. He was stabilised and given some strong pain relief.

Treatment

An urgent CT scan revealed a couple of intervertebral disk extrusions putting pressure on Oscar’s spinal cord paralysing his hind limbs; there was no pelvic or limb damage. Oscar was given a general anaesthetic and Kerry Billington one of our advanced surgeons took Oscar to theatre immediately to perform spinal surgery (hemilaminectomy) removing the damaged disk material and relieving the pressure. Oscar recovered well from the surgery and after a few days recovering in the hospital was able to walk well on his left hind, with the right hind still not working. He was able to go home to continue to recover and his owners were able to carry out initial passive range of motion physiotherapy and massage, in between visits to the hospital to check on his progress.

Outcome

Following great care at home and regular check-ups Oscar’s right hind gradually improved. At the 4-week check Oscar was looking amazing and due to start more advanced rehabilitation at our Cheadle clinic involving the hydrotherapy treadmill and a bespoke physiotherapy plan the very next day.

 

Thank you to Oscar’s owners for letting us share his story.