Dog Survives Longest Spca Surgery In 2020 World Ve..

DOG SURVIVES LONGEST SPCA SURGERY IN 2020 (WORLD VET NURSE DAY TRIBUTE)

Last week, a dog (Pancake) underwent SPCA’s longest surgery in 2020 thus far. The surgery was over 5 hours long, and over 60cm of intestines were removed.

X-rays revealed unfamiliar objects in his abdomen. Turns out, he had eaten a door stopper, which was chewed into three parts and entangled in pieces of towel. Most of the towel was stuck within his intestines, which were removed. The door stopper acted as an ‘anchor’ in his stomach, causing his intestines to tangle, cutting off blood flow.

There were holes in his intestines causing leaking into his abdomen. Hence, we cut into his stomach to remove the first part of the foreign body, before removing the dying intestines and reconnecting the healthy ones. We then cleaned up the abdomen as much as we could, as leaked intestinal fluids can cause systemic infection.

While our vet focused on the surgery, vet nurses/technicians worked hard behind the scenes to assist him. They had to monitor the general anaesthesia, lest it was too much for Pancake’s body to handle. For any intestinal surgery, complications can happen up to 5 days after.

Vet nurses/technicians also provided:

- multiple injectable antibiotics to prevent abdominal infection

- gastroprotectants to promote intestinal healing

- constant rate infusions of IV painkillers to encourage him to start eating

- monitoring for complications like septic peritonitis (when sutures fail to hold after surgery or the intestines continue to leak)

… while looking after many other animals in SPCA and facing challenging clients at times.

While Pancake was in post-surgery recovery, a non-clinic staff member slept by his side overnight to look after him and a fosterer gave him dedicated care. As expected, Pancake had poor appetite so he needed hand feeding. But as each day passed, he got stronger and started walking again!

So as we celebrate World Vet Nurse Day today, let’s remember those who work hard to treat animals with kindness. It’s a tough job — the hours are long and the mental and emotional strain takes a toll. Since the start of Covid-19, some haven’t even gone back to their home country. One vet nurse joked we could “reserve a kennel” for her as she needed a place to stay. All of them have been screamed at by clients for things they cannot control. Yet, they show up for work every day, rain or shine. For the animals.

So to all vet nurses everywhere, thank you!

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To support SPCA’s work, donate to http://bit.ly/clinicspca or visit our latest campaign website (http://teachwithkindness.spca.org.sg) to sign the humane animal training pledge and read more. #chooseforcefree #teachwithkindness

Source: https://www.facebook.com/spcasingapore/photos/a.283797778154..

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SPCA Singapore

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA Singapore) is the first registered animal welfare organisation in Singapore. The two main objectives of SPCA Singapore are: to promote kindness to animals and birds, and to prevent cruelty to animals and birds.

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