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00:01Let's go and see the doctor. That's going to make cookie better.
00:05Many of the hardest-to-treat pets in Britain
00:07Right, it's hedgehog time.
00:09are brought to one extraordinary practice.
00:13Run by the man known as the Bionic Vet, Professor Noel Fitzpatrick.
00:18What we're going to do has never been done before, ever.
00:22He performs some of the most advanced procedures ever attempted.
00:25It's the smallest total hip replacement in the world today.
00:28This is a textbook result. Actually, it's not even in the textbook.
00:32As the lives of his patients and their families hang in the balance.
00:36I've never seen an infection take hold this quick ever in my life, actually.
00:39Noel continues to find new ways to give them a chance.
00:42Of course, we don't know if it'll work.
00:44That dog is the only thing that even makes me carry on.
00:48Offering hope against all the odds.
00:52She wants to say, this is my new bionic leg.
00:59It's just a miracle.
01:01It's the start of a new week at Fitzpatrick Referrals.
01:17Noel's first patient of the day is a fox red Labrador puppy, Oscar.
01:35Hiya.
01:37Oscar is six months old.
01:41In the early days, it was a little bit more challenging, wasn't it?
01:44It was like, are we ever going to get any work done again?
01:46Because Oscar just wants to play.
01:48Or what's worse was when you'd just hear the sound of crunching from another room
01:54and you'd go through, oh, there's a laptop charger that's...
01:57Just pinching.
01:59Matt is a musician and Iles has recently become a vicar.
02:04I'm planning a funeral and people have come to the house.
02:07He's a lovely kind of welcome and he's often a great...
02:11You know, someone's turned up on the doorstep feeling really sad
02:13and they see Oscar and he's just quite soothing.
02:17Oscar has intermittent lameness and the couple suspect he has elbow problems.
02:22You want to go for walks, don't you? Long walks.
02:24First, Noel needs to observe Oscar walking.
02:27Tight lead, tight lead.
02:29Okay, he's very lame.
02:30Yeah.
02:31Okay.
02:32Just stand in here for me, please.
02:34Just here.
02:35This may hurt.
02:39Yeah, it hurts a lot.
02:40Okay, I'm sorry about that.
02:43We can see there's pronounced puffiness right there.
02:45Do you see that?
02:46Yes, we noticed that, yeah.
02:47So that's really puffed up.
02:48Yeah.
02:49Really puffed up.
02:50That's fluid swelling in the joint.
02:52Right.
02:54His tail never stops wagging.
02:56No.
02:57And that's the thing.
02:58He's a Labrador.
02:59Yeah.
03:00Now, the frustrating thing is that Labrador puppies can be affected by developmental elbow disease.
03:05Okay.
03:06You hope it's not going to be you.
03:08But it is.
03:09Massive big deal.
03:10This is probably as bad as it gets at six months with that amount of puffiness.
03:15So we have to figure out what to do and we have to figure it out quickly.
03:19Okay.
03:20All right, big guy.
03:21Should we go see the girls?
03:22All right, Francesca.
03:23Off you go.
03:24Go on.
03:25Go play.
03:26Go play.
03:27Oscar will need CT scans and x-rays for Noel to work out just how bad his elbow disease is.
03:33Okay.
03:34I'm sorry, guys.
03:35Have you got children?
03:36Two.
03:37How old are they?
03:38I'm one on the way.
03:39Oh, my Lord.
03:40Congratulations.
03:41So there's not enough chaos going on.
03:42Congratulations.
03:43You have a house of chaos.
03:44We do, yeah.
03:45Oh, my Lord.
03:46The growing family live in the vicarage in Chertsey with Matt's two young children from his first marriage.
04:00Jemima is nine and Noah is eight.
04:03Three.
04:04Yeah, we've got another one on the way as well, which is very exciting.
04:09Oh, that's so cute.
04:12I've always wanted a dog.
04:14It's very exciting to get Oscar.
04:16The kids were delighted with the idea of getting a puppy.
04:21I loved him instantly.
04:24He was just so cute and so playful.
04:28Oh, that's when we can go in the pleasant pool.
04:31I love that.
04:32You kind of have all these lovely hopes and dreams for being out with your dog running around
04:36and suddenly it's all, yeah, kind of not quite as we imagined it.
04:42We see Labradors, Cocker Spaniels, Miniature Dashens and German Shepherds.
04:53So it is really nice to get a much rarer breed through the door.
04:58I love him.
04:59I love him.
05:00He's a Shishon.
05:01Is it?
05:02Shishon?
05:03Yeah.
05:04Is it a Shishon?
05:05Yeah.
05:06I'm assuming Shih Tzu and Beejom.
05:07Yeah.
05:08Is it?
05:09Yeah.
05:10Shishon, Shisho, Shisho.
05:11Shisho.
05:12Oh dear.
05:13One couple who live with not one but two rare breed dogs is Lynn and David.
05:24They've driven 300 miles from County Durham with Raz, their seven-year-old Russian Black Terrier,
05:30who's already been seen by their local vet.
05:34So unfortunately Raz has got on his left paw a growth.
05:39It's cancerous.
05:40Bone cancer.
05:41Bone cancer.
05:42Bone cancer.
05:43Raz's recent diagnosis has been particularly hard for the family.
05:47We've had an awful two and a half years.
05:49My dad was diagnosed with cancerous lymphoma two and a half years ago and then mum had
05:56a massive stroke and then we had seven months of her.
06:00Seriously, seriously, she died.
06:03We're hoping to have Lynn salvage.
06:06I don't think we can watch him suffer.
06:08It's not like I've watched my mum, I can't do it.
06:12Hello Raz.
06:14Lynn and David hope Noel can save Raz's leg and that the cancer hasn't yet spread.
06:20I'm Noel.
06:21Lynn.
06:22David, hi.
06:23David, nice to see you.
06:24Hello, mate.
06:25How you doing?
06:26How old is he?
06:27Seven.
06:28Right, let's move on.
06:29So aggressive, isn't it?
06:30It is very aggressive, yeah.
06:32Is that what you expect?
06:33Yes, it is.
06:34We love him to pieces and we want the best for him and if the best for him is limb salvage
06:40and we can have him for longer, then that's what we want.
06:42If it's not, then really we want to do what's best for him.
06:46Well, first of all, we're not going to be doing a limb salvage surgery if we find gross evidence
06:51or spread elsewhere, then we'll be having a very different conversation.
06:55And that conversation will either be palliative care with drugs, full limb amputation or euthanasia.
07:04Stereotactic radiation whereby we zone in on the CT and zap it may be a possibility.
07:09We'll see.
07:11All right, big guy.
07:12We're going to get your scans and we'll see how you do.
07:14Just slide that off.
07:15Now, you'll be a big, brave boy.
07:17We'll see you later.
07:19Lin and David will wait for the scan results.
07:22Only then can they make a decision on Raz's future.
07:26He's going to come, well, he's going for a scan and we've got to wait and see because it's bone cancer.
07:31He's going to be fine because I can't cope if he's not, so he has to, doesn't he?
07:35Breathe.
07:36Go to the pub.
07:37I know.
07:38I'm on the brandy again.
07:39I've started that off.
07:40I'm on the brandy big time.
07:44It should be.
07:45Okay.
07:46Oscar, the Labrador pup, is having CT scans to establish the extent of his elbow disease.
07:51Right, Oscar, please.
07:52Hi, guys.
07:53Hi.
07:54All right, so you'll know from the delay that it's not good.
07:55Okay.
07:56That's the humerus.
07:57That's the radius.
07:58That's the ulna.
07:59There's a lot of pain.
08:00It should be.
08:01Okay.
08:02Oscar, the Labrador pup, is having CT scans to establish the extent of his elbow disease.
08:09Right, Oscar, please.
08:14Hi, guys.
08:15Hi.
08:16All right, so you'll know from the delay that it's not good.
08:18Okay.
08:20That's the humerus.
08:22That's the radius.
08:23That's the ulna.
08:24Yeah.
08:25There's a massive erosion here.
08:28Massive.
08:29That's as big as I've ever seen in a six-month-old dog.
08:32You've got three of the manifestations of developmental elbow disease.
08:36The first one is OCD, which is where the cartilage did not develop properly into bone and flaked away.
08:42Okay.
08:43The second is that there's too much pressure between the humerus and the ulna, and the ulna is crumbling away.
08:49Yeah.
08:50The third is that the joint doesn't fit, so you've got elbow incongruity.
08:54Goodness me, yeah.
08:56Noel doesn't believe that medication will be enough to manage Oscar's pain, now or in the future.
09:03The bottom line is we have a collective responsibility here, either to do major surgery or to euthanise.
09:09I promise.
09:10Anything less than the state-of-the-art I think would be a mistake here.
09:18Yeah.
09:19I think we would need to know the cost.
09:22Yes.
09:23We will need to look at that.
09:24Yeah.
09:25Absolutely.
09:26You can't make a decision.
09:27No, of course you can't.
09:28Yeah.
09:29Yeah.
09:30Yeah.
09:31With investigations, surgery and other treatments potentially costing more than their insurance
09:35will cover, Isles and Matt have a difficult decision to make.
09:40If it's going to be thousands and thousands over the insurance, then I think we need to have
09:55a serious talk with the kids this weekend and actually buzzing them out there.
10:10I think we have to take him home.
10:14Yeah.
10:15Yeah.
10:16Absolutely.
10:23Oscar, please.
10:26Before Matt and Isles leave, Noel wants to discuss a way of helping the couple fund Oscar's
10:32desperately needed surgery.
10:35I'm sorry to put you through this.
10:36That's all right.
10:37You do not have to make a decision today, by the way.
10:40Okay.
10:41There is a couple of altruistic individuals that have said to me that if deserving people
10:45come into my life, they might consider helping.
10:48You are certainly deserving because you're helping other people.
10:53So, but it would take me a couple of days to reach out to them.
10:57We just haven't got...
10:58You've got young kids.
10:59No, I get that.
11:00I get that.
11:02Matt and Isles will need to wait a couple of days to see if a donor will fund Oscar's
11:07surgery.
11:08I don't really feel deserving remotely.
11:12I mean, I don't think there's any guarantee.
11:15Well, no.
11:17And if, I mean, if we can't fund it, then we'd...
11:21It's quite devastating, really.
11:26It's very weird.
11:27It's just night.
11:28Now I know.
11:29It's fine.
11:30It's fine.
11:31It's fine.
11:49Raz, the Russian black terrier, is having scans to find out if the cancer in his leg has
11:54visibly spread elsewhere in the body.
12:00Lynn and David are waiting for the results.
12:04I'm so, so frightened.
12:06Raz's mum and dad, please.
12:07Hey.
12:08Where are you doing?
12:09Please take a seat.
12:10I know it's nerve-wracking for you out there.
12:11The lungs at this point are clear.
12:12Okay, good.
12:13The rest of the body, we cannot find evidence of growth spread.
12:16Alright.
12:17Good.
12:18Now that doesn't mean it hasn't spread.
12:19No, no, no, no.
12:20Yeah.
12:21Now this is an x-ray picture of the leg.
12:22This thing is growing at a rate of knots.
12:23I mean, it's literally getting bigger by the day.
12:26Yeah.
12:28We are anticipating a median survival time of 11 months for this dog.
12:31What do you think of the leg?
12:32If you think of the leg, the leg is growing at a rate of knots.
12:35I mean, it's literally getting bigger by the day.
12:36Yeah.
12:37And then we're anticipating a median survival time of 11 months for this dog.
12:41What do you think of that?
12:42Yeah.
12:43And we're waiting for a long time.
12:44Now, there's some signs.
12:45What do you think about the limb salvage?
12:47I think that it's viable at this moment.
12:50So that's the best option?
12:52That depends on whether you're an advocate of three legs or four.
12:56We're an advocate of four.
12:58Don't misunderstand me.
13:00This dog would actually do fine on three legs.
13:03We're dubious because of his weight.
13:05Limb salvage is where you cut out the primary
13:08and you put in a spacer, which looks like that.
13:12And it goes inside the leg like that.
13:15With the four plates, we've only seen one mechanical failure.
13:21The risk with this is infection.
13:23Right, okay, because it's good, yeah.
13:25We've definitely lost limbs and we've definitely lost life
13:28as a result of infection.
13:31Lin and David must decide either to amputate Raz's leg
13:35or to save it by replacing part of it with the implant.
13:39If you want to save this leg,
13:41my best advice is that I crack on now.
13:44Okay, all right.
13:45So you want me to proceed with the end of the disease?
13:47That's great.
13:48All right, that's fine.
13:49Let me instruct the team.
13:50Okay, just give me one second.
13:54Okay, guys, we've got to go ahead.
13:56End on now.
13:57As quick as we can to theatre.
14:01The sad side is that it's growing as fast as it's growing.
14:04Yeah, but we've caught it now.
14:06Yeah, but the prognosis isn't as good.
14:08No, no.
14:11He's a fighter.
14:12Yeah.
14:15Noel already has the components to piece together Raz's implant
14:19based on the CT scan and he'll operate straight away.
14:24It's really important we don't cut into the tumour
14:27because you will have seeded the local environment with tumour cells.
14:34I know from the CT scan that that tumour is growing up inside the bone
14:37to about that level.
14:38So I'm going to cut right up here.
14:41Noel must remove all of Raz's tumour
14:43to minimise the risk of it growing back in the leg.
14:47There we go.
14:48Tumour out.
14:49We'll pop that over here.
14:52Okay, so we've put the dirty table over there,
14:55which is the table with the tumour on it.
14:58We've now got a clean table.
15:01Noel pieces the modular implant together to fit the length of bone he has just removed.
15:07He spends the next two hours securing the implant with screws and plates
15:12to the foot and the top of the forearm.
15:14So this is the position his paw is going to be for the rest of his life,
15:19so I better get it right.
15:24He's in with a real chance now of keeping his leg.
15:29Hi, big fella.
15:30Are you still in there?
15:32Good boy.
15:33All right, that's got extra.
15:35Raz will stay at the practice for a few days to recover.
15:39Hello.
15:40Min, hi.
15:41Hi.
15:42Well, we've come out of the surgery.
15:43It went fine.
15:44Good.
15:45Raz has had the tumour removed.
15:48Great.
15:49Can you have my permission to have a little tipple now?
15:52I think put some brandy on you.
15:54Good.
15:55Good.
15:56You have some brandy,
15:57and I'll give him something slightly stronger on the opioid front.
16:01I'll be there.
16:03All right, take care.
16:04This is all up today.
16:05Oscar the Labrador puppy and his family are back
16:19to discuss the operation to fix his severely diseased elbows.
16:24Whoo!
16:25Bouncing!
16:26Matt and Vicar Iles, who is expecting their third child,
16:30can't afford to pay for the full treatment themselves.
16:34Hi, Noel.
16:35How are you? Hello, Oscar.
16:37Right, the gentleman I was talking to you about,
16:40who wishes to remain anonymous, has donated the money for the surgery.
16:44We are so grateful.
16:47Yeah.
16:48So what we're going to try and go for is to mechanically unload,
16:53as well as biologically stimulate.
16:56I would cut the humerus in half,
16:59shift the weight over to the good side,
17:01and try and use stem cells from bone marrow from this dog
17:05to recapitulate cartilage here by injecting it and gluing it in place.
17:12Let's set your expectations right now.
17:14It's never going to be normal.
17:17The risks are infection, fracture, failure to heal,
17:22or failure for the joint to settle down adequately
17:24to provide quality of life.
17:26Yeah.
17:27All right, we're ready to go.
17:31Unusually, Noel will operate on both elbows at the same time
17:35because his condition is deteriorating fast.
17:39Noel's going to look after you.
17:43You're under strict instructions.
17:47Noel's.
17:48Hi, big guy.
17:49Thank you so much.
17:51Please God, everything go on, Kay.
17:53Absolutely.
17:55Matt's grown up with dogs.
17:56I haven't.
17:57And I've been quite amazed at how, you know,
18:00we've only had Oscar four months,
18:01but how much a part of our family he is
18:03and how absolutely traumatised we are
18:06at the thought of life without him.
18:08The gift that we have been given
18:10is a gift that will hopefully benefit us
18:13and the children and the child yet to be born for years.
18:18That's just extraordinary, really.
18:21Oscar will have surgery later today.
18:23It's been several days since Raz had major surgery,
18:32successfully replacing a cancerous tumour in his leg
18:35with a metal implant.
18:37But Noel is concerned about his recovery.
18:41We've got a problem.
18:43Raz has an infection.
18:45So this is a recognised complication
18:48of putting a large chunk of metal inside a leg.
18:51It's not good.
18:55There's only one silver lining to the cloud,
18:57and that is that the immune response to the infection
19:02upregulates certain kinds of immune cells within the body.
19:07Those specific immune cells actually reduce the tendency
19:12for cancer to grow elsewhere.
19:15So that means that even though Raz has had an infection,
19:19he may live longer.
19:21than what would otherwise be predicted without the infection.
19:26Noel talks to her about what can happen,
19:29and he certainly told us about the infections.
19:32But you almost put that to the back of your mind.
19:35You look at the positives rather than the negatives.
19:37Raz will stay in isolation while Noel and his team do all they can
19:42to try to beat the infection.
19:46Have you got a beautiful smile?
19:48Do you have a beautiful...
19:49Oh, I know he's right on my eyeball.
19:52You give me kisses right on my eyeball.
19:54Oscar, the Labrador puppy, is being prepared for his double-elbow surgery.
20:06Noel will screw on the top part of the custom plate,
20:10cut the humerus bone,
20:11Using screws, pull the lower part of the bone towards the stepped part of the plate,
20:18insert bone graft,
20:20then inject specially selected stem cells and glue
20:23to try to heal the worn surfaces in the joint.
20:26First, Noel needs to explore the diseased elbow
20:33using a camera to see into the joint.
20:41I'm so upset for this dog.
20:44It's very, very unusual for me to see
20:47that degree of erosion in a six-month-old dog.
20:52All right, hold it again.
20:56He checks the condition of the other elbow.
21:00Give it to me.
21:03So this elbow is at a less advanced stage than the other elbow.
21:08Then he removes pieces of damaged cartilage.
21:14And then I'll just pull it out.
21:18Using Oscar's bone marrow,
21:20the team will extract specific cells
21:22to then inject with glue onto the joint later.
21:28Next, he moves on to cutting the humerus
21:31to shift Oscar's weight away from the damaged joint surface.
21:36A custom plate has been designed specially to fit Oscar's leg.
21:42Normally I would never do this operation on two sides at the same time.
21:45But in this case, Oscar does not have time to wait.
21:56So you can see as we tighten these two screws sequentially,
21:59we pull this segment of bone up towards the plate.
22:01And that means that the body weight is now going to go
22:03towards the outside of the joint.
22:06He repeats this procedure on the other leg.
22:14Oscar's extracted stem cells have been specially enriched
22:18and can be immediately injected back into his elbow
22:21mixed with biological glue.
22:24Okay, so here we go.
22:25It will take 12 weeks to find out if the cells
22:29have helped to heal the joint surface.
22:37Good boy.
22:39All right, let's get you to x-ray.
22:41Surgery has taken nearly four hours.
22:45Having had both elbows operated on,
22:47Oscar will need to be kept calm for a few weeks
22:50to prevent damage to the implants.
22:52It's early Sunday afternoon.
23:11And an emergency case has been referred to see Noel.
23:15My corky cat.
23:17I think he's been run over.
23:19Before we took him in to our local vets,
23:22he just wasn't really moving very much at all.
23:26And then when we tried to lift him into the box,
23:28he was in huge amounts of pain.
23:30It was almost like he was screaming,
23:31and that was, like, dreadful to hear.
23:35Corky, please.
23:37Grab a seat.
23:38So, um...
23:39And corky is...
23:40Oh, a baby.
23:41One year or three months, is that right?
23:42Yeah. Yeah.
23:43Oh, shmolly.
23:45And what happened?
23:45So, I went out, and he was lying on the patio,
23:51and he didn't move.
23:53And then I realised that he looked really, like, startled
23:56and not right at all.
23:59Yes, so...
23:59I hope you can do something for him.
24:01Come on, cork.
24:02Beautiful, beautiful device here you've got.
24:04Yeah.
24:05A modified cork hanger.
24:06I think it should be patented.
24:07Okay, big fella.
24:10Hey, beauty.
24:11How you doing, beauty?
24:13Now, mate.
24:14Come on, mate.
24:15Jessica, thank you.
24:17You go down on the mat and talk to him, mum.
24:20Now, you definitely can't stand up.
24:23You're just going to see if you can feel his legs.
24:28Come on, mate.
24:29Pull it back.
24:29Come on, come on.
24:31Yeah, you can feel it.
24:32Good boy.
24:34Your vet felt he couldn't feel his tail.
24:36It's pretty limp.
24:38Hmm, okay.
24:40This isn't...
24:41It's not good.
24:42I mean, we've got to...
24:43We've got to crack on.
24:45All right, big fella.
24:46Now, big kiss then, mum,
24:47because I'm going to take him through.
24:49Okay.
24:50I love you, baby.
24:52Okay.
24:52All right, big fella.
24:54Okay.
24:55In the box.
24:56I'm sorry, sweetheart.
24:57I'm sorry.
24:58All right, cork.
24:59We're going to have to figure out what's wrong, mate.
25:01I'm going to try and get you fixed.
25:03Corky will need extensive checks,
25:05including x-ray pictures,
25:07to find out how severely he's been injured.
25:11Ron and Joe will wait at Fitzpatrick's for the results.
25:15Peter, dig it up.
25:17That's not cork.
25:23Don't worry.
25:24Don't worry.
25:24They're in safe hands.
25:25That was corking.
25:27Okay.
25:31Cats do.
25:31All cats make a noise like that.
25:34You don't notice how.
25:36I haven't asked any other cats here.
25:38You see only one.
25:39There's others out the back.
25:42Two hours later,
25:44and Noel has the results.
25:45All right, this could be a lot worse.
25:49It could be a lot worse.
25:50It could be worse.
25:50It could be worse.
25:51So the bottom of the pelvis is crushed,
25:53the top of the pelvis is separated and shunted forwards.
25:56Okay.
25:58Corky's tail is particularly badly damaged.
26:01We can see that the tail is fractured.
26:03Oh, yes, completely.
26:05Now, the chances of the nerves that are going down here
26:08surviving that amount of pull...
26:10Isn't good.
26:11Now, that could affect the ability to urinate.
26:16Noel could mend the fracture,
26:18but the feeling in Corky's tail may never return.
26:22My advice at this point would be take the tail off
26:24and at least not have to lift it.
26:27Yeah, use it.
26:28Yeah, yeah, yeah.
26:30Okay, okay.
26:31I mean, it'll affect his beauty, but that's life.
26:33Well, you know, that's...
26:34That's life.
26:35That's just the way it is.
26:36He's a boy, isn't he?
26:36Yeah.
26:37Small price to pay.
26:39Oh, I'm so pleased.
26:40Could be worse, right?
26:41Yeah, yeah.
26:42Yeah, yeah.
26:43I really, like, last night,
26:45I was ready to just say goodbye to him, you know?
26:47Really?
26:51Corky's not going to have his tail anymore.
26:53A small price to pay, really, losing his tail.
26:56Yeah.
26:57I'm just...
26:59Grateful.
27:00Corky, the cat, is ready for emergency surgery
27:17after a road traffic accident.
27:19First, Noel will fix his pelvis.
27:24Alrighty, here we go.
27:27He'll use a screw pinned through the pelvis
27:30onto the sacrum bone at the base of the spine
27:32to hold it in place.
27:38He must ensure he gets the right alignment.
27:40You only get one shot at this
27:44because the bones are very, very tiny.
27:47As I drive this screw
27:49through the side of the pelvis,
27:52which is the ileum,
27:53the threads of the screw
27:55are grabbing into the sacrum.
27:58The ileum will be pulled onto the sacrum.
28:02Okay, so that's pretty good now.
28:04With the pelvis secured in place,
28:09Noel moves on to Corky's tail.
28:12There's a lot of hemorrhage in here,
28:13a lot of damage.
28:15Here we go, tail coming off.
28:20He amputates below the fracture site,
28:22leaving a little stump,
28:24then stitches up the wound.
28:28Okay, that seems fine.
28:30There's a little roof over the poo hole there
28:31to stop the rain falling on it.
28:34Job done.
28:35Let's go to the extra.
28:38Corky will be monitored closely
28:40to check if he is able to urinate on his own
28:43and to see how he copes without his tail.
28:47The cat's burrito.
29:01Good boy.
29:03Well done.
29:04Raz, the Russian Black Terrier,
29:06is being treated for his infection
29:08after the operation to remove his bone tumour.
29:11Good boy.
29:13The implant itself is working fine
29:15and he's walking very well on the leg, actually.
29:17But unfortunately, there is infection.
29:20We've been giving him antibiotics
29:21for quite a few days now
29:23and the infection is under control,
29:26but we don't know if it's going to be gone or not.
29:29Noel thinks Raz can continue
29:34his antibiotic treatment at home with his family.
29:40Lin and David have arrived
29:42with their other Russian Black Terrier, Lishka.
29:45So Noel's got the family today,
29:47whether he likes it or not.
29:51Lishka is Raz's niece.
29:53This is the first time the dogs have been separated.
29:56Yeah, she's lost without him.
29:58Yeah.
29:59And he's lost without her.
30:00And we're lost without them.
30:02Yeah.
30:04Look who's here.
30:06Hi, guys.
30:06Hi.
30:07Hello.
30:08Hello.
30:08Hello.
30:08Hi.
30:10Hello, Daddy.
30:11Very nice job.
30:13Yeah.
30:13Yeah.
30:15Unfortunately, Lishka also has health issues.
30:18She's been diagnosed with possible lumbosacral disease
30:21by their local vet.
30:23Nice.
30:24Noel has offered to assess her
30:26and to check her for any cancerous tumours as well.
30:30I've got a video of her if you want to look at what she's...
30:33That's what she's...
30:35I need to turn halfway through.
30:40She's really limping on the back leg.
30:42Yeah, she wants to sit down.
30:50Right, OK.
30:50Yeah, well, that's classical for lumbosacral pain.
30:53Let me have a clinical exam first.
30:55Finish.
30:56I'll get my helpers.
30:58Check on...
30:59Do you check on Raz, do you think?
31:01Yeah, I'll go and check on Raz.
31:02Let's check it.
31:03Yeah.
31:03Hello, you're not going out.
31:07Stay now.
31:07Wait.
31:08Wait.
31:09Wait.
31:10Sit down.
31:11Sit.
31:12Sit.
31:14Right.
31:15Maybe just check in on Raz.
31:20Wait.
31:22Good girl.
31:23Probably won't like this whole time.
31:31Well, you'll be pleased to hear I'm not feeling any tumours.
31:35Just giving Raz some...
31:36No problem.
31:38There's no question you've got sciatica on both sides.
31:42You've got significant pain coming down the back of both legs.
31:46But she doesn't seem to be in that much pain.
31:48You think she's in...
31:49She was helping.
31:50Oh, was she?
31:51All right, I missed that a bit.
31:53She's in pain, but she just doesn't show it
31:55because she doesn't know life any different.
31:57I would recommend that you have a dynamic MRI study performed.
32:01Yeah.
32:03I'm sorry that you're having to go through all this.
32:05No, it's...
32:07Well, if you take on the dogs,
32:08then you have to do the right thing by them, don't you?
32:10Yeah.
32:11Well, let's get her in the car.
32:12Come on, Lishka.
32:15Lishka will have an MRI in a week's time,
32:18while Raz has his first round of chemotherapy
32:20to help prevent his cancer returning.
32:22Good girl.
32:24But for now, the family can all go home together.
32:35It's eight days since Oscar the Labrador
32:37had his double elbow surgery.
32:40Today, he's ready to go home.
32:42Okay, the elbows.
32:45Now then, you can see it's red raw on both sides.
32:49Poor mess.
32:50So that's red raw horribleness.
32:53Yeah.
32:54So this is the post-op x-ray picture
32:57of the sliding human osteotomy.
33:02This looks brilliant,
33:04and this is the best I can humanly achieve in 2017,
33:06but it could all go hideously wrong
33:09if all the screws were to break.
33:12So the one reason he can't run or jump
33:13is the screw breakage possibility.
33:15The second reason is the biological healing.
33:18Mm-hmm.
33:18So outside the front door,
33:20I'll be with you in two minutes.
33:22All right.
33:22See you in a minute.
33:25Hello.
33:27Hello, mate.
33:28Hello, darling.
33:29There we go.
33:31Hello, family.
33:32How are you doing?
33:32Oh, hello.
33:33Well done.
33:34Really happy to see you.
33:36Good.
33:37It's just marvellous having him back.
33:40A member of our family has been missing, actually.
33:43The next few weeks are crucial.
33:46Oscar must behave himself
33:48as he recovers from his major surgery.
33:50It's been three days since Corky the cat
33:59had surgery after a road traffic accident.
34:02He's had his tail off,
34:04which isn't fantastic for any pussycat,
34:06but he's been very brave.
34:08Aren't you, Corky?
34:09Yeah.
34:09Hi, mate.
34:10You OK?
34:10It's OK.
34:11It's only me.
34:11It's all for me.
34:12The good news is,
34:13today he's peed for the first time,
34:15so that's fantastic.
34:17It's just been freshly cleaned out.
34:19He's like,
34:20Yes, I will sit in the litter tray.
34:23You love a little bit of ear scratching,
34:24don't you, mate?
34:25Yeah.
34:32Lin and David are back.
34:36It's about time I'll run a bad luck challenge.
34:39Lishka, their Russian black terrier,
34:42is having a dynamic MRI scan
34:44to find out if she needs surgery on her spine.
34:48Raz is having his first round of chemotherapy
34:50to try to prevent his cancer returning.
34:54Good boy.
34:55Unfortunately,
34:56his infection remains a potential issue.
34:58The family are not very keen to have him on three legs,
35:03but when faced with death or three legs,
35:07most people choose three legs,
35:08and I think quite rightly so.
35:11In an ideal world,
35:12we would save his leg.
35:13We've tried very hard,
35:14but we've not been lucky,
35:15and that's the very nature of surgery.
35:16With both their dogs having treatment,
35:20Lin and David have an anxious wait.
35:23The real worry at the moment is Raz,
35:26because we don't know what's going to happen
35:27for the long term.
35:29I'll feel happy,
35:30even if we lose him,
35:31that we've done everything we possibly can.
35:33We've brought him to the best person in Europe.
35:36That's...
35:36You have to live with that, don't you?
35:39That's a good way of living with it.
35:42Sweetheart.
35:49It's a week since Corky had his tail removed,
35:52and Joe and Ron have arrived to collect him
35:55with their daughter Francesca.
35:58Obviously, he's going to have a few weeks
36:00where he can't really run around.
36:01He's going to be...
36:02have a harness and a lead
36:04and have to be kept in a cage.
36:06Corky isn't the absolute prettiest of cats.
36:11He is a character.
36:13He's got very big, pointy ears,
36:14looks a little bit like a gremlin.
36:16So I think...
36:17LAUGHTER
36:18..not having a tail
36:20might actually quite suit him.
36:22Yeah, he's still with us.
36:23That's the main thing.
36:25So, no tail.
36:27No tail, no.
36:28Here you've got the amputation.
36:30I left those three on,
36:31cos I want to just leave a little flap of skin here
36:35to cover the poo hall.
36:36LAUGHTER
36:37OK.
36:38Yeah.
36:39All right, guys, ready?
36:41He's doing great.
36:43There you go.
36:44Yeah.
36:45Oh, Corky.
36:46You can sit down.
36:47Oh, Cork.
36:48Hello, baby.
36:49OK.
36:50So he's quite active,
36:51and he is able to walk.
36:54So he'll be able to...
36:55He's peeing and pooing fine.
36:57He's going.
36:57That's good.
36:58Yeah.
36:58And he's getting stronger each day.
37:00Yeah, we're going home.
37:03Yeah.
37:03Amazing.
37:04Have you got the rod thing?
37:05Yeah, I've got the rod thing.
37:06Oh, brilliant.
37:07Look at...
37:08Oh, I wish I...
37:09I wish I had invented that.
37:12Oh, yeah, you can fit through.
37:13That's beautiful.
37:14Wow.
37:14Good.
37:15All right, mate.
37:15Fantastic.
37:16Oh, thank you so much.
37:17No problem.
37:21Oh, it's great to see him back now,
37:23and I'm sure within a few weeks
37:25he'll be back to his old self
37:27of running around,
37:28jumping and terrorising our other cat, Crunchy.
37:32It's nine p.m.
37:43Noel is ready to update the family
37:45on Raz and Lishka's conditions.
37:48Okay, Raz,
37:50you've still got infection?
37:52Yes.
37:52In which case, it's not going to heal?
37:54Probably.
37:54And if it comes to Crunch,
37:58and we can't get this leg to work for him
38:00because of the infection,
38:01then it will...
38:03You know, being brutally frank,
38:05it will be a decision
38:06between euthanasia and amputation.
38:08Yeah, we know that.
38:08Yeah.
38:09I mean, we were sort of coming down
38:10to the fact that it wouldn't be fair
38:11on him on three legs.
38:12He will be okay on three.
38:14I have had dogs his size on three, happily.
38:18If you got it down to the point
38:19that it was just a single-point discharge,
38:21then I think that I'd be culpable with.
38:23Yeah.
38:24Okay.
38:24I think you should give it another four weeks.
38:26Oh, that's fine, yeah.
38:27We're happy to do it,
38:28but we don't want to do it beyond the point.
38:30And an amputation,
38:31when you're talking about that,
38:32is if it's more getting used to it,
38:34and he's still on chemo,
38:35and then he's got a life-limiting disease anyway.
38:37Is that fair?
38:38That's all very valid.
38:41Their other dog, Lishka,
38:42has had a dynamic MRI study of her lower spine.
38:46So, I'm not going to drop
38:48any massive bombshells with Lishka.
38:51Her major problem is in her lumbosacral spine,
38:55where the disc in her lower back
38:56is completely dried out,
38:58and it's squishing nerves.
39:00If we categorise things as mild, moderate, and severe,
39:03this is severe.
39:04Right, okay.
39:05Unfortunately, you're really unlucky.
39:06Lishka is likely to need surgery,
39:10but dealing with two recovering dogs at the same time
39:13is too much for Lynn and David.
39:16We need a clip for an epidural, please.
39:20So, for now,
39:21the family have decided to manage Lishka's pain
39:24with a series of three steroid injections.
39:27Now we just inject the steroid, we're done.
39:33Very, very simple.
39:38It's very unfortunate that the family
39:40have two poorly dogs at the same time,
39:42and we're doing everything that we can for Raz,
39:44but it's not looking good.
39:50Most dogs will manage fine on three legs,
39:52but the family don't want to have him on three legs,
39:56and if this infection isn't controllable,
39:59then they may have a very, very difficult decision to make.
40:03Lin and David are back at Fitzpatrick's,
40:22but their Russian terrier, Lishka, is on her own.
40:31Unfortunately, Raz is missing.
40:34So we made the decision that we can't put him through anymore.
40:38He's gone through enough.
40:39So we decided about a week ago on the Thursday
40:44that we'd go to our local vets
40:45and get him put to sleep.
40:50One of the difficulties was that
40:52although his leg was really puffy,
40:55he was quite happy, wasn't he?
40:56And when he came in to be put to sleep,
40:59he was really, really happy.
41:00It was really, really sad.
41:02Not happy that we lost him,
41:03but we were happy with the decision that we made in the end.
41:05So, yeah.
41:06I've had dogs forever,
41:08and you have one or two that is special.
41:12He was your favourite, yes.
41:14Yes, yes.
41:16Lishka.
41:21Lishka's mum and dad, please.
41:24You know where to go.
41:28Hey, Lish.
41:29How you doing, sweetheart?
41:30She knows exactly where to go.
41:31Hello.
41:32I know.
41:32Nice to see you.
41:33Thanks very much for all your help.
41:35I'm sorry.
41:35Aye.
41:36So sorry.
41:41Raz could not have wished for a more loving family than you,
41:44and I said that in my card.
41:45I mean, that's the truth of it.
41:47We knew the risks.
41:48We knew that when we came,
41:49and we just, because he was such a big dog,
41:51we just wanted him to be on four legs with us as long as we could.
41:54At the end of the day, have peace.
41:56Yeah.
41:57Because you've done your best.
42:00Is the injection working?
42:01Yeah.
42:02Brilliant.
42:02Oh, it is?
42:03Yeah.
42:03Well, that's a brave light.
42:04Yeah.
42:05But when we're out of the house, particularly,
42:07her tail is much more right, really curled up.
42:10Lishka is still likely to need surgery in the future.
42:13Yeah.
42:14Oh, my God.
42:16But for now, Lynn and David are determined to enjoy life with her
42:21and have taken her on holiday.
42:24Come on, then.
42:24Well, we're in Portugal, in the Algarve.
42:29We've come over here with Lishka to sort of relax and have a nice time.
42:35So, she and that Raz is not here, but Lishka's here, and she's doing really, really, really well.
42:41Come on, Lishka, Lizzie.
42:42Come on, Lishka.
42:43Lishka.
42:43It's been two months since her last steroid injection.
42:48She's in and out of the sea.
42:49She's rolling in the sand.
42:51She's doing all the things that a dog can do.
42:53Good girl.
42:54It's obvious that she's missing Raz because she was never without him.
42:58It wasn't a day that she wasn't with him.
43:01So, that's the next thing that we need to be doing is to get her up.
43:05And as soon as we get one, that'll be at the end of the story, really.
43:09We hope.
43:10We hope.
43:10At the end.
43:18Oscar the Labrador is back 12 weeks after having surgery.
43:21Noel has performed an arthroscopy of his elbows to check if the joint surfaces have healed.
43:30Please take a seat.
43:31Nice to see you again.
43:32Have you ever got the baby out yet?
43:33No, no.
43:35This baby is fixed insofar as it's possible to fix at this point.
43:41So, look, that's a really nice new bone.
43:43You see that?
43:43Yeah, yeah, yeah.
43:44It's effectively a new shape, that.
43:46Yeah.
43:46In terms of the arthroscopy, we can see that's a scar of fibrocartilist.
43:51Which is fibrous tissue that's laid down on the inside of the elbow, where previously it had been rubbed away.
43:59There.
43:59And that's present on both sides.
44:01Yeah.
44:02But he's fine.
44:02He's literally raring to go.
44:04I'm sure he is.
44:05Not a surprise.
44:06I'm sure he is.
44:07Come on, mate.
44:08Oh, hi.
44:08Hello.
44:09Hello.
44:10Hello, gorgeous.
44:11Hello.
44:11He wants to.
44:12Hello.
44:14Oh, look at that.
44:15Oh, hi.
44:15Apologies, Doug.
44:17When he's in the car, safely pop this back on him.
44:20Okay?
44:20Yeah.
44:21Yes.
44:21Now, what do you say to Uncle Noel?
44:24Well done, mate.
44:25I want to say thank you.
44:28We're just hugely grateful, aren't we?
44:30Yeah.
44:31Yes.
44:32Blown away by the generosity of somebody who doesn't know us.
44:35And, you know, we're looking at years now.
44:38Just, you know, having a dog, being able to go for family walks, all the things that we
44:42really wanted to do that we haven't been able to do, and have him chewing slippers.
44:49All the reasons you buy a dog.
44:50Yeah, all of that.
44:54Five and a half months after surgery, Oscar is at home in Chertsey, continuing his recovery.
45:00With their latest addition to the family, 10-week-old Joel.
45:05All right there, Joel.
45:06This is your furry brother.
45:08With Oscar's double leg surgery, recovery is a slow process.
45:13Oscar's doing well, given that he's spent most of the last six months of his life just
45:18in a crate, a poor dog.
45:20He wants to run.
45:22His body's not quite capable of it, but he's still his cheerful self and still very optimistic.
45:30In Wiltshire, three months after his accident, Corky is finding his balance.
45:40I don't think he realises the time it was gone.
45:42No, and it all looks very neat, actually.
45:44And his fur looks so much better now, doesn't it?
45:47Do you remember when we first got him home?
45:50It reminds me of a chicken being ready for the oven, his bottom, the way it was so bald.
45:55Today, Joe and Ron are letting him go outside without a lead for the first time.
46:02Corky! Corky!
46:04What are you doing? Do you want to go to the loo?
46:06Looks like it.
46:09Oh, very good.
46:12First one outside for a while.
46:13To finally get to this stage now where he's back in the garden, he's running free on his
46:23own, and it is almost like a miracle, really.
46:27We'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden.
46:57We'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden, and we'll be right back in the garden.
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