- 6 days ago
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00:00Hello, mate. You understand Irish?
00:02Animals from all over the world
00:04Ah, bonjour!
00:06Come to see one extraordinary man
00:08who's known as the Bionic Vet.
00:10High five!
00:12Yes!
00:14Professor Noel Fitzpatrick
00:16We only get one shot at this. Here we go.
00:18Noel and his team offer
00:20some of the most advanced treatments available
00:22anywhere. The perfect marriage
00:24of mechanics and biology.
00:26This is what we have now. A brand new knee.
00:28Oh, wow!
00:30For some, it's a
00:32last chance. It is a life or
00:34death situation because we cannot leave him
00:36like he is. I just want you to do
00:38anything you can for him, really.
00:40Sorry. As Noel
00:42continues to devise new ways of
00:44healing... You're going to be my own.
00:46Thank you so much. All good. All good.
00:48...he transforms the lives of his patients.
00:50Oh, that is just unbelievable.
00:52He's raring to go.
00:54...against all the odds. Boom!
00:56One small step for a dog, one giant leap
00:58from mankind. Well done.
01:08It's mid-morning at
01:10Fitzpatrick Referrals' sister
01:12clinic in Guildford.
01:14Hello, kitty.
01:16One year old Persian cat has been brought in
01:18after being hit by a car.
01:20He's a nice cat.
01:22He's a super nice cat. Simba.
01:24Do you reckon he was named after the Lion King?
01:26Hello.
01:28One of Noel's team,
01:30reconstructive surgical specialist Dr Jonathan Bray,
01:32is assessing his injuries.
01:34So Simba was hit by a car two days ago.
01:38Quite bad injuries to both front legs.
01:40He's lost most of the skin and there's some fractures.
01:46We are worried about blood supply to the foot.
01:48So before we anaesthetise,
01:50I'm trying to get access to her toes
01:52so that I can check her sensation.
01:58Good kitty.
02:00Do you want to come and get hot chocolate?
02:02Do you want to get hot chocolate with me?
02:04Come on, help me.
02:06Come on.
02:08It's a very nice therapy cat for 11-year-old Kian,
02:10who is autistic.
02:12If Kian's having a really, really bad day
02:14with his autism and the meltdown quite badly,
02:16Simba will lay on his head,
02:20or if Kian's hurting himself,
02:22Simba puts his paws on his hands
02:26and he just goes everywhere with him.
02:28And Kian won't allow us anywhere near him some days.
02:32But who were you now near you?
02:34Simba.
02:36What does Simba do for you?
02:38It makes you feel happy.
02:40After the accident,
02:42Simba was taken to his local vet
02:44for emergency treatment.
02:46It became apparent that actually
02:48with the injuries to both legs
02:50that they didn't think
02:52that they'd be able to save him.
02:54And they brought Simba in to say goodbye.
02:58At which point Kian
03:00obviously got very, very upset.
03:02Simba has substantial fractures in his right foot
03:06and the skin has been ripped off his left leg.
03:10We'll just see what's going on.
03:12The family have brought Simba to Fitzpatrick's
03:16as their last hope.
03:18He has got a chance here.
03:20Even if he loses a leg and a foot,
03:22he has still got a chance.
03:24And that's huge.
03:26So grab a seat.
03:28So we've got some injuries,
03:30but time will tell.
03:32OK.
03:34Left side is the worst
03:36from a skin damage point of view.
03:38Yeah.
03:39This side,
03:40I honestly don't know.
03:42At worst,
03:44we might loosen toes.
03:46OK.
03:47OK.
03:48I get a sense that the leg is intact
03:50and moving freely.
03:51Again, we'll assess that as he's up and about
03:53and moving around.
03:54But no, amputation's not on the list at the moment.
03:56OK.
03:58That's incredible.
03:59So we'll see.
04:00All right.
04:01I'll leave you to go home.
04:02OK.
04:03Talk to you, Mike.
04:04See you.
04:05The news comes as a huge relief for the family.
04:09Simba will be closely monitored over the next few days
04:12to see if the wound can support a skin graft
04:15and whether it's possible to reconstruct his crushed foot.
04:21I'm being told he's going to have no legs to this.
04:24So he's definitely going to live?
04:27Yes, darling.
04:28I might even keep both legs.
04:30It's an unusually quiet reception this morning
04:42at Fitzpatrick Referrals' main headquarters.
04:45But even in a crowd,
04:47there's something about Noel's next patient
04:49that stands out.
04:51He definitely has a bit of a large tongue.
04:54He sticks out all the time, constantly.
04:57He's not being rude.
04:58His tongue is too big for his mouth, basically.
05:01It doesn't do any harm whatsoever, but he looks cute.
05:04100% of the time.
05:06Where's your tongue gone?
05:08My name's Melissa, and I have an addiction.
05:15You all right, Snora?
05:16Good boy, Tiny.
05:18tiny two-year-old staffy cross tiny lives with melissa and her family come on a present
05:25sit my addiction is i rescue dogs and rehome them rehabilitate them with behavioral problems
05:32will you get down please we don't get anything if we jump up do we and send them packing hopefully
05:37to a really lovely forever home right one more no more the most amount of dogs that i've had
05:44in one go was 21 dogs and it was hellish melissa began fostering dogs four years ago after suffering
05:55a brutal attack while on holiday in spain when i came home it was quite a horrible recovery
06:02and i was giving up a little bit to be honest with you and and then tiny's litter turned up on the
06:08doorstep he was the ugliest puppy i've ever seen in all my days he had a forehead that we didn't
06:17think he'd ever grow into thankfully he's grown into a swan he brought me back from
06:28despair i'd given up i was able to care for somebody else that gave me strength
06:35he reminded me who i was when i couldn't remember and that's a really special gift to give
06:45sadly tiny has started suffering from problems of his own we'd go out on walks and then he'd have
06:51a bit of a limp when he came home the vet suggested that it was elbow dysplasia
06:55i hope that i can do for him as he's done for me because i don't want my boy in pain anymore
07:06now tiny please tiny
07:11what do you know about elbow disease already um absolutely nothing okay well that makes it easy
07:16we can start at the beginning that should be a nice fit so if that's an arse and that's a saddle
07:21basically the arse doesn't fit the saddle yeah in layman's terms so it's too much pressure going
07:27down through there and that cracks and rubs away so almost certainly if we stuck the camera in there
07:35we would see that there's no cartilage between there and there what's the plan so the plan
07:42is we take a ct scan to see how much bone is rubbed and then we do an arthroscopy
07:48to see how much cartilage is gone right depending on what the camera inserted in the elbow shows
07:54tiny could have painkillers or injections but it's possible that surgery may give him a more
08:00lasting relief from pain option one is osteotomy which is to unload him and shift weight to the
08:06other side option two is partial complete joint replacement in this case probably partial right
08:12though um and would that be both of them i suspect both of them yeah right okay every surgery has
08:19risk he could have an infection the bone might not heal right yeah but at the end of the day you're
08:24trying to do the right thing and get your dog out of pain yeah he means the world to me so whatever
08:29you need to do to make him as happy as he can possibly be is what i'd like you to do understood okay
08:36do you know how much trouble you were all he's concerned is whether mummy gives him a big cuddle or
08:41not yeah yeah okay my love um oh his elbows are screwed oh to put it bluntly you're in good hands yeah
08:57it'll be the first night i've been away from him but you know he's a he's a good boy he'll be all right
09:06he's he's a bruiser he's brave um but i'm looking forward to getting him home whenever that is
09:14the arthroscopy will help nole decide the best course of action for tiny's elbows
09:19as we move the joint you can see where the humerus is rubbing against the ulna all of the time and
09:27that's what causes the erosion you can see here there's some raw bone cartilage is completely gone
09:34and if we stick a needle into it just to show how hard it is because it's it's rock hard
09:42the inside of the joint is trashed but the outside of the joint actually
09:46still seems to have cartilage on it so that's a little beacon of of light all that there
09:53so uh it's a difficult situation because he's badly affected on both sides the thing is the tiny
10:00is uh is only two years of age i'm a little worried how an artificial joint's gonna hold up over time
10:09it's difficult this is a difficult challenge
10:16so at the moment what's going on my head is that if i did an unloading osteotomy then the body weight
10:23will go down through the outside of the joint which is still okay giving the inside of the joint a chance
10:28to recover uh and to not get bad as quickly tiny will have surgery to give him a chance of a future
10:37that's pain free all right mate we'll come back another day and try and fix you
10:55hey buddy how you doing hi mate how are you today 10 days ago simba the therapy cat was hit by a car
11:04badly injuring both of his front legs so it looks looks rather angry don't you think
11:11surgeon jonathan has been checking his skin regularly and noel has come to assess the damage to his front
11:17right paw john is going to do some skin grafting on one front leg to try and get that healing and he
11:26wants me to try and fix the fractured fingers on the other front leg it's gonna be challenging you
11:35all right buddy oh yeah now you want cuddles oh yeah now you want cuddles this is the first time 11
11:45year old kian has spent any time apart from simba who helps him cope with his autism
11:50you wait till he sees you he'll be climbing out of that basket
11:56hey guys how are you today the family are meeting noel to discuss surgery for simba
12:05hi becky hello mate how are you nice shirt i've got a shirt like that too what's your name
12:10keen and this is your friend i believe to help you through the difficult patches is that right
12:15isn't actually we've never i've never come across a cat that does what he does well what does he do
12:20um so when keen was little his lungs didn't work and he would just stop breathing out he could be
12:25eating sleeping and just his lungs would just stop and we'd just flatline but simba learned that
12:30when it was going to happen so he would tell mom when your lungs were going to stop that's amazing how
12:35old simba now seven but he does different things for you now doesn't he what does he do now when you're
12:40poorly um he just comes up and starts rubbing his head on me oh wow well i'm sorry to hear you have
12:47such tough patches but it's wonderful that you found a little companion to help you and i just hope
12:52that we can get simba through this i'm gonna sit with you actually because i want you to be strong
12:57for him now he needs you as much as you've needed him now have you ever seen the movie character or wolverine
13:04yeah ah there you go did you see that boom of light boom boom that's right so that's it yes so
13:13what does he have coming out of there um adamantium exactly my friend he's all over this you and me
13:21are going to be best friends he has adamantium pegs coming out of here so i saw that movie uh years ago
13:29the very first one long before you were born and i was captivated by that couldn't fight adamantium
13:34anywhere on planet earth so i had to go to a different it's only a fictional metal it's not
13:46actually real so we're gonna have to make do with what we've got for now which is stainless steel pegs
13:51if if we were able to put um wolverine's pegs up along the bonds then even if this bit was tiny and
14:01short we could potentially skewer it in position like so couldn't we how long have you been doing
14:07this for me oh good now now we're getting the grilling on qualifications uh a long time i'm
14:13actually not particularly bright i found exams very difficult uh i'm not particularly good at anything
14:21except trying to think of a way around problems and when i see a frustrating problem like the problem
14:27that simba has now i always think well why can't we do better than that what do you say to no for
14:32accepting oh no no you're very listen mate it's my it's my entire pleasure can we have a hug well done
14:37mate oh you're such a good boy you're such a good boy thank you so much i'll get him for you all right
14:44and keep the faith you're a good kid you really are have i got a key fob if you've got a key fob has
14:49anyone got a key fob are we locked in forever we just have to consider what the implications of
14:56inventing stuff here forever is we might go out this way okay hello gorgeous boy there we go
15:05sam's been looking after simba now mate look who's here all right buddy if you stand up kian and just
15:13hold it lift us there you go now there you are look who's here symbols there you go the family have
15:26decided simba will undergo surgery in about a week but for now they can spend some precious time with
15:32him hello you're a little star aren't you that's what it is
15:50whilst noel's cancer and soft tissue center is on a separate site from his orthopedics and neurosurgery
15:57practice the clinicians work together closely every day gone are the days where an individual vet
16:05can do everything so treat the belly as well as the brain as well as a fracture that's no longer the
16:11case that is why i've built a team of people that can do what i can't do in other words individuals who
16:18are extraordinarily good at the specific area they work in
16:21every week the entire team assembles to discuss cases it allows us to bring our specialists in
16:31soft tissue surgery together with our specialists in orthopedics to try and make the best decisions
16:37possible for our patients okay next stop today they are considering treatment for a four-year-old
16:44lurcher called kato who has a cancerous tumor in his jaw dog is bright and happy unbothered by the mass
16:52but he's got a a small cocktail sausage size mass just the base of the mandible kato's local vet
17:01attempted to remove the tumor but it returned his remaining option now is to have half his lower jaw cut
17:08away unless the team can come up with another solution so i talked about options um and said we need to
17:16know just how how extensive this tumor is well the other two options yeah just chop the entire mandible
17:22out so replace it yeah we talked about an implant and explained that that's reasonably new technology
17:32but they were interested in trying the dog is young so i think would be a perfect candidate for an
17:37implant a 3d printed jaw implant could offer kato a chance of a normal life
17:47one week later and kato is back with beverly and john to discuss the surgery the family rescued kato
17:55three years ago when we first got him he was very very nervous i think he'd been mistreated
18:00he was a stray so it was quite thin and um it looked like he'd been fending for himself
18:06what you called him a dustbin dog he'd eat anything and everything he's a little more discerning
18:10palette now but um the really funny thing is he absolutely loves bin men he gets really excited and
18:18our bin men come and fuss him on friday um and i just wonder whether when he was a stray perhaps the
18:24the bin men fed him or something i don't know but he's just got a real affinity to bin men so
18:29are you going to be brave we understand that if they have the jaw removed you may have to hand feed
18:37them um because obviously they don't have the same function and kato loves playing with a stick and a
18:43ball and playing with his toys so the option of having an implant would mean he'll still be able to do
18:49those those things but before the implant surgery can go ahead no needs to address a concern
18:56so there's a possibility that the tumor comes from a nerve the jawbone the mandible has a hole in it
19:02here through which a big nerve and some blood vessels go it may be possible to actually get rid of the
19:08tumor forever but if the tumor tracks along the nerve and is going further up from here towards the back
19:17of the mouth that's not possible
19:19kato will need an mri scan to determine the extent of the tumor's spread
19:32right what have we got
19:36wow i'm worried now because that tumor is growing towards the other side that's not good
19:42okay thanks there's good and bad news the good news is it's still very localized and we cannot see
19:51it tracking up the nerve okay the bad news is it's touching the other mandible okay which you can see
19:58there there's a small line of gray between it and the other jaw so i'm going to need to consult with john
20:06and the radiologist to determine whether he thinks that's enough margin couldn't that just be just
20:13be touching yes and then you take it away it just peels away but i want john to say because it's just
20:20touching will it leave cells on that that could come back yeah we have to be as confident as humanly
20:27possible that we get all this humor out otherwise it's all for nothing
20:43for now kato must return home got something nice for you want some fish skin to wait and see if he can
20:50have the operation tiny and his overlong tongue are back at fitzpatrick's
21:07melissa has asked noel to go ahead and perform the surgery which will hopefully treat his painful elbows
21:14today we're in for him to have his elbow done his left elbow
21:18and they're going to break his poor little leg and um and then they're going to put a plate in which
21:24will reposition the weight and put the pressure on his good side rather than his bad side
21:30and stage two will be the other leg um in four weeks time
21:41tiny is aptly named because he has tiny bones relative to his body size
21:45so we've got a specifically made plate which should accurately fit the contours of the bone when we
21:53go in here a lot depends on what this fella here does uh he supports the leg so it doesn't rotate
21:59downwards and upwards so basically if this goes wrong it's entirely your fault
22:04and i'm joking primary surgeon always takes the blame man have you got the implant for me please
22:15this is the plate shaped like a hockey stick as you can see with a step in the middle there
22:19the underside is flat so we have to be very careful how we position it if you get that wrong you get
22:24everything wrong just hold on noel needs to screw the top section of the plate into position on the
22:34humerus before he can cut through the bone
22:42i'm not happy with that it's gonna have to rotate a bit more wow it's proving very difficult to get
22:50this centered on this short stubby bone okay hold that again normally the humerus is like an oval in
22:58cross section this one's triangular and the apex of the triangles right under the plate
23:05don't don't go down don't go down pull let me treble check that relax
23:12still not happy that's very annoying
23:22okay so it's in the right position
23:24we've locked the top part of the plate down onto the bone we're now going to saw the bone in half
23:37so as we tighten these screws the bottom segment let go let go the bottom segment should just slide
23:43up towards the plate creating a step so the body weight's going to go down through the outside
23:50noel packs in donor bone graft to form a scaffolding into which he hopes new bone will grow and this
23:58bone graft was donated from a deceased dog the same as you or me can donate parts of our body when we die
24:05i think it's a good thing i think that every dog should carry a donor card when i'm dead certainly the
24:11living are very welcome to parts of my body that's for sure all right let's go to x-ray
24:16hello hey melissa it's noel how are you doing hiya noel how are you doing good thank you everything
24:24went fine with tiny oh superb uh a bit tricky in the middle but the plate on the post-op x-ray picture
24:30looks good done me proud well we don't know yet we've got still another leg to go but uh
24:37hopefully this one will heal well okay darling thank you so much my pleasure have a good night's
24:43sleep and thank you so much for looking after my boy you're a nice girl uh not many people thank
24:49me as effusively so thank you very much okay all right take care talk to you tomorrow all right bye
24:57what a lovely girl
24:58good boy three weeks ago a car accident ripped off most of the skin from simba's left front leg
25:12leaving him in too much pain to walk finally got simba's wound to a point where i'm happy with how
25:19the surface is to support a skin graft uh so we're going to put a what we call a free skin graft on the
25:26area today so that involves lifting off some skin on the chest wall
25:33dissecting free all of the fat
25:37and all of the non-skin tissue
25:43so we're really just left with a thin wafer of skin
25:46jonathan then makes holes in the skin like a pie crust to allow moisture out and to give it the
25:52flexibility to wrap to the contours of the leg
25:56we'll put quite a series of stitches all the way around the outside yeah movement is movement is what
26:01kills us the graft is secured in place making sure the hair follicles will grow in the right direction
26:08and then it's up to nature to take its course
26:12fluid and plasma literally moves from the body into the skin and that's how the skin cells get
26:19their nutrients over the next two or three days and as long as that's allowed to happen and it
26:25doesn't move it doesn't get disturbed then the skin cells will survive they'll make a happy home
26:30for themselves it just becomes integrated
26:32that looks lovely
26:38okay wrist is down to you little simba
26:42yeah there you go
26:43there you go
26:56Kato, the ever-hungry lurcher, has arrived for the surgery on his jaw.
27:15Because he's under the anaesthetic, he couldn't have any breakfast,
27:20so we treed him to a late supper last night.
27:23He had some roast beef, which didn't last very long, did it, Kato?
27:28After examining Kato's MRI scan,
27:30Jonathan and Noel feel they have a good chance of completely removing the cancerous tumour.
27:36You're going to get rid of that nasty lump.
27:38You are.
27:38A unique, custom-designed implant created from Kato's CT scans
27:44will replace one side of his jaw.
27:48We've tried to tell him, but I don't know whether he's understood.
27:52But we've told you that it's a necessary thing, isn't it, that we have been done.
27:58Now, this is your present.
28:00This is as close to state-of-the-art as we can get.
28:03This 69 millimetres of metal is specifically designed to recapitulate bone.
28:10It's the first time this specific kind of reinforced honeycomb titanium implant has been used.
28:17So this goes on to the back of the jawbone there.
28:21And because this is three-dimensionally printed to fit this jaw exactly,
28:26when that slot's in there, it isn't going to wobble.
28:29Please, God, everything will go fine.
28:30You know what the risks are.
28:31Primarily infection.
28:33The secondary risk is mechanical,
28:35but I think we've done all we can to avoid a mechanical problem.
28:37OK, big guy?
28:40Good.
28:41You're going to be bionic?
28:42Yeah.
28:43You're going to be bionic?
28:45Kato!
28:48Roisin, this is Kato.
28:50Lovely, lovely Kato.
28:52Hello.
28:52You're going to be beardless.
28:55Noel and soft tissue specialist Jonathan
28:58will be performing the complicated surgery together.
29:01The main thing for me is that you can get the tumour out to your satisfaction.
29:05Yep.
29:05I'm confident we can get the implant done.
29:08OK.
29:09Jonathan begins carefully prizing the tumour away from the healthy side of the jaw.
29:15The big question is,
29:17are we going to be able to get all the tumour out
29:19without actually damaging the opposite side,
29:23because it's got a lot bigger since the last time we saw it.
29:26So we're just going to put some local anaesthetic around the main nerve
29:30that feeds that lower jaw,
29:32so it's very similar to having a nerve block at your dentist.
29:36If this is what your dentist normally does to you,
29:38I go to a different dentist.
29:43So what John has done here is he's separated the tumour from the other jawbone
29:47and I cut right between these teeth here, which are called the incisors.
29:51Noel will remove the entire left-hand section of jawbone
29:56that contains the tumour.
29:57The anatomically contoured 3D implant
30:01can then be fixed into place using special locking screws
30:05packed on either end with bone graft
30:08and sprayed with stem cells
30:10to encourage bone to grow into the titanium mesh
30:14of this new half-jawbone.
30:17So that's the jawbone with the tumour growing in it.
30:19So hopefully we've got all the tumour out,
30:22there's a little muscle and tissue on the side there,
30:24which hopefully will act as a buffer between the other bone
30:28so the tumour has not spread.
30:31With one side of the jawbone removed,
30:34the implant can now be put in place.
30:36It's a sculpture of rare beauty.
30:38Bone marrow extracted from near Cato's shoulder
30:42is then packed around the ends of the implant.
30:45Finally, Noel sprays on stem cells from Cato's bone marrow
30:51mixed with platelets and clotting factors from blood
30:54and a man-made catalyst glue that will help the mixture to set.
30:59So this is the future,
31:00a three-dimensionally printed implant that exactly fits the body,
31:03plus the body's own natural healing system
31:06propagated to get the perfect marriage of mechanics and biology.
31:11That's our goal.
31:13Thanks very much, everybody. Well done.
31:17The cutting-edge surgery has taken two and a half hours.
31:21The 3D CT looks really good.
31:25You can see how the implant contours onto the mandible.
31:30It's very nice.
31:31Well, so far, so good.
31:33Now we've got to hope that the cells really help the tissue to grow on,
31:36because I think mechanically that sound looks good.
31:47Supercat Simba is being transferred to Noel's Orthopaedic Centre
31:52to undergo the wolverine-inspired surgery on his fractured foot.
31:56But before the operation,
32:00Jonathan needs to uncover the skin graft he performed four days ago.
32:05The moment of truth, my friend, the moment of truth.
32:10And either the graft will come off on the bandage,
32:13or the bandage will come off and the graft will stay on the leg.
32:17Pretty good all round?
32:23I would be happy with that.
32:25Yeah, that's all good.
32:27That's a huge relief.
32:29Well done, mate.
32:30Good.
32:31It's all up there.
32:32It's down to you now.
32:35My bit's done.
32:36My bit is done.
32:37No pressure.
32:38No pressure, then.
32:40All right, let's get the kit rocking and rolling.
32:42Well done.
32:43Okay, thanks a lot.
32:43Simba's metacarpal bones have fractured into tiny pieces,
32:51very close to the joints.
32:54Noel needs to realign these bone segments
32:56so he can pin them into place.
32:58I'll try and find the bottom part here.
33:01Give me a 0.9mm drill bit.
33:05So as you can see, this is tiny.
33:08Noel inserts metal pins through the minuscule pieces of bone.
33:13Dealing with these bones is like trying to put matchsticks back together, really.
33:24Oh, my lord.
33:25Is this a pussycat or a hamster?
33:27And so Wolverine begins to emerge.
33:37So this isn't in any textbook.
33:39I don't think there's any other technique out there that will be superior to what we're doing now.
33:44But yet, it's not widespread in terms of acceptance.
33:48And I think that that's a real shame.
33:50Okay, so we're just going to put a little bit of this bionic glue on each of the fracture sites.
33:58Hold that.
33:59Hold there.
34:01The team are pioneering another technique today,
34:04a newly developed gel with a bone protein suspended in it
34:08that should slowly help to heal the fracture.
34:10Oh, man.
34:12I love bionic juice.
34:19Finally, Noel builds a frame to take Simba's weight off the foot while it heals.
34:25So these are the pins that have gone up like the Wolverine pegs into the metacarpal bones.
34:31Meanwhile, we've held everything stable from the wrist down using this rod attached to this walking frame
34:38so that Simba can put this on the ground without affecting the foot.
34:43Having had two major operations in four days,
34:47it will be some time before Noel knows if Simba's legs will make a full recovery.
34:53I'm going to say you're missing your little friend as well, aren't you?
35:01Two days ago, two-year-old Staffy Tiny had the first operation
35:06to treat the painful erosion affecting his elbows.
35:10Come on, Noel.
35:13Stop being a superhero and bring us Tiny.
35:16Melissa and husband, Sarge, have come to take him home.
35:20I've been desperate to get here.
35:21I've been pacing around for over an hour.
35:24And he was late home from work as well, so I was literally clock-watching.
35:29And, yeah, I was running to the car almost, really, wasn't I, to get here.
35:35I couldn't wait to get here to pick up my boy.
35:40Get myself prepared.
35:43Now, buddy, who's in here?
35:46Hello, darling.
35:47Who's in here? Go down to his level now.
35:50There we go.
35:51No excitement, mate, no excitement.
35:53You've got to be careful.
35:54Let me come in there with you.
35:55Happy to see you.
35:56Hold on, Chef.
35:57Happy to see you.
35:59Let's go out into reception, because he's quite boisterous.
36:02Now, as you can see, he's using it reasonably well.
36:05We're going on the carpet there.
36:06Now, remember, although he feels full of beans...
36:09Yeah.
36:10...the reality is different.
36:11Yeah.
36:12The reality is he could break all those screws.
36:15Yeah.
36:15And believe you me, you don't want that.
36:17Oh, God, sorry.
36:17Yeah, do you want to get the car and just bring it up to the door?
36:20I think I'll get some sedatives for him, for you to go home with, just in case.
36:28Do you know what?
36:28I've never known him to be like it at all.
36:33Tiny head.
36:34Shh.
36:36Calm down now, chap.
36:37So these are sedative tablets not to be taking yourself, no matter how stressed you get.
36:41Okay?
36:42Damn it.
36:42I honestly think that once we get him home, he's just going to be totally zonked.
36:48Yeah, I'll tell you what, after what I've done to secure him at home, I'm either going to make a great dominatrix or a fab sailor.
36:55Oh, great.
36:55Okay.
36:56I'm going with sailing.
36:59But I'm going to leave Saj with the other aspect of that.
37:02Good lad.
37:03I'll take that.
37:04Yeah.
37:05Thank you so much.
37:06Mate, look out for yourself and keep that tongue in.
37:12Simba, the therapy cat, has been at Fitzpatrick's for four weeks now.
37:20Like many regular visitors, the staff can't help but become attached.
37:25It's the patients you see back week in, week out that you get to know really well.
37:29Hey, baby.
37:30They kind of become a little bit part of the family.
37:33Come on, sausage.
37:34You need to get waking up.
37:36You've nursed this animal back to health.
37:39You kind of develop, like, this love for them.
37:46I honestly could fall asleep so easy right now.
37:49I have no favourites.
37:52No favourites?
37:52Some favourites.
37:53I have favourites.
37:54You can't help it.
37:56I do have favourites.
38:00But that's not allowed.
38:03Do you have favourites?
38:04Favourite animals?
38:05I like pandas.
38:06I mean, in the sets.
38:13Hey, do I get a hug?
38:16Ah, yeah, buddy.
38:17Yeah.
38:18Well done, mate.
38:19For Kian, being away from Simba is proving challenging, so he and mum Becky have come for
38:25a visit.
38:25All righty.
38:26Do you want to see where he stays?
38:28OK.
38:28Now, I don't normally do this.
38:30In fact, I'm not going to bring mummy through because normally I don't.
38:33So you have to stay by my side.
38:34Come on.
38:34Here we go.
38:37Come this way.
38:45Simba, look who's here.
38:47Hey, mate.
38:49Look who's here, buddy.
38:51There you go now.
38:53Shall we lift him out a little bit?
38:55There we go.
38:59There we go.
39:00Hello, Pete.
39:01Steady, steady, steady, steady, steady.
39:05As you can see, he's very lively.
39:06He wants to walk on it.
39:08Good boy.
39:09So why don't you chill out with him for a little while?
39:11Just hang and I'll come back and see you.
39:13All right, buddy?
39:13What would you say to Noel?
39:14You OK?
39:15You're very welcome.
39:16How do you feel to be with him?
39:22Happy.
39:22Happy.
39:23Oh, that's what you wanted to lay down.
39:25There's a good boy.
39:27There.
39:28Although Simba is gradually improving, he's not yet ready to go home.
39:32All right.
39:39Who's going to do?
39:40Come on.
39:41I know, I know.
39:44So, so.
39:45It's five days since Kato received his bionic jaw implant.
40:06It may not be roast beef on the menu, but he certainly doesn't seem to have lost his appetite.
40:12We brought him all soft food in. We've not got any hard food. All soft treats for him as well to try and make it as easy as possible.
40:20He does have a really clever way that we've been able to inhale a piece of ham without actually chewing it.
40:26If you hold up a piece of ham, he just goes, and it's just gone. So, I think he'll be OK.
40:31I can't imagine what it's looked like without his beard.
40:36All righty. Kato's mommy and daddy. How are you?
40:43Nice to see you smile. Nice to see you smile. Come on in.
40:47Oh, you've got a white box. That's super kind. Wow.
40:50Look at that. Look at that. Oh, look at that.
40:53Oh, that's amazing.
40:55Did somebody make that from his picture?
40:58It was a photo topper. That's brilliant.
41:00And then I've iced it.
41:02You iced it? Yeah.
41:03Hidden talent.
41:05Did she make one of those for your birthday ever?
41:07That's pretty impressive.
41:09Thank you so much. That's super kind.
41:11And I will go and get him for you.
41:12Thanks.
41:16You're not going to cry, are you?
41:17No.
41:20Now, who's in here?
41:22Oh, hello.
41:23Hello, family.
41:24Hello.
41:25Hello, family.
41:26How are you doing?
41:28Good. So, as you can see, he looks fit.
41:30I mean, you wouldn't know, really.
41:32Apart from he's lost his beard.
41:34Apart from he's lost his beard.
41:35I had to shave his beard off.
41:36But that'll grow back, won't it, Kato?
41:39It was great to see him.
41:40And I think it was great for him to see us as well.
41:44He seemed excited.
41:45Can I have a kiss-kiss?
41:46Are you going to forgive us for what we've done to you?
41:50There's a few little worries that we have.
41:51Whether the skin heals back to the implant and whether he gets an infection.
41:57But we're keeping our fingers crossed.
42:00And hopefully it will all go well.
42:02We're going home now.
42:03We are.
42:07Come on, then.
42:08It's a little bit sad because I was almost hoping he'd run off into the sunset.
42:29And because he's such a mummy's boy, he's sort of stuck to my side anyway.
42:35Come on.
42:37Come on.
42:38Come on, then.
42:39He absolutely loves his life now.
42:43You can see it in his face.
42:44Totally different dog.
42:46Are you good boys?
42:47It's hard.
42:48Come on, then.
42:50Well, no, he's just brilliant, isn't he?
42:53Come on.
42:53He's got my dog, who I adore, out of pain, and you can't get better than that.
42:59Come on.
43:10All right, Simba.
43:12It's time to go home.
43:14Therapy cat Simba has spent two months at Fitzpatrick's
43:18after the car accident that devastated his front legs.
43:22Here he is.
43:25Hello.
43:26Hey, Simba.
43:27Look who it is.
43:29It's finally time to go home to continue his recovery with best friend Kian and the family.
43:35I don't think any of us ever, ever, ever dreamed he could survive this.
43:41And here he is, happy and smiling and purring and...
43:45Oh.
43:46Coming home, darling.
43:47Oh.
43:52Simba will need to return for a check-up to see if his paw, held together with Noel's wolverine pins, has fully healed.
44:06It's five months since Kato had the tumour removed from his jaw.
44:10What's that?
44:11What have you got to do?
44:12Good boy.
44:13Do you like it?
44:13I'm going to have some ham.
44:14You don't like ham, do you?
44:15I'm going to have some ham.
44:16The insatiable lurcher's new bionic implant is making fast work of anything that comes his way.
44:23He is a bit more messy now.
44:26He tends to drop it all over the kitchen and bits fall out of the side where he hasn't got any teeth.
44:32Oh, you've got it all down the side of your mouth.
44:34And that's when he shakes, his tongue comes out and sometimes showers us a little bit.
44:40But we don't mind that, do we, eh?
44:42We don't mind a little bit of dog spit.
44:45That's very cute.
44:46For a while, I think we sort of thought, what have we done?
44:49And should we have, you know, should we have done it?
44:52I think him coping with it helped us cope with it, really.
44:55Kato, what about football?
44:57I don't even think now he's aware that anything's different.
45:00He's just a completely happy, bonkers dog.
45:03Yeah, we're at the forefront of veterinary medicine.
45:08But at the end of the day, we've got our dog and he's going to live for as long as he should live.
45:13So that's what really matters.
45:15The good boy.
45:21It's been seven months since Simba the super cat was hit by a car.
45:26Simba, come on.
45:28Simba's doing really well now.
45:29He's running around.
45:30He's taking him to bed as he used to.
45:32So his hair's all grown back.
45:34There's no scars anywhere.
45:37Simba!
45:40And it's so nice to see Kian and Simba back together because the difference Simba makes in Kian's life is huge.
45:48It was very difficult without him.
45:51It just didn't feel safe.
45:56It's probably the best feeling ever, having him home.
46:03Other cats would have given up.
46:05But Simba just has patience and the will to live.
46:09And I never lost faith in him.
46:11He's my best friend.
46:15No one can replace him.
46:16He's the best friend.
46:16He's the best cat in the world.
46:19He's the best friend.
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