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00:00Many of the hardest-to-treat pets in Britain
00:02Right, it's hedgehog time.
00:04are brought to one extraordinary practice.
00:08Run by the man known as the Bionic Vet,
00:11Professor Noel Fitzpatrick.
00:14What we're going to do has never been done before, ever.
00:17He performs some of the most advanced procedures ever attempted.
00:20It's the smallest total hip replacement in the world today.
00:23This is a textbook result.
00:25Actually, it's not even in the textbook yet.
00:28As the lives of his patients and their families hang in the balance.
00:31I've never seen an infection take hold this quick ever in my life, actually.
00:35Noel continues to find new ways to give them a chance.
00:38Of course, we don't know if it will work.
00:39That dog is the only thing that even makes me carry on.
00:43Offering hope against all the odds.
00:51She wants to say,
00:52Hiya, this is my new bionic leg.
00:54It's just a miracle.
00:58It's the start of a new week at Fitzpatrick Referrals.
01:13Oh, another one.
01:15Teddy bears.
01:16Hello.
01:17Hello.
01:18Hello.
01:19Hello.
01:20Hello, baby.
01:21Hello, baby.
01:26Noel's first patient of the day is a fox red Labrador puppy, Oscar.
01:31Hiya.
01:32Hi.
01:34Oscar is six months old.
01:36In the early days, it was a little bit more challenging, wasn't it?
01:39It was like, are we ever going to get any work done again?
01:41Because Oscar just wants to play.
01:43Or what's worse was when you'd just hear the sound of crunching from another room and you'd go through, oh, there's a laptop charger.
01:51Matt is a musician and Iles has recently become a vicar.
01:59I'm planning a funeral and people have come to the house.
02:02He's a lovely kind of welcome and he's often a great, you know, someone's turned up on the doorstep feeling really sad and they see Oscar and he's just quite soothing.
02:11Oscar has intermittent lameness and the couple suspect he has elbow problems.
02:18First, Noel needs to observe Oscar walking.
02:22Tight lead, tight lead.
02:24Okay, he's very lame.
02:25Yeah.
02:26Okay.
02:27Just stand in here for me, please.
02:29Just here.
02:30This may hurt.
02:32Yeah, it hurts a lot.
02:35Okay, I'm sorry about that.
02:37We can see there's pronounced puffiness right there.
02:40You see that?
02:41Yes, we noticed that.
02:42Yeah.
02:43So that's really puffed up.
02:44Yeah.
02:45Really puffed up.
02:46That's fluid swelling in the joint.
02:47Right.
02:48His tail never stops wagging.
02:51No.
02:52And that's the thing.
02:53He's a Labrador.
02:54Yeah.
02:55Now, the frustrating thing is that Labrador puppies can be affected by developmental elbow disease.
03:00Okay.
03:01You hope it's not going to be you.
03:03But it is.
03:04Massive big deal.
03:05This is probably as bad as it gets at six months with that amount of puffiness.
03:09So we have to figure out what to do and we have to figure it out quickly.
03:14Okay.
03:15All right, big guy.
03:16Should we go see the girls?
03:17All right, Francesca.
03:18Off you go.
03:19Go on.
03:20Go play.
03:21Go play.
03:22Oscar will need CT scans and x-rays for Noel to work out just how bad his elbow disease
03:27is.
03:28Okay.
03:29I'm sorry guys.
03:30Have you got children?
03:31Two.
03:32How old are they?
03:33I'm one on the way.
03:34Oh my lord.
03:35Congratulations.
03:36So there's not enough chaos going on in our lives.
03:37Congratulations.
03:38You have a house of chaos.
03:39We do, yeah.
03:40Oh my lord.
03:41The growing family live in the vicarage in Chertsey with Matt's two young children from
03:52his first marriage.
03:54Jemima is nine and Noah is eight.
03:58Three.
03:59Yeah, we've got another one on the way as well, which is very exciting.
04:04Oh, he's so cute.
04:07I always wanted a dog.
04:09It's very exciting to get Oscar.
04:11The kids were delighted with the idea of getting a puppy.
04:15I loved him instantly.
04:18He was just so cute and so playful.
04:23Oh, that's when we can go in the plasma pool.
04:26I love that.
04:27You kind of have all these lovely hopes and dreams for being out with your dog running
04:31around and suddenly it's all, yeah, kind of not quite as we imagined it.
04:44We see Labradors, Cocker Spaniels, Miniature Dashens and German Shepherds, so it is really
04:50nice to get a much rarer breed through the door.
04:53I love him.
04:54Is it a Shishon?
04:55Is it a Shishon?
04:56Yeah.
04:57Is it a Shishon?
04:58Yeah.
04:59Is it a Shishon?
05:00Yeah.
05:01I'm assuming Shih Tzu and Bishon.
05:02Yeah.
05:03Shishon, Shisho, Shisho.
05:04Shisho.
05:05Oh dear.
05:06One couple who live with not one but two rare breed dogs is Lynn and David.
05:19They've driven 300 miles from County Durham with Raz, their seven-year-old Russian Black
05:25Terrier, who's already been seen by their local vet.
05:29So, unfortunately Raz has got on his left paw a growth and it's cancerous.
05:35Bone cancer.
05:36Bone cancer.
05:37Bone cancer.
05:38Raz's recent diagnosis has been particularly hard for the family.
05:42We've had an awful two and a half years.
05:44My dad was diagnosed with cancerous lymphoma two and a half years ago and then mum had
05:51a massive stroke and then we had seven months of hurt.
05:55Seriously, seriously, he'll think she died.
05:58We're hoping to have Lim salvage.
06:01I don't think we can watch him suffer.
06:03No, no.
06:04It's not like I've watched my mum.
06:05I can't do it.
06:07Hello, Raz.
06:08Lynn and David hope Noel can save Raz's leg and that the cancer hasn't yet spread.
06:15I'm Noel.
06:16Lynn.
06:17David, hi.
06:18David, nice to see you.
06:19Hello, mate.
06:20How are you doing?
06:21How old is he?
06:22Seven.
06:23Right.
06:24So aggressive, isn't it?
06:25It is very aggressive, yeah.
06:27Is that what you expect?
06:28Yes, it is.
06:29We love him to pieces and we want the best for him and if the best for him is Lim salvage
06:36surgery, we can have him for longer then that's what we want.
06:38If it's not, then really we want to do what's best for him.
06:41Well, first of all, we're not going to be doing a Lim salvage surgery if we find gross
06:46evidence of spread elsewhere, then we'll be having a very different conversation.
06:50Yeah.
06:51And that conversation will either be palliative care with drugs, full limb amputation or
06:58euthanasia.
06:59Stereotactic radiation whereby we zone in on the CT and zap it may be a possibility.
07:05We'll see.
07:06All right big guy, we're going to get your scans and we'll see how you do.
07:09Just slap that off.
07:10Now you'll be a big, brave boy and we'll see you later.
07:14Lin and David will wait for the scan results.
07:18Only then can they make a decision on Raz's future.
07:21He's going for a scan and we've got to wait and see because it's bone cancer.
07:26He's going to be fine because I can't cope if he's not so he has to, doesn't he?
07:30Breathe.
07:31Go to the pub.
07:32I know.
07:33I'm on the brandy again.
07:34I've started that off.
07:35I'm on the brandy big time.
07:39I know.
07:40I'm on the brandy.
07:41I know.
07:42I know.
07:43I know.
07:44I know.
07:45I know.
07:46I know.
07:47I know.
07:48I know.
07:49I know.
07:50I know.
07:51I know.
07:52I know.
07:53I know.
07:54I know.
07:55I know.
07:56I know.
07:57Oscar, the Labrador pup, is having CT scans to establish the extent of his elbow disease.
08:04Right, Oscar, please.
08:08Hi, guys.
08:09Hi.
08:10All right, so you'll know from the delay that it's not good.
08:13Okay.
08:15That's the humerus.
08:17That's the radius.
08:18That's the ulna.
08:20There's a massive erosion here, massive.
08:24That's as big as I've ever seen in a six-month-old dog.
08:28You've got three of the manifestations of developmental elbow disease.
08:31The first one is OCD, which is where the cartilage did not develop properly into bone and flaked away.
08:38The second is that there's too much pressure between the humerus and the ulna, and the ulna is crumbling away.
08:45The third is that the joint doesn't fit, so you've got elbow incongruity.
08:49Goodness me, yeah.
08:52Noel doesn't believe that medication will be enough to manage Oscar's pain, now or in the future.
08:58The bottom line is we have a collective responsibility here, either to do major surgery or to euthanise.
09:06I promise.
09:09Anything less than a state-of-the-art, I think, would be a mistake here.
09:13Yeah.
09:15I think we would need to know the cost of medication.
09:17We will need to look at that, yeah, absolutely.
09:21You can't make a decision.
09:22No, of course you can't.
09:25With investigations, surgery and other treatments potentially costing more than their insurance will cover,
09:32Isles and Matt have a difficult decision to make.
09:35If it's going to be thousands and thousands over the insurance, then we, I think we need to have a serious talk with the kids this weekend.
09:52Actually, Bozzie might be a bit.
09:54There's...
09:56I think we have to take him home.
10:09Because that made us a little fun.
10:11Absolutely.
10:17Oscar, please.
10:18Before Matt and Isles leave, Noel wants to discuss a way of helping the couple fund Oscar's desperately needed surgery.
10:29I'm sorry to put you through this.
10:31That's all right.
10:32You do not have to make a decision today, by the way.
10:35Okay.
10:36There is a couple of altruistic individuals that have said to me that if deserving people come into my life, they might consider helping.
10:43You are certainly deserving because you're helping other people.
10:45So, but it would take me a couple of days to reach out to them.
10:52We just haven't got...
10:53Of course, you've got young kids.
10:53No, I get that.
10:54I get that.
10:56Matt and Isles will need to wait a couple of days to see if a donor will fund Oscar's surgery.
11:03I don't really feel deserving of it.
11:07Well, I don't think there's any guarantee.
11:09Well, no.
11:12And if we, I mean, if we can't fund it, then we...
11:14It's quite devastating, really.
11:21It's very good to stay.
11:24Now I know.
11:25It's fine.
11:26One, two, three.
11:43Raz, the Russian black terrier, is having scans to find out if the cancer in his leg has visibly spread elsewhere in the body.
11:51Lin and David are waiting for the results.
11:58I'm so, so frightened.
12:04Raz, there's mum and dad, please.
12:06Hey, please take a seat.
12:11I know it's nerve-wracking for you out there.
12:13The lungs at this point are clear.
12:16Okay, good.
12:17The rest of the body, we cannot find evidence of growth spread.
12:20All right, good.
12:21That doesn't mean it hasn't spread.
12:22No, no, no, no.
12:23No, this is an X-ray picture of the leg.
12:24This thing is growing at a rate of knots.
12:25I mean, it's literally getting bigger by that day.
12:26Yeah.
12:27We are anticipating a median survival time of 11 months for this dog.
12:30What do you think about the liver salvage?
12:31I think that it's viable at this moment.
12:32So that's the best option.
12:33Um, that depends on whether you're an advocate of three legs or four.
12:40We're an advocate of four.
12:43Don't misunderstand me.
12:45This dog would actually do fine on three legs.
12:49We're an advocate of three legs or four.
12:51We're an advocate of four.
12:53Don't misunderstand me.
12:55This dog would actually do fine on three legs.
12:58We're dubious because of his weight.
13:00Limbs salvage is where you cut out the primary
13:03and you put in a spacer, which...
13:06..and looks like that.
13:08And it goes inside the leg like that.
13:10With the four plates, we've only seen one mechanical failure.
13:15Yeah.
13:16The risk with this is infection.
13:18Right, OK, because it's...
13:19Yeah.
13:20We've definitely lost limbs and we've definitely lost life
13:23as a result of infection.
13:26Lin and David must decide either to amputate Raz's leg
13:30or to save it by replacing part of it with the implant.
13:34If you want to save this leg,
13:36my best advice is that I crack on now.
13:39OK, all right.
13:40So you want me to proceed with the endometriosis?
13:42Just go.
13:43All right, that's fine.
13:44Let me instruct the team.
13:45OK, just give me one second.
13:47OK, guys, we've got to go ahead.
13:50End on now.
13:51As quick as we can to theatre.
13:54The sad side is that it's growing as fast as it's growing.
13:59Yeah, but we've caught it now.
14:01Yeah, but the prognosis isn't as good.
14:03No, no.
14:04Yeah.
14:05Yeah.
14:06He's a fighter.
14:07Yeah.
14:10Noel already has the components to piece together Raz's implant
14:14based on the CT scan, and he'll operate straight away.
14:19It's really important we don't cut into the tumour because you'll have seeded the local environment with tumour cells.
14:26I know from the CT scan that that tumour is growing up inside the bone to about that level, so I'm going to cut right up here.
14:34Noel must remove all of Raz's tumour to minimise the risk of it growing back in the leg.
14:41There we go.
14:42Tumour out.
14:43We'll pop that over here.
14:45OK, so we've put the dirty table over there, which is the table with the tumour on it.
14:52We've now got a clean table.
14:55Noel pieces the modular implant together to fit the length of bone he has just removed.
15:02He spends the next two hours securing the implant with screws and plates to the foot and the top of the forearm.
15:10So this is the position his paw's going to be for the rest of his life, so I'd better get it right.
15:15Alright.
15:19He's in with a real chance now of keeping his leg.
15:24Alright big fella, are you still in there?
15:27Good boy.
15:28Alright, let's go next day, thank you.
15:30Raz will stay at the practice for a few days to recover.
15:34Hello.
15:35Lynn, hi.
15:36Hi.
15:37Well, we've come out of the surgery, it went fine.
15:39Good.
15:40Raz has had the tumour removed.
15:43Great.
15:44You have my permission to have a little tipple now.
15:47I think put some brandy on you.
15:49Good, good.
15:50You have some brandy and I'll give him something slightly stronger on the opioid front.
15:55I'll be there.
15:57Alright, take care.
15:58Let's go.
15:59Let's go.
16:00Let's go.
16:01Let's go.
16:02Go.
16:03Let's go.
16:04Let's go.
16:05Let's go.
16:06Let's go.
16:07Let's go.
16:08Let's go.
16:09Let's go.
16:10Oscar the Labrador puppy and his family are back, to discuss the operation to fix his severely
16:16diseased elbows.
16:17Matt and vicar Isles who is expecting their third child can't afford to pay for the full treatment
16:27themselves. Hello Oscar. Right, the gentleman I was talking to you about who wishes to remain
16:36anonymous has donated the money for the surgery. We are so grateful. So what we're going to try
16:44and go for is to mechanically unload as well as biologically stimulate. I would cut the humerus
16:52in half, shift the weight over to the good side and try and use stem cells from bone marrow from this
17:00dog to recapitulate cartilage here by injecting it and gluing it in place. Let's set your expectations
17:08right now. It's never going to be normal. The risks are infection, fracture, failure to heal
17:16or failure for the joint to settle down adequately to provide quality of life.
17:22All right, we're ready to go. Unusually, Noel will operate on both elbows at the same time
17:30because his condition is deteriorating fast. Noel's going to look after you.
17:38You're under strict instructions.
17:43Hi, big guy. Thank you so much.
17:46Please God, everything's gone OK. Absolutely.
17:50Matt's grown up with dogs. I haven't. And I've been quite amazed at how, you know,
17:55we've only had Oscar four months, but how much a part of our family he is and how absolutely
18:00traumatised we are at the thought of life without him.
18:03The gift that we have been given is a gift that will hopefully benefit us and the children
18:09and the child yet to be born for years. That's just extraordinary, really.
18:16Oscar will have surgery later today.
18:18It's been several days since Raz had major surgery, successfully replacing a cancerous tumour
18:30in his leg with a metal implant. But Noel is concerned about his recovery.
18:36We've got a problem. Raz has an infection. So this is a recognised complication of putting
18:44a large chunk of metal inside a leg. It's not good. There's only one silver lining to the cloud,
18:52and that is that the immune response to the infection upregulates certain kinds of immune
19:00cells within the body. Those specific immune cells actually reduce the tendency for cancer
19:08to grow elsewhere. So that means that even though Raz has had an infection, he may live longer
19:16than what would otherwise be predicted without the infection.
19:21Noel talks to her about what can happen, and he certainly told us about the infections.
19:27But you almost put that to the back of your mind. You look at the positives rather than the negatives.
19:32Raz will stay in isolation while Noel and his team do all they can to try to beat the infection.
19:39Have you got a beautiful smile? Do you have a beautiful... Oh, I know he's right on my eyeball.
19:47You give me kisses right on my eyeball.
19:52Oscar, the Labrador puppy, is being prepared for his double elbow surgery.
19:57Noel will screw on the top part of the custom plate, cut the humerus bone.
20:07Using screws, pull the lower part of the bone towards the stepped part of the plate,
20:13insert bone graft, then inject specially selected stem cells and glue to try to heal the worn surfaces in the joint.
20:21First, Noel needs to explore the diseased elbow using a camera to see into the joint.
20:36I'm so upset for this dog. It's very, very unusual for me to see
20:42that degree of erosion in a six-month-old dog.
20:49Right, hold it again.
20:51He checks the condition of the other elbow.
20:54Give it to me.
20:58So this elbow is at a less advanced stage than the other elbow.
21:03Then he removes pieces of damaged cartilage.
21:09And then I'll just pull it out.
21:13Using Oscar's bone marrow, the team will extract specific cells to then inject with glue onto the joint later.
21:21Next, he moves on to cutting the humerus to shift Oscar's weight away from the damaged joint surface.
21:31A custom plate has been designed specially to fit Oscar's leg.
21:35Normally, I would never do this operation on two sides at the same time, but in this case, Oscar does not have time to wait.
21:44So you can see, as we tighten these two screws sequentially, we pull this segment of bone up towards the plate, and that means that the body weight is now going to go towards the outside of the joint.
22:01He repeats this procedure on the other leg.
22:10Oscar's extracted stem cells have been specially enriched and can be immediately injected back into his elbow, mixed with biological glue.
22:18It will take 12 weeks to find out if the cells have helped to heal the joint surface.
22:32Good boy.
22:34All right, let's get your tech-sray.
22:36Surgery has taken nearly four hours.
22:39Having had both elbows operated on, Oscar will need to be kept calm for a few weeks to prevent damage to the implants.
22:47It's early Sunday afternoon, and an emergency case has been referred to see Noel.
23:10My corky cat. I think he's been run over.
23:13Before we took him in to our local vets, he just wasn't really moving very much at all.
23:21And then when we tried to lift him into the box, he was in huge amounts of pain.
23:25It was almost like he was screaming, and that was, like, dreadful to hear.
23:30Corky, please.
23:32Grab a seat.
23:33So, um, and corky is...
23:35Oh, a baby. One year or three months, is that right?
23:37Yeah. Yeah.
23:38Oh, shmolly.
23:40And what happened?
23:41So, I went out, and he was lying on the patio, and he didn't move.
23:48And then I realised that he looked really, like, startled and not right at all.
23:54Yeah, so...
23:54I hope you can do something for him.
23:56Come on, cork.
23:57Beautiful, beautiful device here you've got.
23:59Yeah.
24:00A modified cork hanger.
24:01I think it should be patented.
24:02Okay, big fella.
24:05Hey, beauty.
24:06How you doing, beauty?
24:08Now, mate.
24:09Come on, mate.
24:10Jessica, thank you.
24:12You go down on the mat and talk to him, Mum.
24:15Now, you definitely can't stand up.
24:18You're just going to see if you can feel his legs.
24:20Come on, mate.
24:24Pull it back.
24:24Come on, come on.
24:26Yeah, you can feel it.
24:27Good boy.
24:29Your vet felt he couldn't feel his tail.
24:31It's pretty limp.
24:34Okay.
24:35This isn't...
24:36It's not good.
24:37I mean, we've got to...
24:38We've got to crack on.
24:40All right, big fella.
24:41Now, big kiss then, Mum, because I'm going to take him through.
24:43I'm sorry, sweetheart.
24:44Okay.
24:45I love you, baby.
24:47Okay.
24:47All right, big fella.
24:49Okay.
24:50In the box then.
24:51I'm sorry, sweetheart.
24:52I'm sorry.
24:53All right, cork.
24:54We're going to have to figure out what's wrong, mate.
24:56I'm going to try and get you fixed.
24:58Corky will need extensive checks, including x-ray pictures,
25:02to find out how severely he's been injured.
25:06Ron and Joe will wait at Fitzpatrick's for the results.
25:10Peter, do get out.
25:10That's not corking.
25:18Don't worry.
25:19Don't worry.
25:19They're in safe hands.
25:20I know, I know.
25:21That was corking.
25:22Okay.
25:26Cats do.
25:26All cats make a noise like that.
25:29You don't know it is out.
25:31There aren't any other cats here.
25:33It's the only one.
25:34There's others out the back.
25:37Two hours later, and Noel has the results.
25:40All right, this could be a lot worse.
25:44It could be a lot worse.
25:45It could be worse.
25:45It could be worse.
25:46So the bottom of the pelvis is crushed.
25:48The top of the pelvis is separated and shunted forwards.
25:51Okay.
25:53Corky's tail is particularly badly damaged.
25:56We can see that the tail is fractured.
25:58Oh, yes.
25:59Completely.
26:00Now, the chances of the nerves that are going down here, surviving that amount of pull.
26:05You look good.
26:06Now, that could affect the ability to urinate.
26:11Noel could mend the fracture, but the feeling in Corky's tail may never return.
26:17My advice at this point would be take the tail off and at least not have to lift it.
26:22Yeah.
26:22Music.
26:23Yeah.
26:24Yeah.
26:24Yeah.
26:24Okay.
26:25Okay.
26:25I mean, it'll affect his beauty, but that's life.
26:28Well, you know, that's life.
26:30That's life.
26:30That's just the way it is.
26:31He's a boy, isn't he?
26:31Yeah.
26:32Small price to pay.
26:34Oh, I'm so pleased.
26:35Could be worse, right?
26:37Yeah, yeah.
26:37Yeah, yeah.
26:38Goodbye.
26:38I really, like, last night, I was ready to just say goodbye to him, you know?
26:42Really?
26:46Corky's not going to have his tail anymore.
26:49A small price to pay, really, losing his tail.
26:51Yeah.
26:52I'm just grateful.
27:08Corky, the cat, is ready for emergency surgery after a road traffic accident.
27:16First, Noel will fix his pelvis.
27:20All righty, here we go.
27:22He'll use a screw pinned through the pelvis onto the sacrum bone at the base of the spine
27:27to hold it in place.
27:33He must ensure he gets the right alignment.
27:35You only get one shot at this because the bones are very, very tiny.
27:43As I drive this screw through the side of the pelvis, which is the ileum,
27:48the threads of the screw are grabbing into the sacrum.
27:53The ileum will be pulled onto the sacrum.
27:57Okay, so that's pretty good now.
28:01With the pelvis secured in place,
28:04Noel moves on to Corky's tail.
28:07There's a lot of hemorrhage in here, a lot of damage.
28:10Here we go, tail coming off.
28:15He amputates below the fracture site,
28:17leaving a little stump,
28:19then stitches up the wound.
28:23Okay, that seems fine.
28:25There's a little roof over the poo hole there
28:27to stop the rain falling on it.
28:29Job done.
28:29Let's go to action.
28:33Corky will be monitored closely
28:35to check if he is able to urinate on his own
28:38and to see how he copes without his tail.
28:42The cat's burrito.
28:43Good boy.
28:58Well done.
28:59Raz, the Russian Black Terrier,
29:01is being treated for his infection
29:03after the operation to remove his bone tumour.
29:06Good boy.
29:08The implant itself is working fine
29:10and he's walking very well on the leg, actually.
29:12But unfortunately, there is infection.
29:15We've been giving him antibiotics
29:16for quite a few days now
29:18and the infection is under control,
29:21but we don't know if it's going to be gone or not.
29:27Noel thinks Raz can continue
29:29his antibiotic treatment at home with his family.
29:32Lin and David have arrived
29:37with their other Russian Black Terrier, Lishka.
29:40So Noel's got the family today.
29:43Whether he likes it or not.
29:46Lishka is Raz's niece.
29:48This is the first time the dogs have been separated.
29:52Yeah, she's lost without him.
29:53Yeah.
29:54And he's lost without her.
29:55And we're lost without them.
29:56Yeah.
29:59Look who's here.
30:01Hi, guys.
30:01Hi.
30:02Hello.
30:03Hello.
30:03Hello.
30:04Hi.
30:05Hello, Daddy.
30:06Very nice job.
30:08Yeah.
30:08Yeah.
30:10Unfortunately, Lishka also has health issues.
30:13She's been diagnosed with possible lumbosacral disease
30:16by their local vet.
30:20Noel has offered to assess her
30:21and to check her for any cancerous tumours as well.
30:25I've got a video of her if you want to look at what's up.
30:28That's what she's...
30:30I need to go turn halfway through.
30:31She's really limping on her back leg.
30:43Yeah, she wants to sit down.
30:45Right, okay.
30:45Yeah, well, that's classical for lumbosacral pain.
30:48Let me have a clinical exam first.
30:50I'll get my helpers.
30:54Check on...
30:55Do you want to check on Raz, do you think?
30:56Yeah, I'll go and check on Raz.
30:57Let's check it.
30:58Yeah.
31:00Hello.
31:00You're not going out.
31:01Stay in there.
31:02Wait.
31:03Wait.
31:03Wait.
31:04Wait.
31:05Sit down.
31:06Sit.
31:07Sit.
31:09Right.
31:10Just checking on Raz.
31:11Probably won't like this whole time.
31:26Well, you'll be pleased to hear I'm not feeling any tumours.
31:30Just giving Raz some...
31:31No problem.
31:33There's no question you've got sciatica on both sides.
31:37You've got significant pain coming down the back of both legs.
31:41But you didn't seem to be in that much pain.
31:43You think she's in...
31:44She was yelping about it.
31:45Oh, was she?
31:46Oh, no, I missed that a bit.
31:48She's in pain, but she just doesn't show it
31:50because she doesn't know life any different.
31:52I would recommend that you have a dynamic MRI study performed.
31:56Yeah.
31:58I'm sorry that you're having to go through all this.
32:00No, it's...
32:02Well, if you take on the dogs, then you have to do the right thing by them.
32:05Yeah.
32:06Well, let's get her in the car.
32:07Come on, Lish.
32:10Lishka will have an MRI in a week's time,
32:12while Raz has his first round of chemotherapy
32:15to help prevent his cancer returning.
32:18Yeah.
32:19But for now, the family can all go home together.
32:30It's eight days since Oscar the Labrador
32:33had his double elbow surgery.
32:35Today, he's ready to go home.
32:38Okay, the elbows.
32:40Now then, you can see it's red raw on both sides.
32:44Poor mess.
32:45So that's red raw horribleness.
32:48Yeah.
32:49So this is the post-op x-ray picture
32:52of the sliding human osteotomy.
32:57This looks brilliant,
32:59and this is the best I can humanly achieve in 2017,
33:02but it could all go hideously wrong
33:04if all the screws were to break.
33:07So the one reason he can't run or jump
33:08is the screw breakage possibility.
33:10The second reason is the biological healing.
33:13So outside the front door,
33:15I'll be with you in two minutes.
33:17All right.
33:18See you in a minute.
33:20Now.
33:22Hello, mate.
33:23Hello, darling.
33:24There we go.
33:26Hello, family.
33:27How are you doing?
33:27Oh, hello.
33:28Well done.
33:29Really happy to see you.
33:31Good.
33:32It's just marvellous having him back.
33:35A member of our family has been missing, actually.
33:38The next few weeks are crucial.
33:41Oscar must behave himself
33:43as he recovers from his major surgery.
33:52It's been three days since Corky the cat
33:54had surgery after a road traffic accident.
33:58He's had his tail off,
33:59which isn't fantastic for any pussycat,
34:01but he's been very brave.
34:03Aren't you, Corky?
34:04Yeah.
34:04Hi, mate.
34:05You OK?
34:05It's OK.
34:06It's only me.
34:06It's all over.
34:07The good news is,
34:08today he's peed for the first time.
34:10So that's fantastic.
34:12It's just been freshly cleaned out.
34:14And he's like,
34:15yes, I will sit in the litter tray.
34:18You love a little bit of ear scratching,
34:19don't you, mate?
34:20Yeah.
34:21Yeah.
34:21Yeah.
34:21Yeah.
34:27Lin and David are back.
34:31It's about time now,
34:32I've run a bad luck challenge, though.
34:34Lishka, their Russian black terrier,
34:37is having a dynamic MRI scan
34:39to find out if she needs surgery on her spine.
34:43Raz is having his first round of chemotherapy
34:46to try to prevent his cancer returning.
34:49Good boy.
34:50Unfortunately,
34:50his infection remains a potential issue.
34:55The family are not very keen
34:57to have him on three legs,
34:58but when faced with death or three legs,
35:02most people choose three legs,
35:04and I think quite rightly so.
35:06In an ideal world,
35:07we would save his leg.
35:08We've tried very hard,
35:09but we've not been lucky,
35:10and that's the very nature of surgery.
35:12With both their dogs having treatment,
35:15Lin and David have an anxious wait.
35:18The real worry at the moment is Raz,
35:21because we don't know what's going to happen
35:22for the long term.
35:24I'll feel happy,
35:25even if we lose him,
35:26that we've done everything we possibly can,
35:28we've brought him to the best person in Europe.
35:31That's...
35:31You have to live with that, don't you?
35:34That's a good way of living with it.
35:37Sweetheart.
35:37It's a week since Corky had his tail removed,
35:48and Joe and Ron have arrived to collect him
35:50with their daughter Francesca.
35:54Obviously, he's going to have a few weeks
35:55where he can't really run around.
35:56He's going to have a harness and a lead
35:59and have to be kept in a cage.
36:01Corky isn't the absolute prettiest of cats.
36:06He is a character.
36:07He's got very big, pointy ears,
36:09looks a little bit like a gremlin.
36:10So I think not having a tail
36:15might actually quite suit him.
36:17Yeah, he's still with us.
36:18That's the main thing.
36:20So, no tail.
36:22No tail, no.
36:23Here you've got the amputation.
36:25I left those three on,
36:26because I want to just leave a little flap
36:29of skin here to cover the poo hole.
36:31All right, guys, ready?
36:36He's doing great.
36:38There you go.
36:39Yeah.
36:40Oh, Corky.
36:41You can sit down.
36:42Oh, Corky.
36:43Hello, baby.
36:44OK.
36:45So he's quite active,
36:46and he is able to walk.
36:49So he'll be able to...
36:50He's peeing and pouring fine.
36:52He's going, yeah.
36:53Yeah.
36:54And he's getting stronger each day.
36:56Yeah, he's going home.
36:58Yeah.
36:58Amazing.
36:59Have you got the rod thing?
37:00Yeah, I've got the rod thing.
37:01Oh, brilliant.
37:02Look at...
37:03Oh, I wish I had invented that.
37:07Oh, yeah, even soon.
37:08Beautiful.
37:09Wow.
37:10Good.
37:10All right, mate.
37:10Fantastic.
37:11Thank you so much.
37:12No problem.
37:16It's great to see him back now,
37:18and I'm sure within a few weeks
37:20he'll be back to his old self
37:22of running around,
37:23jumping and terrorising our other cat,
37:27Crunchy.
37:27It's nine p.m.
37:38Noel is ready to update the family
37:40on Raz and Lishka's conditions.
37:43OK.
37:44Raz,
37:45you've still got infection?
37:47Yes.
37:47In which case,
37:48it's not going to heal?
37:49Probably.
37:49And if it comes to Crunch
37:53and we can't get this leg
37:54to work for him
37:55because of the infection,
37:56then it would...
37:59You know,
37:59being brutally frank,
38:00it will be a decision
38:01between euthanasia and amputation.
38:03Yeah, we know that.
38:03Yeah.
38:04I mean,
38:04we were sort of coming down
38:05to the fact
38:05that it wouldn't be fair
38:06on him on three legs.
38:07He will be OK on three.
38:10I have had dogs his size
38:11on three, happily.
38:13If you got it down
38:14to the point
38:14that it was just
38:15a single-point discharge,
38:16then I think
38:17that would be culpable with.
38:18Yeah.
38:19OK.
38:19I think you should give it
38:20another four weeks.
38:21Oh, that's fine, yeah.
38:22We're happy to do it,
38:23but we don't want to do it
38:24beyond the point.
38:25And an amputation,
38:26when you're talking about that,
38:27is if it's more
38:28getting used to it
38:28and he's still on chemo
38:30and then he's got
38:30a life-limiting disease anyway.
38:32Is that fair?
38:33Yeah, yeah.
38:33That's all very valid.
38:36Their other dog, Lishka,
38:37has had a dynamic MRI study
38:39of her lower spine.
38:41So, I'm not going to drop
38:43any massive bombshells
38:44with Lishka.
38:46Right.
38:46Her major problem
38:47is in her lumbosacral spine
38:50where the disc
38:51in her lower back
38:51is completely dried out
38:53and it's squishing nerves.
38:55Mm-hmm.
38:55If we categorise things
38:57as mild, moderate and severe,
38:58this is severe.
38:59Right, OK.
39:00Unfortunately,
39:00you're really unlucky.
39:01Yeah.
39:01Lishka is likely
39:04to need surgery,
39:05but dealing with
39:06two recovering dogs
39:07at the same time
39:08is too much
39:09for Lin and David.
39:11We need the clip
39:13for an epidural, please.
39:15So, for now,
39:16the family have decided
39:17to manage Lishka's pain
39:19with a series
39:19of three steroid injections.
39:21And now we just inject
39:27the steroid, we're done.
39:30Very, very simple.
39:33It's very unfortunate
39:34that the family
39:35have two poorly dogs
39:36at the same time
39:37and we're doing everything
39:38that we can for Razz,
39:39but it's not looking good.
39:41Most dogs will manage
39:46fine on three legs,
39:47but the family
39:49don't want to have him
39:50on three legs
39:51and if this infection
39:52isn't controllable,
39:54then they may have
39:56a very, very difficult
39:57decision to make.
39:58Lin and David
40:15are back at Fitzpatrick's.
40:19But their Russian terrier
40:20Lishka is on her own.
40:26Unfortunately, Razz is missing.
40:28So we made the decision
40:30that we can't put him
40:32through any more.
40:33He's gone through enough.
40:35So we decided
40:36about a week ago
40:38on the Thursday
40:39that we'd go to our local vets
40:40and get him put to sleep.
40:45One of the difficulties
40:46was that although
40:48his leg was really puffy,
40:50he was quite happy,
40:51wasn't he?
40:51And when he came in
40:53to be put to sleep,
40:54he was really, really happy.
40:55Really, really sad.
40:57Not happy that we lost him,
40:58but we were happy
40:58with the decision
40:59that we made in the end.
41:00So, yeah.
41:01I've had dogs forever
41:02and you have one or two
41:04that was special.
41:07He was your favourite,
41:09yes, yes.
41:10Yes, he was.
41:10Yeah.
41:11Lishka.
41:11Lishka's mum and dad, please.
41:17Come on, Lish.
41:19You know where to go.
41:23Hey, Lish.
41:24How you doing, sweetheart?
41:25She knows exactly where to go.
41:26Hello.
41:27I know.
41:27Hi.
41:27Nice to see you.
41:28Thanks very much for all your help.
41:30I'm sorry.
41:30I'm so sorry.
41:36Raz could not have wished
41:37for a more loving family than you
41:39and I said that in my card.
41:41I mean, that's the truth of it.
41:42We knew the risks.
41:43We knew that when we came
41:44and we just,
41:45because he was such a big dog,
41:46we just wanted him to be on four legs
41:48with us as long as we could.
41:49At the end of the day,
41:50have peace.
41:51Yeah.
41:52Because you've done your best.
41:55Is the injection working?
41:56Yeah.
41:57Brilliant.
41:57Oh, it is?
41:58Yeah.
41:58Well, that's a brave light.
41:59Yeah.
42:00But when we're out of the house,
42:01particularly,
42:02her tail's much more right,
42:04really curled up.
42:05Lishka is still likely
42:07to need surgery in the future.
42:08Yeah.
42:11But for now,
42:13Lynn and David are determined
42:14to enjoy life with her
42:16and have taken her on holiday.
42:19Come on, Lynn.
42:22Well, we're in Portugal
42:23in the Algarve.
42:24We've come over here
42:26with Lishka
42:26to sort of relax
42:28and have a nice time.
42:31It's a shame that Raz is not here,
42:33but Lishka's here.
42:34And she's doing really,
42:35really, really well.
42:36Come on, Lishka, Lizzie.
42:37Come on, Lishka.
42:38Lishka.
42:39It's been two months
42:40since her last steroid injection.
42:43She's in and out of the sea.
42:44She's rolling in the sand.
42:46She's doing all the things
42:47that a dog can do.
42:48Good girl.
42:50It's obvious that she's missing
42:51Raz because she was never without him.
42:53It wasn't a day
42:53that she wasn't with him.
42:56So that's the next thing
42:57that we need to be doing
42:57is to get her a puppy.
43:01And as soon as we get one,
43:02that'll be the end of the story, really.
43:04We hope.
43:05We hope.
43:06A happy ending.
43:13Oscar the Labrador
43:14is back 12 weeks
43:15after having surgery.
43:17Noel has performed
43:18an arthroscopy of his elbows
43:20to check if the joint surfaces
43:22have healed.
43:25Please take a seat.
43:26I see you again.
43:27Haven't got the baby out yet?
43:28No, no.
43:30This baby will,
43:32is fixed.
43:34Insofar as is possible
43:35to fix at this point.
43:36So look,
43:37that's really nice new bone.
43:38You see that?
43:38Yeah, yeah, yeah.
43:39It's effectively a new shape,
43:40that.
43:41Yeah.
43:41In terms of the arthroscopy,
43:43we can see
43:44that's a scar
43:45of fibrocartilage,
43:47which is fibrous tissue
43:48that's laid down
43:49on the inside of the elbow
43:51where previously
43:52it had been rubbed away.
43:54There.
43:55And that's present
43:55on both sides.
43:56Yeah.
43:57But he's fine.
43:57He's literally raring to go.
43:59It's not a surprise.
44:01I'm sure he is.
44:02Come on, mate.
44:03Oh, hi.
44:04Hello.
44:05Hello, gorgeous.
44:06Hello.
44:09Oh, look at that.
44:10I ask the apologist, Doug.
44:12When he's in the car,
44:13safely pop this back on him.
44:15OK?
44:15Yeah.
44:16Yes.
44:16Now, what do you say
44:18to Uncle Noel?
44:19Well done, mate.
44:20I want to say thank you.
44:23We're just hugely grateful,
44:25aren't we?
44:25Yeah.
44:25blown away by the generosity
44:28of somebody
44:29who doesn't know us.
44:30And, you know,
44:31we're looking at years now.
44:34Just, you know,
44:35having a dog,
44:35being able to go
44:36for family walks,
44:37all the things
44:37that we really wanted to do
44:38that we haven't been able to do.
44:40And have him
44:41chewing slippers.
44:44All the reasons
44:45you buy a dog.
44:45Yeah, all of that.
44:49Five and a half months
44:50after surgery,
44:52Oscar is at home
44:53in Chertsey,
44:54continuing his recovery.
44:56With their latest addition
44:58to the family,
44:5910-week-old Joel.
45:00All right there, Joel.
45:01This is your furry brother.
45:03With Oscar's double leg surgery,
45:06recovery is a slow process.
45:09Oscar's doing well,
45:10given that he's spent
45:11most of the last six months
45:11of his life
45:12just in a crate,
45:14poor dog.
45:15He wants to run.
45:17His body's not quite capable of it,
45:19but he's still his cheerful self
45:20and still very optimistic.
45:22In Wiltshire,
45:30three months after his accident,
45:32Corky is finding his balance.
45:35I don't think he realises
45:36the tone's gone.
45:37No, and it all looks
45:38very neat, actually.
45:39And his fur
45:40looks so much better now,
45:42doesn't it?
45:42Do you remember
45:43when we first got him home?
45:45It reminds me of a chicken
45:47being ready for the oven,
45:48his bottom,
45:49the way it was so bald.
45:51Today, Joe and Ron
45:53are letting him go outside
45:54without a lead
45:55for the first time.
45:57Corky!
45:58Corky!
45:59What are you doing?
45:59Do you want to go to the loo?
46:01Looks like it.
46:04Oh, very good.
46:07First one outside for a while.
46:08To finally get to this stage now
46:15where he's back in the garden,
46:17he's running free on his own,
46:19and it is almost like a miracle, really.
46:22Corky!
46:32Scent-Corky
46:34Transcription by CastingWords
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