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00:00Go and see Uncle Noel.
00:02Superheroes don't always wear capes.
00:05So cute, oh my god.
00:07I've got a new friend, he's beautiful.
00:09Professor Noel Fitzpatrick and his team
00:12Can you have some nice eggs for me?
00:14Offer cutting-edge solutions.
00:17You're glad to meet and dream these things up.
00:20I dream a very little else.
00:22To help save the nation's pets.
00:24This has to be done within the next 48 hours.
00:26Coming through.
00:27Please be okay, please be fixable.
00:30You only get one chance at this.
00:31I just have to hope my best is good enough.
00:34Come on, you're a trooper, you'll be okay.
00:36Transforming the world for families.
00:39What have we got here?
00:41One animal at a time.
00:43That's crazy.
00:45He is just back to living his best life.
00:48You've got Superdog.
00:49He told me modestly that it was technology
00:51but it was so much more than that.
00:53You're cute.
00:54He'd worked a miracle.
00:55Now, it's me.
00:56Yeah?
00:57It's going to be alright.
01:04Hello.
01:05Hi.
01:06You're very beautiful, aren't you?
01:09You can have so much fun just like observing a cat
01:12and looking at what they do.
01:14They're really funny.
01:16I love cats for their independence but also that they love you on their terms.
01:22If they choose you, then you are the chosen one.
01:25We can just chill all day, can't we mate?
01:28But if not, then they're like, oh, go away.
01:31There's definitely an arrogance to cats.
01:34If you're going to be jealous, then I'm going to see other cats.
01:37Some cats think they're lions inside.
01:41Not knowing their limits definitely is the bit that gets them into the most sort of trouble.
01:47I bet you're really hungry.
01:50Cassie and Ashley have brought in their adventurous climber, Oz.
01:55They're here to see if Noel can save his hind leg.
01:59He's recovering from a fracture and a dislocation to his left rear leg.
02:04The injury actually occurred just before Christmas.
02:07So, yeah, it's been over six months now.
02:10Oz broke his ankle, falling from a great height.
02:16He loves climbing the tree outside, doesn't he?
02:18He just runs.
02:19He'll run from upstairs all the way out the door, up the tree
02:22and then just be hugging the tree for a while.
02:25I was like, I'm up the tree now, but look at me.
02:28Yeah, he's really playful.
02:30Yeah, he's very bendy, very floppy.
02:32Do you know what I mean?
02:33You could walk into the front of me in the one day and he's just sort of like
02:35completely bent over like he's just broken his whole body.
02:39Or he's like, lay on his bed like this, legs open, paws like that.
02:44Yeah.
02:45He's hilarious.
02:47Oh, look at you!
02:48Oz is very cuddly.
02:50Yeah, he just loves you more because you probably do give him more attention, don't you?
02:55Yes.
02:58Oz is not a house cat.
03:01He's definitely an outside cat.
03:03When we don't see him outside, he probably gets up to most naughty things cats do.
03:08But Oz's escapades have got him into more trouble than he bargained for.
03:13One night when we hear Oz come into the house, he was just almost constantly crying.
03:20So you could tell he was in a lot of pain.
03:22Meow!
03:24Our primary vet that we saw, they took the x-ray.
03:30And unfortunately it was a serious fracture of basically his cat ankle and also dislocation as well.
03:40Their local vet tried to fuse Oz's ankle joint, but unfortunately the procedure didn't work.
03:46Cassie and Ashley thought they had no other option but to amputate until a chance encounter with Noel.
03:53I met Noel at a Howie Stiles gig.
03:56Down through the years music has always been my therapy.
04:02I try to get to a gig as often as I can because it really helps me cope with the stresses of what I do.
04:11When I actually saw him after the gig, it was quite surreal actually meeting him.
04:17It was incredible serendipity that I bumped into Cassie and Ashley.
04:21We happened to mention that our cat's having his leg off and he's like,
04:24no, wait a minute, make sure you send me a video of him walking.
04:29And he just said we were meant to have met him.
04:32Noel told Ashley and Cassie he'd see if there's anything that could be done to repair Oz's ankle to try to save his leg.
04:39Hi guys, sorry about the delay, come on in.
04:42That's all right.
04:43Now, hi mate, you're gorgeous, aren't you?
04:46He's been so good on the way down.
04:48Yeah, do you want to have a wander?
04:50Come on then, have a wander, that's it.
04:53Yeah, so it's pretty much like the video you showed me.
04:56Yes Ozzy, he's a beautiful cat, isn't he?
04:59He is gorgeous, yeah.
05:01I have two upstairs I was telling you about and they're, they're, well, they're the light of my life.
05:07Come here mate, I need to look at you.
05:10You can't go out there, that's the big bad world.
05:12You can't go out in the big bad world.
05:14I'm going to bring him through and we're going to take the initial images.
05:19Noel will need new x-ray pictures.
05:22This is the tibiotarsal joint, which is the joint between the tibia and the tarsus.
05:28So if we look at the initial x-ray picture that was taken immediately after the injury.
05:33This is the tibia, shunted out the back and a bit of the talus is taken with it as are fractures of the bottom part of the fibula.
05:43And that's an acute trauma, which is probably simultaneous twisting and impact.
05:50Is he a climber?
05:51Yes.
05:52Right.
05:53So that's, that is probably what's happened then.
05:55Yeah.
05:56It's a very, very serious injury in humans and in animals.
05:59Yeah.
06:00Their local vets attempt to fuse Oz's ankle with an external frame failed, leaving Oz in significant pain.
06:07What you've got now, given that that's taken off, is still a dramatically unstable ankle, which can't work because there's got no cartilage.
06:16Yeah.
06:17But it's not fused.
06:18So it's grating bone on bone.
06:20Right.
06:21And he's never going to put that down.
06:22Yeah.
06:23Because it hurts.
06:24It's not necessary to amputate this leg because we can all see it's got a nerve supply and a blood supply.
06:29Yeah.
06:30Like in all things, most problems have solutions.
06:33Mm-hmm.
06:34Yeah.
06:35If Oz could thank you, I think he definitely would.
06:36Let's get the x-ray pictures first.
06:39Once he has the new images, Noel can assess the extent of the damage to Oz's leg.
06:46All right, this is what we've got with regard to the x-ray picture now.
06:52You can see that this is dramatically worn away.
06:55Yeah.
06:56And the reason for that is it's tried to make a false joint there.
06:59Right.
07:00Right.
07:01Because it did not fuse.
07:03So to save this leg, what needs to happen is that this needs to be drilled out and significant amounts of graft need to be put in there, which would mean taking the top off here and here.
07:15Unfortunately, cats don't need to wear a belt, so this bit isn't needed.
07:20Yeah.
07:21There's only two ways to go, take the leg off or fuse it.
07:25Yeah.
07:26That's it, because you can't leave it like that.
07:28Yeah.
07:29Yeah.
07:30If he does have a fused leg, he can do lots of things.
07:33Absolutely.
07:34He can effectively run like normal.
07:35Well, I think we've already said.
07:36We've got to do it.
07:37Yeah.
07:38We'll do it.
07:39It just means he can't dance so well, but other than that, it's okay.
07:43Risks are blood supply and nerve supply to the foot.
07:46It's possible that they could be damaged or they could be in the wrong place.
07:49Yeah.
07:50If it goes hideously wrong, then amputation is your fall back position.
07:54Yeah.
07:55Well, I'm very glad that I can help you.
07:57Yes, I will.
07:59Well, I mean, what are the chances?
08:02Not high.
08:03Yeah, exactly.
08:04Not high.
08:05Well, he'll get cuddles in that one.
08:07I already cuddled him.
08:08He's so sweet.
08:09We had a picture together.
08:10It was beautiful.
08:11Yeah.
08:12I said to him, can I have a selfie?
08:14He said, fix me first, mate.
08:16Fix me first.
08:17Noel wastes no time and takes Oz straight to surgery.
08:21We'll definitely be thinking about him all the way home.
08:24When he said, oh, we're going to start doing it now,
08:26his heart sinks a bit.
08:28Yeah.
08:29But I think the outcome will be the best for him if it does save his leg.
08:34Incision.
08:36First, Noel requires bone graft,
08:39so he chops off the front of the wings of Oz's pelvis
08:42and places them in a bone grinder.
08:45Then we have all this graft that we can put into the tibiotarsal joint.
08:52He cuts through the skin to access the ankle joint.
08:55Sadly, this scar tissue has displaced the blood vessels somewhat.
09:00But the previous ankle surgery is causing Noel a problem.
09:04He cuts through the blood vessels.
09:05Unfortunately, that very important blood vessel is stuck to fibrous tissue.
09:09If I damage that, the back of this foot will rot away.
09:14It's just a tiny bit bigger than a human hair.
09:17And it's right in the way.
09:19Everybody quiet.
09:20Zero movement, please.
09:21And we take the bone graft that I harvested from the pelvis.
09:34We pack it into that hole.
09:36Slide this plate up on the tibia like so, underneath the muscle.
09:42And I have to be super careful because it's going to need to go in the position that I do not normally put it in.
09:49Holding the plate and bone in alignment requires considerable force.
09:55And I made a bump in it right here where the blood vessel can go underneath.
10:09Just dislocated my thumb.
10:12Now it's Noel that's in need of medical attention.
10:19I just popped it back in.
10:23It's only happened once before.
10:33So when you hold something really tight, it just pops.
10:38Despite the pain, Noel carries on and finishes Oz's surgery.
10:42So by comparison with the normal plate, there's a bump to make a bridge over running water, as it were.
10:48Hopefully the blood supply and the nerve supply to the foot will hold up okay.
10:53Hopefully things will settle gradually.
10:57Oh, hello.
10:58Hello.
10:59It's like Piccadilly Circus.
11:00Yeah.
11:01It's so exciting, isn't it?
11:02Good boy.
11:03Very good boy.
11:04Good boy.
11:05Oh, kisses.
11:06Are you a man's man?
11:07I'll ring you tonight.
11:08Thanks, darling.
11:09Take care.
11:10See you later.
11:11Bye.
11:12The team at Fitzpatrick's is on call 24-7.
11:13Mommy's there.
11:14Mommy's there.
11:15Mommy's there.
11:16Mommy's there.
11:17It's 20 past nine and an emergency has arrived.
11:20Apparently it's a Labrador with a broken spine and it's a bank holiday weekend on a Sunday night and unfortunately nobody in the north of England is available and nobody in the south of England is available.
11:35So we're available.
11:50Come, come, come.
11:52Sarah has driven three and a half hours from Nottingham with eight-month-old Labrador puppy Ollie after he was hit by a car.
12:00All right, you can come with me. Ruben and I have him. Come on, Ollie. It's fine.
12:04It's fine.
12:05It's fine, buddy.
12:06Good boy.
12:07Come on in.
12:08Okay.
12:09Please talk to him and comfort him.
12:13Yeah.
12:14Tell me what happened.
12:15He got out of the house, the gate.
12:18Yeah.
12:19And he ran into the road and got hit by a car.
12:22I'm just going to squeeze his foot to see can you feel it. Can you feel that, buddy?
12:26Come on, mate. Tell me you can feel it.
12:29If Ollie can't feel his feet, it could mean his spinal cord is empty.
12:33His spinal cord is badly damaged or even severed completely.
12:38Come on, mate.
12:40Oh, dear.
12:41I'm going to have to do an MRI scan to see if his spinal cord is severed.
12:46Sorry.
12:47Once we get the scan, you would have to decide whether you'd operate or not.
12:56And I can't make the decision for you.
12:59I think we need the scan to give us a bigger picture, don't we, really?
13:02Okay.
13:03I'm very, very sorry.
13:04We're going to take him now.
13:05All right, so give him a kiss.
13:06All right, big guy.
13:07You're coming with us.
13:08Here we go.
13:09Good boy.
13:10Come on, big fella.
13:11When I first saw Ollie, when he was in the middle of the road, straight away I knew he'd done something very serious to the back end because he dragged himself off the middle of the road with his legs under him.
13:26Part of you also thinks if only he'd been a minute later or if that car had been going slower.
13:47All right, so I have scans and the cord, I would say it's about 90% squished.
13:59I can't tell if the cord is severed because it's still maybe there.
14:04That's where the break is, broken up between T13 and L1.
14:08There's a chance now that he is not going to walk.
14:12And that's not an insignificant chance.
14:19If he's going to recover, it'll take him 12 weeks.
14:22And by three months he has what he has for most cases.
14:25Some dogs can continue to improve up to six months post-op, but most people, most people don't keep going.
14:33I can put the vertebrae back together, but the chances of that cord recovering are not good.
14:42Do you want to ring the family?
14:45Mm-hm.
14:46Sarah and husband Stuart need to decide whether to give Ollie this chance or say goodbye.
14:57Stuartis Noel here.
14:59Hi.
15:00Yeah, I'm so very sorry that you guys are going through this tonight.
15:03So the bottom line is that the spinal cord at the site of fracture of the vertebrae is squished probably 90% of its volume.
15:15I have seen dogs recover from this level of compression, but the problem we have is that this is a very dramatic acute trauma.
15:25I have to be brutally frank.
15:27Either we let him go now or we try because we can't keep him as he is.
15:31So there is a chance he just might not be coming to the dog that he was before.
15:35That's right.
15:36And there's also a chance that the cord may not reinflate, may not conduct again, and he isn't able to walk.
15:43That is possible.
15:45So, absolutely, we're willing to open him up and try.
15:49Absolutely, if the cord is ostensibly not going to make it, then you have to accept that I put him sleep on the table.
15:57That's the decision you have to make.
15:59I'm going to go and check how he's doing, okay?
16:01Thank you very much.
16:03Thanks.
16:04If you'd regret it for the rest of your days, then you've just got to go with it, haven't you?
16:11Yeah.
16:12So do that then.
16:14But I'm not convinced, personally.
16:17I'm convinced about doing it.
16:18I'm just not convinced they'll prove it.
16:20The outcome.
16:21I know.
16:22I know.
16:28I think we've got to give that dog every chance possible.
16:32I just need to keep them moving.
16:33Yeah, yeah.
16:34Noel's team take Ollie to theatre for surgery straight away.
16:40Ollie is an integral part of Sarah and Stuart's family, and an important companion to their 13-year-old son.
16:47We have a son called Joseph, who's autistic, and he absolutely adores Ollie as well.
16:54They've formed quite a close bond.
16:57He's a little bit new, look.
17:00Then he'll get bigger.
17:02He'll be a big dog.
17:04Joseph, being the way that he is, a dog is almost like being Joseph's best friend.
17:10Because of the autism, it means there's no expectations.
17:15He's got another sort of living creature to care for and love, and the loyalty and bond between them is second to none, really.
17:26He will drop most things for a carrot, yeah.
17:29Yeah, you'd think he was a rabbit, wouldn't you, but he's a black Labrador.
17:33He's obsessed with them.
17:35Everybody that's met Ollie will agree that he's such a loving and bright soul that, you know, you can't help but fall in love with him.
17:46I can't imagine my life without him.
17:51Alright, incision now.
17:52Noel works to remove the bone fragments compressing Ollie's spinal cord.
17:57So we've cut down through the muscle, and we're now, we've now cut a window in the vertebrae.
18:04We're trying to expose where it's been squished.
18:07Oh wow.
18:09Holy shit.
18:11An exploded disc has released its pulpy centre and that's squished the cord even further.
18:19Now that might be good because if all of the compression's not bone, there's a chance the cord is still intact.
18:27Noel attempts to remove the mixture of exploded disc and vertebral fragments that are crushing the cord.
18:41My instrument here is going underneath its final cord and pushing down on the fragments that are poking up into it to release the pressure.
18:53Noel delicately assesses the damage to the cord.
18:56And now I'm going to touch the cord.
19:01I can't be sure.
19:03It seems like there is some cord structure inside.
19:08There's a chance that this cord could recover.
19:12I can't be sure.
19:15It's not severed.
19:16Finally, Noel places pins into the realigned vertebrae.
19:25Then covers them with cement.
19:29Once this sets, it holds the pins solid and will support the vertebrae while they heal.
19:36So, at this stage, he's in with a chance.
19:39We exist to give hope and to do the right thing.
19:46And that's all we can do.
19:58Everyone's just like, oh, we can get a toast.
20:00But really, really research it, totally.
20:03Very quick.
20:04Yeah, really quick.
20:05That's what shocked me with him is how quick he is.
20:07Yeah.
20:08They're only quick in the summer.
20:09It's like, literally, the sun recharges them.
20:11Because they're cold-blooded.
20:12And it's like a wind-up toy, you know, like that.
20:14It's like...
20:19It's early afternoon, and Noel is about to meet four-year-old Bull Mastiff Bailey.
20:25Give me something nice for your dinner tonight, I think, for a treat.
20:28Yeah.
20:30She's been referred with a painful lump above her wrist.
20:38Bailey was, like, the first baby.
20:43She's never had puppies, but she's just got that real mothering thing.
20:47And when I first had my daughter, she was, to begin with, a little bit wary.
20:51But we come to realise it was actually because she didn't want to harm her.
20:56You just wouldn't really believe how caring and considerate a dog that size could really be, of such small children.
21:07Lisa Jane grew up with large breed dogs.
21:10When I was a child, we had another Bull Mastiff.
21:15And my brother has got a Rottweiler.
21:19And, um, yeah, so we like the nature of a Bull Mastiff.
21:22And I just thought, my time has come.
21:25I'm getting one.
21:27And I saw her.
21:28She was tiny, and she was really skinny.
21:31And I just thought, oh, we've got to have her.
21:33We need to take her home and feed her.
21:35We noticed that there was something wrong when Bailey started limping.
21:45So when we got the scan results back, the vet said,
21:51it's looking like it could potentially be cancer.
21:56But he didn't want to 100% confirm that.
22:00We just had that little bit of hope, thinking, oh, but maybe it's not.
22:04Just never associated such illness with such a young and healthy dog.
22:14Yesterday, Bailey had a full-body CT scan at Fitzpatrick's.
22:19The family's back today for the results.
22:22Cheers.
22:23Nice to meet you. I'm Lisa. This is my step-dad, Stuart.
22:25Hello. Hi, Stuart. Hi, mate. How are you doing today?
22:28So it's a big day, and it's a big deal for you guys to take on board.
22:32I'm feeling a little bit like we've really underestimated this, I think.
22:38When we get the call for this, it's an immediate emergency.
22:42Right. Every day counts.
22:44Yeah.
22:45Because it is bone cancer.
22:47It is bone cancer. And that is 100%?
22:49100%.
22:51OK.
22:52This is the leg.
22:53So the leg is both osteolytic and osteoproductive, meaning it's eating the bone away and producing new bone.
23:00Yeah.
23:02It starts inside and explodes out, and you don't notice it until it explodes out.
23:07This tumour is 99% likely to be an osteosarcoma.
23:10Yes, it's very serious, because this tumour will have spread already.
23:17At the moment, the lungs are screening negative.
23:21That doesn't mean that that's not going to develop.
23:23It will develop, and it will happen in the lungs or somewhere else in the body.
23:27Yeah.
23:28Yeah.
23:29And I'm sorry to have to tell you that, but the median survival time is 11 months.
23:35I'm sorry.
23:37So option number one is put to sleep now.
23:40Clearly that's stupid.
23:41Yeah.
23:42Why would you?
23:44Full limb amputation is an option.
23:45It's legally and ethically tenable, and you can do it.
23:48The dog will have trouble.
23:49You'll have to support with the harness, and it's challenging.
23:52The next option is radiation therapy, which is entirely valid.
23:57The downside of that option is that fracture is likely in this dog,
24:03because it's already broken through the back.
24:06I don't want to risk her breaking her leg.
24:09No, no.
24:10Because she won't be coming back from that.
24:11No, no.
24:13And we don't want her leg to be amputated, so she's only got three legs.
24:17So what we tend to do to save the leg, if that's what the families choose,
24:25is an endoprosthesis that looks like this.
24:30The risks are blood supply or nerve supply impairment to the foot.
24:34Mechanical failure of the implant, i.e. the screws break or something breaks.
24:38The next risk is infection.
24:40The next risk is local tumour recurrence.
24:42You come back every three weeks for chemo for four or five cycles.
24:47OK.
24:48And that's it.
24:49Most dogs are walking on it within a week,
24:52and they're out of pain within two weeks.
24:55Usually they're very solid and stable on it within a month.
24:59It sounds like a very effective procedure.
25:02She's four.
25:04Yeah.
25:05Bailey will return in a couple of days for her limb-saving surgery.
25:09And it's B-A-Y-L-E-I-G-H.
25:12Very posh, Bailey.
25:13Very, very posh.
25:14I'll try to go for the feminine version.
25:15Very posh.
25:17The only Bailey I've ever had that was spelled posh.
25:20Well done, you.
25:21I'm going to be a little bit.
25:22I'm going to be a little bit.
25:23I'm going to be a little bit.
25:24I'm going to be a little bit.
25:25I'm going to be a little bit.
25:26I'm going to be a little bit.
25:28I'm going to be a little bit.
25:29Hi, matey.
25:30How you doing?
25:31It's me.
25:32Hi, buddy.
25:33Eight-month-old Labrador Oli is in recovery from an emergency operation to repair his broken
25:34spine after he was hit by a car.
25:37You're such a good boy here.
25:38You're a good boy.
25:39You're a good boy.
25:40Shall we get you out, then?
25:41You're a good boy.
25:42I know it's traumatic.
25:44It's been three days and he still hasn't any feeling in his back legs.
25:49So we've been exercising him a little bit.
25:54The problem is his spinal cord is not recovering at this point.
25:59I checked him earlier today and he could feel nothing.
26:02All right, big guy.
26:03I'm squeezing your toes now, buddy.
26:09Holy shit.
26:10Can you feel that, mate?
26:13Did you see that earlier?
26:15Oh, my God, mate.
26:19Wow.
26:24What was that, mate?
26:25Did you hear it or did you feel it?
26:28Did you actually feel that, mate?
26:31That's by no means a done deal, but my God, that's better than nothing.
26:40That's incredible.
26:41I expect that tonight.
26:43Love you.
26:44Tonight's a good night.
26:45All right, big guy.
26:46You stay strong.
26:48Well.
26:56The next morning, Sarah and her husband, Stuart, come to visit.
27:01Stuart hasn't seen Ollie since he saw the distressing CCTV footage on his phone just before the accident.
27:08I'm still getting over the shock, actually.
27:10I was in, I was in Kent when I saw it on the CCTV camera.
27:15And it pinged through on my phone to say there'd been some movement on my mum's drive.
27:19And when I went on the camera, I saw my son playing on the drive.
27:22Next to me, I see the dog bolt past.
27:24And then I see him head towards the gate.
27:29And I see the car coming down the road.
27:30And I just, I just, my heart just stopped.
27:35Just couldn't believe it.
27:36I'm absolutely devastated about what's happened and I just want to see him.
27:39I'm very sure he's okay because he just means the world to us.
27:45Here we go.
27:47Now, grab a seat.
27:48He in himself is, is doing very well.
27:51I mean, we're all in love with him.
27:53And we, well, he and I, I sleep here so he and I have cuddles every night.
27:59You like that.
28:00Oh, he loves it.
28:02Now, something very interesting happened last night.
28:05And that is that he did move both back legs for the first time when I squeezed the toes.
28:12Now, I will not be jumping up and down with euphoria at this point because that's unfair to you and unfair to him.
28:19To him, yeah.
28:20However, to see the level of response I got, I thought that was remarkable.
28:26And so, so the, well, so the bottom line is there is hope.
28:32I have no idea what recovery we're going to get or what level of recovery we're going to get.
28:38Okay.
28:39We're going to bring him in, see how it goes.
28:42Now, who's here?
28:47Hello, baby.
28:48Hey, you.
28:49Hello.
28:51Hello.
28:52Hello.
28:53You're a daft ducky.
28:55I love you so much.
28:58You've been through a big trauma, haven't you?
29:00Aye.
29:02But we've not forgotten you and we're not giving up.
29:07You're so precious, aren't you?
29:09The big thing for me was some movement in the back legs.
29:14Which gives us hope.
29:16I've got a million gravy bones waiting for you.
29:19And I've got a carrot.
29:20I am.
29:22You can see that smile, you know, it's still there.
29:25Yeah, it's still got the will.
29:26It just needs to fight now.
29:27Too big.
29:28You've got a very small airway for a very large dog.
29:30Four-year-old bull mastiff Bailey has been diagnosed with an aggressive bone cancer above her wrist.
29:37Noel is going to remove the tumour and replace the section of bone with an adjustable titanium implant called an endoprosthesis.
29:47First, Noel will isolate the tumour and remove it.
29:48He'll drill out the cartilage of the carpal bones and screw the bottom section of the implant into place using a forked plate.
29:57A telescopic rod slots into the bottom section and is screwed into the radius bone.
30:01Then another plate is screwed into the ulna and attached to the telescope using a unique linkage system.
30:07The pore is aligned with the elbow and the construct is locked in place.
30:27Noel works to remove the tumour as well as five centimetres of bone above it for the pain.
30:36bone above it for safety the more I sacrifice the better chance I have of
30:45getting all the tumor out the less I sacrifice the better chance I have of
30:49saving the blood vessels and nerves and the tendons that are going to move the
30:54foot with the tumor removed he begins the complex task of installing Bailey's
31:00new endoprosthesis so now we drill the cartilage off the joint every single
31:07bone every bit of cartilage next he attaches the implant to the carpus radius
31:15and ulnar bones using temporary screws then links the pieces together
31:22now we just stick this lollipop into the engagement ring flip it around lock it to
31:33the owner like so finally he lines up the foot to the elbow and using locking
31:38screws fixes the bionic implant in place we're the only center in the world that
31:44has this technology in a modular form which I invented about a decade ago it's
31:50got better and better since Bailey will be monitored for a week once she's
31:56walking she can continue recovering at home with her family
32:00physiotherapy and rehab is also important for recovering animals at
32:12Fitzpatrick's and for Labrador pup Ollie it's especially critical oh how exciting how exciting
32:24we're going to hydro yes we are now come on then Noel operated to stabilize his spine three weeks ago
32:31after he was hit by a car but his spinal cord recovery is uncertain Noel explains it's all about
32:38electrical signals ladies you have an electrical cable here thank you that's perfect so we've got
32:46this plug in the brain here which transmits the electrical signals all the way down to the kettle here
32:52if I chopped through this cable right now how badly do you want tea
32:57okay this is the spinal cord it's got your on the outside here which is the black stuff that's in three
33:10layers and on the inside it's got hundreds of thousands of nerves each of which has a coating
33:15of plastic which is called myelin you can see that the myelin is going to be damaged which means that
33:23the nerves are going to short out so now you've got the combination of complete tearing bending and scar tissue
33:30and that is why Ollie still can't walk and he still can't urinate he's not in any pain but he is in
33:40significant trouble still so let's get him in the pool see what happens thank you ladies so what the
33:48ladies are trying to do is stimulate the nerves on his back legs to talk to his head but unfortunately
33:57there is significant impairment of conduction so all they can do is continue to try all right let's see
34:04him swim please thank you the buoyancy of the water helps reduce pressure on Ollie's joints which makes
34:10movement easier encouraging signals to return to his back legs he loves it doesn't he has great fun in
34:21there because it gives him freedom Ollie will continue daily rehabilitation to encourage improvement and his
34:28vertebrae to heal it's pretty so loud it's been five days since adventurous cat Oz had surgery to fuse his ankle
34:46after a previous operation failed I wonder if we can sort of give him a cuddle it's all gonna be so different
34:53the last time Cassie and Ashley are here to collect him hi guys how are you doing I know come on in nice
35:01to see you come on in all right good sir you all right good now Oz is great but not out of the woods it
35:09is possible for Oz to blow this apart yeah if he were to accelerate and jump before it heals because it's
35:19going to take six weeks for initial integration ten weeks for this to be totally solid yeah all right
35:27Reuben we're ready to go come on in
35:30he's such a sweet cat he really is isn't he we just need to keep him calm in the cage yeah and
35:50actually when I cuddle him I have to change because my ricochet smells him off me and went mental the first
35:58time he's like you had an affair I can smell perfume on you okay I'm very glad I've been able to help
36:05you I mean what a wonderful wonderful serendipity it's been one month since Ollie was hit by a car
36:15he's had a CT scan to check how his reconstructed spine is healing but Noel has noticed something
36:22concerning we can see on Ollie's CT scan in the region which was broken that there's a bump right
36:28here encroaching the spinal canal about 50% so although I've succeeded in realigning the spinal
36:34canal unfortunately one of the fragments has popped up again Noel calls the family to discuss whether to
36:40re-operate even if we remove that static compression the nerves within the spinal cord may not improve more
36:48than they're already improved yeah so we don't know if he'll ever feel his back legs enough ever to
36:55walk okay so are you both prepared to proceed if it gives him a chance then I don't think we've got a
37:04choice okay all right we will do our best thank you so based on the planning CT scan which is in the
37:22computer program on the screen we can see that the bone we need to take out is right in there
37:28they popped its ugly head back up again and it formed this bump which we have now removed with the
37:43spinal canal free of compression once again all the team can do is wait to see if Ollie's condition
37:49improves we've done our best let's go to CT thank you no I forgot how it starts my name is oh no my name
38:09is hi-lo check-a-lo check-a-lo hi-lo hi-lo oh no my name is hi-lo check-a-lo check-a-lo hi-lo hi-lo check-a-lo hey
38:21it's almost midday Bailey is back after recovering at home for six weeks Noel replaced a bone tumor in her
38:36forearm with a metal implant and so far it's healing well but Lisa Jane is concerned she's injured her
38:44foot she has lost her dewclaw so her nails fallen off it has swollen up quite a lot we got some
38:53antibiotics and it still hasn't gone down I am absolutely shocked the dewclaw a residual thumb in
39:02dogs is not only ripped off but there's now an infection which could compromise Noel's efforts
39:09to save her leg she's really well supervised because of the fact that she is still in recovery we just
39:16can't pinpoint a time for an injury to occur we weren't expecting to go home without the dog I don't
39:27know I don't know where it's all going to end Bailey is staying at the practice for Noel to
39:34investigate further and it's not looking good hello hey it's no hello bad news the infection seems to
39:50have gotten through the dewclaw where it was ripped off and it looks like there's infection on the
39:56physical implant so what I need to know is what do you want me to do the options at this point are open
40:03it up flush it out take the limb off or euthanasia we're not going to get our leg chopped off if we don't
40:10have to do obviously okay well I'll do my best refresh 11 blade please I'm simply flushing the wound
40:22we're going to give intravenous antibiotics and we're going to hope for the best
40:25Oli is definitely one of my favorites I don't know what he has with carrots but it's just his
40:38favorite thing in the world if I have a carrot myself as a snack then I'll give him part of it as
40:44well I'm still hoping for a miracle for him to walk again but I know it needs a miracle he definitely
40:54is not a dog that wants to give up on life after two months Oli is finally going home every single
41:03person that ever calls me to speak about Oli just says how much they love him but obviously we want
41:10him home and we want him to have the best life possible yeah we're just so excited to see him
41:15Oli still can't use his back legs so to give him some independence he's been fitted with a harness on
41:23wheels the Oli trolley is great because it gives him freedom and the quality of life you're gonna go
41:31home now sweetheart yeah it's been a long old journey it's time to go home good let's go mate come on
41:38good boy oh yes oh yes oh yes he sure can he sure can he really can motor I mean he can run faster than me
41:50yeah yeah such a clever boy because remember his front end is as fast as a normal dog he's a different
41:58dog to the last time we saw yeah yeah well he's so happy you know that he can get up and about and run
42:02around for now Oli will need help expressing his bladder and press like so but there's hope he will
42:12learn to do it himself one day you're such a good boy he's gonna miss you so much if anybody was gonna
42:22question the decision that we've made to do this for Oli if it was their child or their partner or their
42:28parent would they have wanted to euthanize them or give him the chance at life and see things and
42:34and be part of something and I don't think a single person could turn around and deny the opportunity for
42:43life in South East London Bailey managed to fight off her infection and is now learning to use her
43:00bionic leg to get around on all four legs she seems to be pretty good today she limps but if she really
43:08was in pain we would know so she's happy it has been quite hard medicating her about six o'clock in
43:16the morning and she's not taking the tablets but Lisa Jane and Stuart have a few tricks up their sleeve
43:22it's been sandwiches cakes pork pies everything you can think of we've tried it one of the healthier
43:32options has been tins of sardines but she like she likes a cake yeah she likes a cream cake yeah I think
43:42the future is just to keep her happy with food and sunbathing sunbathing and we've made the right
43:48decision to give her hopefully a few few more months of good quality life at home in Nottingham try not to
44:00take me out with your wheels three months after his accident Ollie has surpassed all expectations
44:07he's not bad shape is he considering this is a good three or four mile walk and he does it easily he's
44:13able to do everything that he would do before for example he's come down to the brookies in the stream
44:17he's gone for his walk and in himself he's very content and very happy and he's reached another
44:24recovery milestone being able to pee by himself we were expecting to have to express him for him to be
44:32able to pass urine for him to then be freely doing it was a very big shock really to the systems obviously
44:40the ultimate hope would be for him to regain control of the legs whether that's possible we just don't
44:45know now you can see them they're just going going like the clappers aren't they yeah yeah movement
44:52there it's very special relationship that Joseph and Ollie have he's strong isn't he they are like
44:59partners in crime I think Joseph still is very confused by it all fortunately I think his condition
45:08has meant that he's very much focused on Ollie and what Ollie can do and how Ollie's going to be
45:14he's just got a thirst for life hasn't he completely yeah loves it
45:20adventurous Oz has also been given a second chance it means the world to have Oz running around the house
45:35again making his funny noises seeing him zipping around the house yeah making just made our house a home again
45:41so six weeks after his surgery he's still on a lead working hard to regain his freedom outside as it was
45:50Oz started jumping up on the worktop he's not done that obviously since before his accident so yeah
45:58you can see his confidence building every day
46:05we're so glad that we've had the opportunity to bump into nobody literally bump into him
46:12and if it wasn't for that we wouldn't be in this situation now which is so
46:17pleased that we've had the outcome that everyone wants
46:21wow
46:51Transcription by CastingWords
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