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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'm on the brandy again.
07:40I don't know.
07:41I'm on the brandy again.
07:43I know.
07:44Should be.
07:45Oscar the Labrador pup is having CT scans to establish the extent of his elbow disease.
08:03Right Oscar, please
08:08Hi guys, all right, so you'll know from the delay that it's not good
08:15That's the humerus
08:17That's the radius. That'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
08:27You've got three of the manifestations of developmental elbow disease
08:31The first one is OCD
08:33Which 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 got elbow incongruity
08:52Noll 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
09:09Anything less than the state-of-the-art I think would be a mistake here
09:12Yeah
09:13I think we would need to know that the cost yes
09:17We will need to look at that. Yeah, absolutely
09:19You can't make a decision. No, of course you can't
09:25With investigations, surgery and other treatments potentially costing more than their insurance will cover
09:31Iles and Matt have a difficult decision to make
09:43If it's if it's going to be thousands and thousands over the insurance then we
09:47I think we need to have a serious talk with the kids this weekend actually bossing them
09:53There's
10:05I think we have to take him home
10:09I guess that means it's a little fun
10:11Absolutely
10:12Oscar please
10:18Oscar please
10:21Before Matt and Iles leave
10:23Noll wants to discuss a way of helping the couple fund Oscar's desperately needed surgery
10:30I'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
10:42You are certainly deserving because you're helping other people
10:47So
10:48But it would take me a couple of days to reach out to them
10:51We just haven't got
10:52Of course, you've got young kids
10:53No, I get that
10:54I get that
10:56Matt and Iles will need to wait a couple of days to see if a donor will fund Oscar's surgery
11:02I don't really feel deserving remotely
11:07I don't think there's any guarantee
11:09Well, no
11:11And if I mean if we can't fund it then we...
11:15Shit
11:16Yeah
11:17Shit
11:18Oh, fuck it
11:19It's quite devastating really
11:22Sorry, we're a bit upset
11:24Yeah, I know
11:25It's fine
11:28PHONE RINGS
11:30One, two, three
11:44Raz, the Russian black terrier, is having scans to find out if the cancer in his leg has visibly spread elsewhere in the body
11:55Lin and David are waiting for the results
11:57I'm so, so frightened
12:04Raz's mum and dad, please
12:10Hey, where you go, please take a seat
12:11I know it's nerve-wracking for you out there
12:13The lungs at this point are clear
12:17Okay, good
12:18The rest of the body
12:19We cannot find evidence of growth spread
12:23Alright, good
12:24That doesn't mean it hasn't spread
12:26No, no, no, no
12:27No, this is an x-ray picture of the leg
12:29This thing is growing at a rate of knots
12:31I mean, it's literally getting bigger by that day
12:33Yeah
12:34We are anticipating a median survival time of 11 months for this dog
12:39What do you think about the limb salvage?
12:41I think that it's viable at this moment
12:43So that's the best option
12:45That depends on whether you're an advocate of three legs or four
12:49We're an advocate of four
12:51Don't misunderstand me
12:53This dog would actually do fine on three legs
12:56We're dubious because of his weight
12:58Limb salvage is where you cut out the primary and you put in a spacer
13:03Which looks like that
13:07And it goes inside the leg like that
13:09With the four plates
13:11Yeah
13:12We've only seen one mechanical failure
13:15Yeah
13:16The risk with this is infection
13:17Right, okay
13:18Because it's good
13:19Yeah
13:20We've definitely lost limbs
13:21And we've definitely lost life
13:23As a result of infection
13:25Lin 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
13:39Okay, alright
13:40So you want me to proceed with the endometriosis?
13:42Alright, that's fine
13:43Let me instruct the team
13:44Okay, just give me one second
13:48Okay guys, we've got to go ahead
13:50End on now
13:51As quick as we can to theatre
13:53Thank you
13:55The 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
14:04He's a fighter
14:06Yeah
14:07Noel already has the components to piece together Raz's implant
14:13Based on the CT scan
14:15And he'll operate straight away
14:17It's really important we don't cut into the tumour
14:21Because you'll have seeded the local environment
14:24With tumour cells
14:27I know from the CT scan that that tumour is growing up inside the bone
14:32To about that level
14:33So I'm going to cut right up here
14:34Noel must remove all of Raz's tumour
14:38To minimise the risk of it growing back in the leg
14:40There we go
14:42Tumour out
14:43We'll pop that over here
14:46Okay, so we've put the dirty table over there
14:50Which is the table with the tumour on it
14:52We've now got a clean table
14:55Noel pieces the modular implant together
14:59To fit the length of bone he has just removed
15:01He spends the next two hours securing the implant
15:06With screws and plates to the foot and the top of the forearm
15:09So this is the position his paw is going to be for the rest of his life
15:13So I better get it right
15:15He's in with a real chance now of keeping his leg
15:21Hi big fella, are you still in there?
15:26Good boy
15:27All right, let's go next day
15:28Thank you
15:29Raz will stay at the practice for a few days to recover
15:33Hello
15:34Lynn, hi
15:35Hi
15:36Well, we've come out of the surgery
15:37It went fine
15:38Good
15:39Raz has had the tumour removed
15:42Great
15:43You have my permission to have a little tipple now
15:47I think put some brandy on you
15:49Good
15:50You have some brandy
15:51And I'll give him something slightly stronger on the opioid front
15:55I'll be there
15:56Thank you
15:57All right, take care
16:10Oscar the Labrador puppy and his family are back
16:13To discuss the operation to fix his severely diseased elbows
16:21Matt and Vicar Iles, who is expecting their third child
16:25Can't afford to pay for the full treatment themselves
16:29Hello
16:30How are you?
16:31Hello Oscar
16:32Right
16:33The gentleman I was talking to you about who wishes to remain anonymous
16:36Has donated the money for the surgery
16:39We are so grateful
16:41Yeah
16:42Yeah
16:43So what we're going to try and go for is to mechanically unload
16:47As well as biologically stimulate
16:50I would cut the humerus in half
16:53Shift the weight over to the good side
16:56And try and use stem cells from bone marrow from this dog
17:00To recapitulate cartilage here
17:03By injecting it and gluing it in place
17:05Right
17:06Let's set your expectations right now
17:08It's never going to be normal
17:10Right
17:11The risks are infection, fracture, failure to heal
17:16Or failure for the joint to settle down adequately to provide quality of life
17:20Yeah
17:21All right
17:23We're ready to go
17:24All right
17:25Yes
17:26Unusually
17:27Noel will operate on both elbows at the same time
17:30Because his condition is deteriorating fast
17:34Noel's going to look after you
17:36You're under strict instructions
17:41Hi big guy
17:42Thank you so much
17:43Thank you
17:44Please God everything's gone okay
17:47Absolutely
17:48Matt's grown up with dogs, I haven't
17:51And I've been quite amazed at how
17:53You know, we've only had Oscar four months
17:55But how much a part of our family he is
17:58And how absolutely traumatised 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
18:12That's just extraordinary really
18:15Oscar will have surgery later today
18:18It's been several days since Raz had major surgery successfully replacing a cancerous tumour in his leg with a metal implant
18:33But Noel is concerned about his recovery
18:36We've got a problem
18:38Raz has an infection
18:40So this is a recognised complication of putting a large chunk of metal inside a leg
18:47It's not good
18:50There's only one silver lining to the cloud
18:52And that is that the immune response to the infection upregulates certain kinds of immune cells within the body
19:02Those specific immune cells actually reduce the tendency for cancer to grow elsewhere
19:10So that means that even though Raz has had an infection
19:14He may live longer than what would otherwise be predicted without the infection
19:21Noel talks to her about what can happen
19:24And he certainly told us about the infections
19:27But you almost put that to the back of your mind
19:29You look at the positives rather than the negatives
19:33Raz 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?
19:41Have you got a beautiful smile?
19:42Do you have a beautiful...
19:43Oh!
19:44I know he's right on my eyeball
19:45You give me kisses right on my eyeball
19:47You give me kisses right on my eyeball
19:49Oscar the Labrador puppy is being prepared for his double elbow surgery
19:55Noel will screw on the top part of the custom plate
20:04Cut the humerus bone
20:06Using screws pull the lower part of the bone towards the stepped part of the plate
20:12Insert bone graft
20:14Then inject specially selected stem cells and glue to try to heal the worn surfaces in the joint
20:20First, Noel needs to explore the diseased elbow using a camera to see into the joint
20:36I'm so upset for this dog
20:38It's very, very unusual for me to see
20:42That degree of erosion in a six-month-old dog
20:47Right, hold it again
20:50He checks the condition of the other elbow
20:54Give it to me
20:56So this elbow is at a less advanced stage than the other elbow
21:02Then he removes pieces of damaged cartilage
21:06And then I'll just pull it out
21:12Using Oscar's bone marrow
21:15The team will extract specific cells to then inject with glue onto the joint later
21:24Next, he moves on to cutting the humerus to shift Oscar's weight away from the damaged joint surface
21:32A custom plate has been designed specially to fit Oscar's leg
21:36Normally I would never do this operation on two sides at the same time
21:40But in this case, Oscar does not have time to wait
21:50So you can see as we tighten these two screws sequentially
21:53We pull this segment of bone up towards the plate
21:55And that means that the body weight is now going to go towards the outside of the joint
22:00He repeats this procedure on the other leg
22:09Oscar's extracted stem cells have been specially enriched
22:13And can be immediately injected back into his elbow
22:16Mixed with biological glue
22:18Okay, so here we go
22:20It will take 12 weeks to find out if the cells have helped to heal the joint surface
22:26Good boy
22:33All right, let's get you to x-ray
22:35Surgery has taken nearly four hours
22:38Having had both elbows operated on
22:41Oscar will need to be kept calm for a few weeks
22:44To prevent damage to the implants
22:46It's early Sunday afternoon
23:05And an emergency case has been referred to see Noel
23:09My Corky cat
23:12I think he's been run over
23:14Before we took him in to our local vets
23:17He just
23:18Wasn't really moving very much at all
23:21And then when we tried to lift him into the box
23:23He was in huge amounts of pain
23:25It was almost like he was screaming
23:26And that was, like, dreadful
23:28To hear
23:29Corky, please
23:31Grab a seat
23:32So, um
23:33And Corky is
23:34Oh, a baby
23:35One year or three months
23:36Is that right?
23:37Yeah
23:38Oh, shmolly
23:39And what happened?
23:40So
23:41I went out
23:43And he was lying on the patio
23:45And he didn't move
23:47And then I realised that he looked really, like, startled
23:51And not right at all
23:53Yeah, so
23:54I hope you can do something for him
23:55Come on, Corky
23:56Beautiful, uh, beautiful device here you've got
23:59A modified coat hanger
24:01I think it should be patented
24:03Okay, big fella
24:05Hey, beauty
24:05How you doing, beauty?
24:07Now, mate
24:08Come on, mate
24:09Just go
24:10Thank you
24:11You go down on the mat and talk to him, Mum
24:14He definitely can't stand up
24:16I'm just gonna see if you can feel his legs
24:20Come on, mate
24:23Pull it back
24:24Come on, come on
24:25Yeah, you can feel it
24:27Good boy
24:27Your vet felt he couldn't feel his tail
24:31It's pretty limp
24:32Yeah
24:33Hmm, okay
24:34This isn't
24:35It's not good
24:36Not good, no
24:37I mean, we've gotta
24:38We've gotta
24:39Crack on
24:39All right, big fella
24:40Now, big kiss then, Mum
24:41Because I'm gonna take him through
24:42Okay
24:43I love you, baby
24:45Okay, all right, big fella
24:48Okay, in the box, I'm sorry, sweetheart
24:51I'm sorry
24:52I'm sorry
24:53All right, Cork
24:54Look, we're gonna have to figure out what's wrong, mate
24:56I'm gonna try and get you fixed
24:58Corky will need extensive checks, including x-ray pictures, to find out how severely he's been injured
25:06Ron and Joe will wait at Fitzpatrick's for the results
25:09People do get up
25:11That's not Corky
25:13Don't worry, don't worry, they're in safe hands aren't they?
25:20I know, I know, that was Corky
25:21Okay
25:22Cats do, all cats make a noise like that
25:27No, it's like that
25:29Don't notice how
25:30I have all, any other cats here
25:33He's the only one
25:34There's others out the back
25:37Two hours later, and Noel has the results
25:41All right, this could be a lot worse
25:43Could be a lot worse
25:44Could be worse
25:45Could be worse
25:46So the bottom of the pelvis is crushed
25:48The top of the pelvis is separated and shunted forwards
25:51Okay
25:52Corky'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
26:03surviving that amount of pull
26:05Isn't good
26:06Now that could affect the ability to urinate
26:09Noel could mend the fracture
26:13But the feeling in Corky's tail may never return
26:17My advice at this point would be take the tail off
26:20And at least not have to lift it
26:22Yeah, use it
26:23Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
26:26I mean it'll affect his beauty, but that's life
26:28Well, you know
26:29That's life
26:30That's just the way it is
26:31He's a boy, isn't he?
26:32Yeah
26:33Small price to pay
26:34Oh, I'm so pleased
26:36Could be worse, right?
26:37Yeah, yeah
26:38I really like last night
26:40I was ready to just say goodbye to him, you know
26:42Really?
26:45Corky's not going to have his tail anymore
26:48A small price to pay really, losing his tail
26:50Yeah
26:51I just
26:54Grateful
27:08Corky the cat is ready for emergency surgery after a road traffic accident
27:16First, Noel will fix his pelvis
27:19Alrighty, here we go
27:20He'll use a screw pinned through the pelvis onto the sacrum bone at the base of the spine
27:27to hold it in place
27:28He must ensure he gets the right alignment
27:37You only get one shot at this because the bones are very, very tiny
27:41As 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
27:52The ileum will be pulled onto the sacrum
27:55Okay, so that's pretty good now
27:59With the pelvis secured in place, Noel moves on to cork his tail
28:06There's a lot of hemorrhage in here
28:08A lot of damage
28:09Here we go, tail coming off
28:11He amputates below the fracture site, leaving a little stump
28:18Then stitches up the wound
28:23Okay, that seems fine
28:25There's a little roof over the poo hole there to stop the rain falling on it
28:29Job done
28:30Let's go to extra, thank you
28:33Corky will be monitored closely to 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
28:44Good boy, well done
28:59Raz, the Russian black terrier, is 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 is walking very well on the leg actually
29:12Unfortunately there is infection
29:15We've been giving him antibiotics for quite a few days now
29:19And 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 his antibiotic treatment at home with his family
29:35Lynn and David have arrived with their other Russian black terrier, Lishka
29:40So Noel's got the family today
29:42Whether he likes it or not
29:44Lishka is Raz's niece
29:48This is the first time the dogs have been separated
29:51Yeah, she's lost without him
29:53Yeah
29:54And he's lost without her
29:55And we're lost without him
29:56Yeah
29:57Look who's here
30:00Hi guys
30:01Hi
30:02Hello
30:02Hello
30:03Daddy
30:06Very nice job
30:07Yeah
30:08Yeah
30:09Unfortunately, Lishka also has health issues
30:13She's been diagnosed with possible lumbosacral disease by their local vet
30:18Noel has offered to assess her and to check her for any cancerous tumours as well
30:25I've got a video of her if you want to look at and watch that
30:28That's what she's
30:30I need to turn halfway through
30:32She's really limping on the back leg
30:37Yeah, she wants to sit down
30:44Right, okay
30:45Yeah, well that's classical for lumbosacral pain
30:47Let me have a clinical exam first
30:49I'll get my helpers
30:53Do you check on Raz, do you think?
30:56Yeah, I'll go and check on Raz
30:57Let's check it
30:58Hello
31:00You're not going now
31:01Stay now
31:02Wait
31:03Wait
31:04Wait
31:05Sit down, sit
31:06Right
31:09I'll just check in on Raz
31:11Yeah
31:13Yeah
31:14Wait
31:15Wait
31:16Good girl
31:17Probably won't like this whole time
31:19Good girl
31:21Well, you'll be pleased to hear I'm not feeling any tumours
31:28Just giving Raz some water
31:30No problem
31:32There's no question you've got sciatica on both sides
31:35You've got significant pain coming down the back of both legs
31:39But she didn't seem to be in that much pain, you think she's in
31:43She was yelping quite a bit
31:45Oh, was she?
31:46I don't know, I missed that a bit
31:47She's in pain but she just doesn't show it because she doesn't know life any different
31:50I would recommend that you have a dynamic MRI study performed
31:57Yeah
31:58I'm sorry that you're having to go through all this
32:00No, it's...
32:01Well, if you take on the dogs then you have to do the right thing by them
32:04Yeah
32:05Well, let's get her in the car
32:07Come on, Lish
32:09Lishka 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
32:17Yeah
32:18But for now, the family can all go home together
32:21It's eight days since Oscar the Labrador had his double elbow surgery
32:34Today, he's ready to go home
32:37Okay, the elbows
32:39Now then
32:40You can see it's red raw on both sides
32:43Poor mess
32:44So that's red raw horribleness
32:47Yeah
32:48So this is the post-op x-ray picture of the sliding human osteotomy
32:55This looks brilliant
32:57And this is the best I can humanly achieve in 2017
33:01But it could all go hideously wrong if all the screws were to break
33:06So the one reason he can't run or jump is the screw breakage possibility
33:10The second reason is the biological healing
33:12Mm-hmm
33:13So outside the front door, I'll be with you in two minutes
33:16All right
33:17See you in a minute
33:19Hello, mate
33:22Hello, darling
33:24There we go
33:25Hello, family
33:26How are you doing?
33:27Oh, hello
33:28Well done
33:29Really happy to see you
33:30Good
33:32It's just marvellous having him back
33:34A member of our family has been missing, actually
33:38The next few weeks are crucial
33:40Oscar must behave himself as he recovers from his major surgery
33:45It's been three days since Corky the cat had surgery after a road traffic accident
33:57He's had his tail off, which isn't fantastic for any pussycat
34:01But he's been very brave, aren't you Corky?
34:03Yeah
34:04Hi, mate
34:05Okay, it's okay, it's only me
34:06It's all
34:07The good news is today he's peed for the first time
34:10So that's fantastic
34:11It's just been freshly cleaned out
34:13And he's like, yes, I will sit in the litter tray
34:16You love a little bit of ear scratching, don't you, mate?
34:19Yeah
34:20Yeah
34:27Lim and David are back
34:30It's about time now I run a bad luck challenge then
34:34Lishka, their Russian black terrier, is 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 to try to prevent his cancer returning
34:48Good boy
34:49Unfortunately, his infection remains a potential issue
34:54The family are not very keen to have him on three legs
34:57But when faced with death or three legs, most people choose three legs
35:03And I think quite rightly so
35:05In an ideal world, we would save his leg
35:07We've tried very hard, but we've not been lucky
35:09And that's the very nature of surgery
35:12With both their dogs having treatment, Lin and David have an anxious wait
35:16The real worry at the moment is Raz
35:20Because we don't know what's going to happen for the long term
35:23I'll feel happy, even if we lose him
35:25That we've done everything we possibly can
35:27We've brought him to the best person in Europe
35:30That's...
35:32You have to live with that, don't you?
35:33That's a good way of living with it
35:35Sweetheart
35:36It's a week since Corky had his tail removed
35:47And Joe and Ron have arrived to collect him with their daughter Francesca
35:53Obviously he's going to have a few weeks where he can't really run around
35:56He's going to have a harness and a lead and 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
36:08Looks a little bit like a gremlin
36:11So I think...
36:13Not having a tail might actually quite suit him
36:17He's still with us, that's the main thing
36:20So, no tail
36:21No tail, no
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 of skin here to cover the poo hole
36:32Okay
36:34Alright guys, ready?
36:36He's doing great
36:38There you go, yeah
36:40You can sit down
36:42Hello baby
36:44So he's quite active
36:46And he is able to walk
36:48So he'll be able to...
36:49He's peeing and poor and fine
36:52That's good, yeah
36:54And he's getting stronger each day
36:56Yeah, he's going home
36:58Amazing
36:59Have you got the rod thing?
37:00Yeah, I've got the rod thing
37:01Oh, brilliant
37:02Look at...
37:04I wish I had invented that
37:07Oh yeah, you can fit through
37:08That's beautiful
37:09Wow
37:10Good, alright mate?
37:11Fantastic
37:12Thank you so much
37:13No problem
37:15It's great to see him back now
37:18And I'm sure within a few weeks he'll be back to his old self
37:22Of running around, jumping and terrorising our other cat, Crunchy
37:27It's 9pm, Noel is ready to update the family on Raz and Lishka's conditions
37:43Okay, Raz, you've still got infection?
37:47In which case it's not going to heal?
37:48Probably
37:50And if it comes to Crunch
37:52And we can't get this leg to work for him because of the infection
37:56Then...
37:58You know, being brutally frank, it will be a decision between euthanasia and amputation
38:02Yeah, we know that
38:04We were sort of coming down to the fact that it wouldn't be fair on him on the three legs
38:07He will be okay on three
38:09I have had dogs his size on three, happily
38:13If you got it down to the point that it was just a single point discharge
38:16Then I think that would be culpable with
38:18Yeah
38:19Okay
38:20I think he should give it another four weeks
38:21Oh, that's fine, yeah, yeah
38:22We're happy to do it, but we don't want to do it beyond the point
38:24No, sure
38:25And an amputation, when you're talking about that, is if it's more getting used to it
38:29And he's still on chemo, and then he's got a life-limiting disease anyway
38:32Is that fair?
38:33Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's all very valid
38:35Their other dog, Lishka, has had a dynamic MRI study of her lower spine
38:41So, I'm not going to drop any massive bombshells with Lishka
38:45Right
38:46Her major problem is in her lumbosacral spine, where the disc in her lower back is completely dried out and it's squishing nerves
38:55If we categorise things as mild, moderate and severe, this is severe
38:58Right, okay
38:59Yeah
39:00Unfortunately, you're really unlucky
39:01Yeah
39:02Lishka is likely to need surgery, but dealing with two recovering dogs at the same time is too much for Lin and David
39:11We need the clip for an epidural, please
39:14So, for now, the family have decided to manage Lishka's pain with a series of three steroid injections
39:22Now we just inject the steroid, we're done
39:29Very, very simple
39:31It's very unfortunate that the family have two poorly dogs at the same time and we're doing everything that we can for Raz, but it's not looking good
39:44Most dogs will manage fine on three legs, but the family don't want to have him on three legs
39:50And if this infection isn't controllable, then they may have a very, very difficult decision to make
39:57Lin and David are back at Fitzpatrick's
40:16But their Russian terrier Lishka is on her own
40:21Unfortunately, Raz is missing
40:28So we made the decision that we can't put him through any more, he's gone through enough
40:35So we decided about a week ago on the Thursday that we'd go to our local vets and get him put to sleep
40:45One of the difficulties was that although his leg was really puffy
40:49He was quite happy, wasn't he?
40:51And when he came in to be put to sleep, he was really, really happy and really, really sad
40:56Not happy that we lost him, but we're happy with the decision that we made in the end
41:00So, yeah
41:01I've had dogs forever
41:03And you have one or two that was special
41:07He was your favourite, yes, yes, yes
41:10Lishka
41:15Lishka's mum and dad, please
41:17You know where to go
41:20Lishka
41:22Lishka
41:23Lishka
41:24How you doing, sweetheart?
41:25She knows exactly where to go
41:26Hello
41:27I know
41:28Hi, nice to see you, thanks very much for all your help
41:29I'm sorry
41:30Yeah, hi, so sorry
41:32I'm very sorry
41:36Raz could not have wished for a more loving family than you and I said that in my card
41:39I mean, that's the truth of it
41:41We knew the risks
41:42Yeah
41:43We knew that when we came and we just, because he was such a big dog
41:45We just wanted him to be on four legs with us as long as we could
41:49At the end of the day, have peace
41:51Yeah
41:52Because you've done your best
41:55Is the injection working?
41:56Yeah
41:57Brilliant
41:58Well that's a bit of light
41:59Yeah
42:00When we're out of the house, particularly, her tail's much more right, really curled up
42:05Lishka is still likely to need surgery in the future
42:08Yeah
42:09No
42:10No, no, no
42:11But for now, Lynn and David are determined to enjoy life with her
42:16And have taken her on holiday
42:19Come on, Lynn
42:21Well, we're in Portugal in the Algarve
42:24We've come over here with Lishka to sort of relax and have a nice time
42:31It's a shame that Raz is not here, but Lishka's here
42:34And she's doing really, really, really well
42:36Come on, Lishka, Lizzie
42:37Come on, Lishka
42:38It's been two months since her last steroid injection
42:42She's in and out of the sea, she's rolling in the sand
42:45She's doing all the things that a dog can do
42:48Good girl
42:50It's obvious that she's missing Raz because she was never without him
42:52There wasn't a day that she wasn't with him
42:55So that's the next thing that we need to be doing is to get her a puppy
43:00And as soon as we get one, that'll be the end of the story, really
43:04We hope
43:05We hope
43:06A happy ending
43:08Oscar the Labrador is back 12 weeks after having surgery
43:17Noel has performed an arthroscopy of his elbows to check if the joint surfaces have healed
43:22Thank you
43:24Please take a seat
43:25Nice to see you again
43:26I haven't got the baby out yet?
43:28No, no
43:30This baby is fixed insofar as is possible to fix at this point
43:35So look, that's a really nice new bone, you see that?
43:38Yeah, yeah, yeah
43:39It's effectively a new shape
43:41In terms of the arthroscopy, we can see that's a scar of fibrocartilage
43:46Which is fibrous tissue that's laid down on the inside of the elbow where previously it had been rubbed away
43:53There
43:54And has a present on both sides
43:55Yeah
43:56But he's fine
43:57He's literally raring to go
43:58I'm sure he is
43:59I'm sure he is
44:00I'm sure he is
44:01Come on, mate
44:02Oh, hi
44:03Hello
44:04Hello
44:05Hello, gorgeous
44:06Hello
44:08Oh, look at that
44:09Oh, hi
44:10When he's in the car, safely pop this back on him, okay?
44:15Yeah
44:16Oh, now what do you say to Uncle Noel?
44:18Well done, mate
44:19What do you say?
44:20Well done, mate
44:21I want to say thank you
44:23We're just hugely grateful, aren't we?
44:25Yeah
44:26Yes
44:27The generosity of somebody who doesn't know us
44:29Yes
44:30And, you know, we're looking at years now
44:33Just, you know, having a dog, being able to go for family walks
44:36All the things that we really wanted to do that we haven't been able to do
44:39And have him chewing slippers and...
44:44All the reasons you buy a dog
44:45Yeah, all of that
44:48Five and a half months after surgery, Oscar is at home in Chertsey, continuing his recovery
44:55With their latest addition to the family, ten-week-old Joel
45:00All right there, Joel, this is your furry brother
45:03With Oscar's double leg surgery, recovery is a slow process
45:08Oscar's doing well, given that he's spent most of the last six months of his life just in a crate
45:13Poor dog
45:15He wants to run
45:16His body's not quite capable of it, but he's still his cheerful self and still very optimistic
45:25In Wiltshire, three months after his accident, Corky is finding his balance
45:34I don't think he realises the time's gone
45:36No, it all looks very neat, actually
45:38And his fur looks so much better now, doesn't it?
45:42Do you remember when we first got him home?
45:44It reminds me of a chicken being ready for the oven, his bottom, the way it was so bald
45:50Today, Joe and Ron are letting him go outside without a lead for the first time
45:56Corky! Corky!
45:58What are you doing? Do you want to go to the loo?
46:01Looks like it
46:04Oh, very good
46:06First one outside for a while
46:08To finally get to this stage now where he's back in the garden
46:16He's running free on his own
46:18And it is, it is almost like a miracle really
46:38We are going to have a perfect day
46:40So, we've got time here for a while
46:45To decorate the house
46:47We also have to keep the house
46:48We are going to be able to meet and have lots of fun
46:51We do not go to the house
46:53We'll have to wait
46:54We'll have to wait
46:56To do this thing
46:58And we'll have to wait
46:59To make our biggest life
47:01And the other way
47:03To protect the house
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