- 6 days ago
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00:00Hello mate, you understand Irish?
00:02Animals from all over the world
00:04Ah bonjour
00:06Come to see one extraordinary man
00:08Who's known as the Bionic Vet
00:11High five!
00:12Yes!
00:13Professor Noel Fitzpatrick
00:15We only get one shot at this, here we go
00:18Noel and his team offer some of the most advanced treatments available anywhere
00:23The perfect marriage of mechanics and biology
00:25This is what we have now, a brand new knee
00:28Oh wow!
00:30For some, it's a last chance
00:33It is a life or death situation because we cannot leave him like he is
00:37I just want you to do anything you can for him really
00:40Sorry
00:41As Noel continues to devise new ways of healing
00:44You're going to be Bionic, thank you so much
00:47He transforms the lives of his patients
00:50Oh that is just unbelievable
00:52He's raring to go
00:53Against all the odds
00:55Boom!
00:56One small step for a dog, one giant leap for mankind
00:59Well done
01:10Morning handsome!
01:12Good start
01:13Take a seat
01:14Thanks a lot
01:15At Fitzpatrick referrals, the appointment schedule is chock-a-block
01:20There are animals needing Bionic limb replacements, 3D printed implants and pioneering stem cell treatments
01:30But this patient's family don't know exactly what's wrong
01:39So this is Skylar, she had an injury where she came up lame on her hind leg as we took her to the vet
01:45They've done some scans, MRI, X-rays, but unfortunately they haven't been able to get to the bottom of what the issue is
01:52So it's a real mystery
01:58Australian Shepherd dog Skylar is Andy's first dog
02:02Being brought up surrounded by dogs through mum breeding Australian Shepherd
02:08It was kind of a no-brainer that I'd get her Australian Shepherd
02:13But because of her injury, the 18-month-old can't join in the fun
02:18She wants to play
02:21And as a young dog, it must be very frustrating for her
02:24Separated from the pack, the excitable Aussie certainly makes her frustration known
02:33Australian Shepherds, they like to use their voice
02:37When she sees other dogs, she just wants to go over
02:40Say hi, play with them
02:42So yeah, she can be quite noisy
02:45I'm really, really desperate to get something done about this, to be honest
02:50I just want someone really to be able to say, this is the problem
02:53And these are the steps that we need to take
02:55In order to make her become a fit dog again
03:02Andy and mum, Lynn, have brought Skylar to see Noel
03:06Hoping he can shed light on her mystery ailment
03:10So we're about to see a bit of a diagnostic conundrum
03:14An Australian Shepherd dog
03:17Nothing on x-ray pictures
03:19Nothing on clinical examination
03:21Nothing on MRI scan
03:24Welcome to my world
03:29Skylar, please
03:32Hiya
03:33Hi
03:34I'm North, who are you?
03:35Hi, Lynn
03:36Lynn, L-Y-N-N-E
03:37Yeah, Andy, nice to see you
03:39Hey mate, how you doing Skylar
03:40Hey mate, how are you?
03:41You're pretty, aren't you?
03:43How you doing mate?
03:44It's alright, buddy, it's alright
03:46Alright, let's roll back to time
03:48When did it first begin?
03:49And how old was Skylar at that point?
03:52Nearly nine months old
03:54Okay, what happened exactly?
03:56Where were you?
03:57What did it look like?
03:58Well, we'd been out for a walk
03:59And I noticed that she was holding her right hind leg up
04:04I wouldn't put it on the floor
04:06And it seemed to be from that point that every time she laid down but then got up, she'd be holding the leg up
04:12Okay
04:13And with running, she bunny-hopped the two feet together
04:18That was new
04:19She's quite vocal, isn't she?
04:20Very vocal
04:22It's because she's been confined such a lot while we've had all this problem
04:26And was she on medicine at the same time?
04:29Yep
04:30We also had some physio as well
04:33Okay
04:35And what do you think, Strong?
04:38I wonder whether she had a trapped nerve
04:41Probably also worth mentioning that when she's got a toy and she's shaking a toy, her back end lowers
04:48Okay
04:49All of those provide me with clues, by the way
04:52We're gonna go for a walk
04:57Off you go, yep
04:58This way
05:00That's great
05:01Off we go
05:03Keep going, keep going, keep going
05:05Stop suddenly
05:08Very interesting
05:10Okay, so that's me pressing on the lumbosacral junction
05:15I'm now gonna press the sciatic nerve on the right hind leg
05:18All right, I apologise for this
05:21This is called the fit's finger test
05:25Good girl
05:27Good girl, good girl
05:29Good girl
05:31Turn off
05:32So that was me putting my finger on the nerve inside the pelvis
05:35Yeah
05:37Okay
05:38So I think your diagnosis is right, ma'am
05:41This is almost certainly a trapped nerve
05:44No, no, no
05:46All right, so what's probably happening here is that in certain positions there's a disc which is bulging in the lower back
05:53Mm-hmm
05:54Specifically when jumping up or twisting
05:57There's three treatments, one is medicine, physiotherapy, which you've already tried
06:01Mm-hmm
06:02The second is steroid injections, which will probably work medium term
06:07Mm-hmm
06:08And if that doesn't work, then ultimately we would use surgery
06:11Yeah, yeah
06:13So we need to do a test called a dynamic MRI
06:17And then usually that'll give you the diagnosis
06:19Right
06:20Okay
06:21All right, bye girl, come on, come with me, you can bark all you like in here
06:23Thank you
06:24Thank you
06:27Skylar will have one more diagnostic test whilst Andy and Lynn wait to see if it will finally solve the mystery
06:34Brittany the pug has arrived at Fitzpatrick's
06:54Shush
06:59Shush, Brittany, be quiet
07:01She's got the Napoleon complex
07:05I'll sort you out
07:07The boisterous puppy has come in with surrogate parent Alison and her best friend Carol
07:16Brittany's family live in London, so she spends a lot of time at Alison's house in the South Downs
07:22I'm Brittany's grandma and I take care of her whenever my son who owns her and his girlfriend go on holiday
07:36She's not my dog, but I love her as if she was my dog and we get on really well together
07:42Well if you're a good girl you get a bit of a good girl chicken
07:47She's named after Brittany Spears
07:52Very debrief and very sassy, you know, she knows exactly where she wants to be and who she wants to be around
07:59She's also rather gorgeous
08:00She's also rather gorgeous
08:01I lead a very quiet life normally but when Brittany appears she makes a grand entrance
08:07You immediately know she's around, she's just cheeky and very lively
08:12Yeah, she's definitely a Brittany
08:14She's a very noisy young lady
08:23Despite Brittany's animated appearance, the 11-month-old has been having problems walking
08:28and has been referred by her local vet
08:31Hi, this is Brittany
08:33Yeah, would you like to come through?
08:35Assessing the prima donna pug is Dr Jeremy Rose, one of Fitzpatrick's senior neurologists
08:40So, I had a little look through the notes, but I just wanted to get the story directly from yourself
08:46Okay, for the last four or five months she hasn't got a lot of control in her back legs
08:51Right
08:52She wobbles and falls over sometimes if she's on uneven ground
08:55Right
08:56I think she's slightly incontinent
08:58But I take her, when she's with me I take her out frequently, you know, so
09:02Oh my goodness, she's a vicious guard dog
09:04I've got a lot to say to yourself
09:07And in terms of the back legs, have they got worse? Stayed the same?
09:12I think they've got slightly worse
09:14They've got a bit worse
09:16Have you got the MRI scan?
09:18Yeah, so I've got the MRIs, that's right
09:20And what I'll do is just have a quick look at her, make sure that everything from the exam
09:23tops up with what they've found on the MRI
09:26Am I safe to do so? She seems like she's going to be a friendly girl
09:30Hello
09:32Oh, thank you
09:33Yeah
09:34Shall we pop you up on the little table up here?
09:36And I'll just have a quick look at her eyes
09:40The snore
09:42Oh, she's good at the snoring
09:44Do some little hops
09:46I like that too
09:48As soon as her front foot touches the table, she lifts it up
09:53But the back, obviously, it's dragging against it
09:55Yeah
09:56The information's just not quite getting through or back
09:59Brittany is showing signs of neurological damage
10:03Jeremy needs to check how far up the spine she's affected
10:07So what we're doing here is we're pinching the skin
10:10And we're waiting to look for the little flick on the skin
10:14So you'll see that she's not really flicking her skin
10:16Until we get to about this level
10:18And then that correlates to where you can feel the bump in the vertebra of the bones
10:22That's right
10:24Hug dogs seem to be particularly prone to malformations of the spine
10:27Right, yeah
10:29So I think from examining Brittany, what's happening is that
10:32That bony malformation seems to be squashing and injuring the spinal cord
10:37And if that continues, you're going to get worsening incontinence, most likely
10:41Or you'll get to the point where she's actually not able to use the back legs
10:45Where she becomes paralysed
10:47There are very limited options in this situation
10:51You've obviously been through some conservative management
10:55The other option is to go for surgery
10:57So we basically fuse that area of the spine together
11:00With an aim that we try and prevent further deterioration
11:03The surgery comes with a number of risks, unfortunately
11:06Basically we have to drive a lot of pins into the vertebra
11:10If you get the angle of one of the pins slightly wrong
11:13You can go in against the spinal cord and cause permanent damage
11:18Yeah, yeah
11:20What are your thoughts at the moment?
11:22Um, she belongs to my son
11:24Okay
11:25So I need to obviously speak to him
11:27Fine
11:28All right, thanks very much
11:29Give me a knock on
11:30Okay
11:33You've actually got very little choice, haven't you?
11:35Well, I think you're thinking the same way I'm thinking
11:39Hello darling
11:41Yeah, I'm at the vet's, right?
11:44Um, just been through the whole scenario with, um, one of the consultants
11:50Are you still there?
11:52Can you hear me?
11:53Can you hear me?
11:54I think I would go for the surgery because at least then you know you've tried your best for her
11:59Because I don't think there would be much quality of life if she's paralysed
12:04No I don't
12:06Oh, yes
12:07Sweet
12:09Okay
12:10It's a difficult situation in that my son's not here to make an immediate decision
12:15So unfortunately I had to go through it all again with my son
12:19I'm upset really
12:21Yeah
12:22I am upset
12:24It's worse than I thought it was
12:26Yeah
12:28With a choice between possible paralysis or major surgery, Brittany's family head home with a very difficult decision to make
12:49Eighteen-month-old Australian shepherd dog Skylar is at Fitzpatrick's where the team are trying to confirm the cause of her mystery lameness
12:59She's already had MRI scans at another practice
13:03However, Noel wants to use an innovative technique known as dynamic imaging, which he and his team have developed
13:10So sometimes the disc that might be causing the pain won't actually be impinging until it's in a certain position
13:17If you have them just lying straight on their back, it won't show up
13:20So that's why we sometimes do the dynamic MRI
13:23It basically puts the dog into an active position almost as if they're running or jumping over a fence
13:29And you can see how the discs actually are acting in that position
13:32All righty, so it's not going to come as any surprise to you that it is what we thought it was
13:42Yes
13:43A dynamic, intermittent nerve compression
13:46I'm going to show you the difference between a dynamic MRI and a non-dynamic MRI
13:50The white discs, they've got fluid in their center and that's like the jam inside a doughnut
13:54If you look closely at that one, you can see that the dough in the top of the doughnut is just beginning to bulge, right?
14:02On hyperextension, as if the dog was jumping up, you can see there's a much bigger bulge
14:09You can also see that the roof of the sacrum moves down, giving an hour-last compression of the nerves
14:15Additionally, if you look in that in cross-section, what you can see is that the disc bulges up to each side
14:24there and there and squishes the nerves
14:28That's the cause of your problem in my opinion
14:31Skylar may need surgery, but it's possible a series of steroid injections could alleviate the pain
14:39I propose we try the epidural steroid
14:42And if we can't get a response, then we may have to go down the route of fusion
14:47With having this steroid, what's the minimum length of time it's likely to last?
14:52It might not work at all
14:54It might not work at all, right
14:56Some dogs go into remission indefinitely
14:59Right
15:00Unfortunately, it's from zero to hero
15:02Yeah, every dog's different
15:05But I would recommend we try steroid first, this is moderate rather than severe
15:09Okay, so the first of three we're going to do now
15:12And we'll see you in due course, we'll see how you get on
15:14All right?
15:15Yep
15:16Thank you very much
15:17Thank you
15:20All right, have we got an epidural steroid ready for me?
15:25So I think the thing is like if you have the three
15:28Yeah
15:29It might be that she's fine without the surgery
15:31Yeah
15:46Okay
15:47Yep
15:49Skylar will need to return in two weeks for her next injection
15:53Wow
15:56Oh, look at you
15:58There we are
16:00Hello, sweetie
16:01I'm a bit drunk
16:02Yeah
16:04Feels incredibly positive now that we've actually got kind of a diagnosis
16:07And we've got a way forward
16:09And in the kind of event that that doesn't work out
16:11We've actually got something else we can kind of progress with as well
16:14So, yeah, I'm really happy
16:27Eleven-month-old pug Brittany is about to undergo neurosurgery
16:33Her family have decided to go ahead with the operation
16:36To try to stabilise a deformity in her spine that could cause her to become paralysed
16:42Brittany is very, very small, so the bones are very small
16:45So it doesn't give me a lot of leeway
16:47But if everything goes well, it will give her a quality of life back
16:55A 3D model of Brittany's severely deformed spine has been created from her CT scan
17:02It will help Jeremy accurately guide the pins into place
17:06So we've dissected all the muscles away from Brittany's spine
17:12Now what we're left with is something resembling this 3D model
17:17And we can identify the same landmarks
17:19So this one looks curving around like that
17:22We can see that same shape here
17:24Obviously you can see that's probably about 3mm wide
17:27And the pin that we're going to try and put in there is 1.5mm wide
17:31This is where, if you're a millimetre out, you can make a big difference
17:33The pins will fix the vertebrae into place to prevent further deterioration
17:44Set to 30 yet?
17:47About there?
17:49Each of the 18 pins will need to be positioned at precisely the right angle
17:53So we've driven these metal pins into each of the bones along the spine
18:13And we're now going to put a few more pins through the top here
18:17And then fuse everything together with one big mass of cement
18:21And that's what's going to hold them all together
18:24And hopefully keep the bones of the spine completely solid
18:27Go for long please
18:29All right, all done
18:31It's been an intense 4-hour surgery
18:34The next few days will be critical
18:37It's the end of a busy day at the practice
18:53And an emergency admission has just arrived
18:56Yeah? Yeah, yeah, just get it back on your lap a little bit better
19:02Bella, a 9-month-old Jack Russell puppy
19:05Was involved in a freak accident 2 days ago
19:08And has a serious fracture to her pelvis
19:11It's all right, sweetie, hold her, hold her
19:13Right, Bella, please, sorry about the delay, guys
19:16Her local vet has referred her to Noel
19:18How are you doing? What's your first name?
19:20Emma
19:21Bella
19:22And? Scarlett
19:23Scarlett and?
19:24Stanley
19:25Stanley, hello, mate
19:26This is Bella
19:27Hi, Bubba
19:28All right, I'll take her, it's fine
19:30All right, let's come with me
19:31Come on, Bella, good girl
19:33Yeah
19:35Good girl, you can grab a seat here, please
19:37Thanks
19:38There we go, thank you
19:40There we go
19:42So what time did the accident happen?
19:44Um, Saturday afternoon, about
19:47Yeah, so it'll be 2, 2 o'clock about
19:50OK, so she was out and about on a walk and a car hits her or what?
19:53Oh, no, um, we have this, like, basket thing that goes on my dad's bike which she sits in
19:58Oh
19:59And she jumped out and then he ran over
20:01Oh, no, so she sits in a bicycle basket?
20:04Yeah
20:05Yeah
20:06And she jumped out and then he accidentally ran over
20:08So I guess he's feeling terrible
20:10Yeah, he's away in Serbia at the moment
20:12Oh dear, so he had to go
20:14Yeah
20:15And work? Yeah
20:16Lordy Lord
20:17Distraught dad, Peter, rushed Bella to the emergency vet, who took an x-ray picture to assess the damage
20:25So she's got a fractured pelvis, as you know
20:27Mm-hmm
20:28Yeah, it is a pretty bad fracture
20:31Oh, sorry, sweetheart
20:33Sorry, sweetheart
20:35Yeah, if you don't move, Baba
20:37Don't move for a couple of minutes
20:39OK, so this is, um, the x-ray picture and we can see here that there's a breakthrough here
20:46Here
20:48Here
20:50Here
20:51And here
20:52Now
20:54I'm not too worried about this area here
20:57Because that's the base of the pelvis and you can cope with that
21:00And it looks to me like the socket is still intact
21:05And that's good
21:07I'm very worried about this area here
21:09That whole side of the pelvis is displaced
21:11So it's broken there and it's broken back here, so this is all pushed in
21:17So it would not be a good idea in my view to leave her without treatment
21:22Mm-hmm
21:23And that means that somehow we're going to have to repair that side of the pelvis
21:27So we're going to get more painkiller on board now
21:30I'm not going to do this tonight, I'm going to stabilize her tonight
21:33Good God
21:34All right, sweetheart, I got you, I got you, I got you, I got you, all right
21:36You're going to have to learn how to cycle more safely, sweetheart
21:40All right, sweetheart, I'll be right back, okay?
21:47I'm so sad
21:49I don't like that squeaking noise
21:51I mean, Dad said that's what it was when, you know, that was the worst bit of it, the noise that went
21:56So
21:58Yes
22:00All right, so can you get better Jay-Z on board, please?
22:02Don't panic
22:05This is hopefully fairly straightforward
22:08You know, it's a pelvic fracture, there are risks
22:11There's a risk of blood supply problem, there's a risk that I might not be able to get it lined up properly
22:16There's lots of risks, but if the socket isn't fractured, that's good news for us
22:20Okay, so although Daddy will be beating himself up a lot, tell him it's under control, okay?
22:25All right, take care, guys
22:27Thank you, bye-bye
22:28Hiya
22:30So, is she staying in with us?
22:31Yes, yeah
22:32Did she get very cold?
22:33No, my husband accidentally ran over on his bicycle
22:35Oh, no, oh, I bet he feels so young to you
22:37He's probably, you probably ought to ring him, actually, because he's probably rang about three times
22:40Just kidding
22:42I didn't really know it was that bad until yesterday, when I just came to the realisation that she could die from it, um, and that it was really serious, her injuries
22:54Um, and then we got into my screen, just to make me feel better
22:58Hopefully she's going to be better
23:00Hopefully she's going to be better
23:01Thank you
23:02Thank you
23:03Thank you
23:04Nine-month-old puppy, Bella
23:05Nine-month-old puppy, Bella
23:06has been in a stable condition overnight
23:07Been in a stable condition overnight
23:11make me feel better. Hopefully she's going to be better.
23:32Nine-month-old puppy Bella has been in a stable condition overnight while she waits for surgery on her crushed pelvis.
23:40I hate broken puppies.
23:44I got run over by a bike, jumped out of the basket.
24:01Bella has several fractures through her pelvis, causing the left-hand section to become displaced inwards.
24:08Noel plans to fix the main fracture of the wing of the pelvis using a metal plate and screws that will pull the bones back into alignment.
24:17Then the remaining fractures will hopefully be held securely enough to heal themselves with callus.
24:24So we can see here where I've anchored the plate down to the back end of the fracture, and now I'm going to pull that all off and anchor it onto the front end.
24:46The section of bone from the wing of the pelvis has to be levered into precisely the right position so that the fractured segments line up.
24:55Oh, there we go. Yeah, there we go. Now you're sucking these up.
25:05So the difficulty was getting this back segment up. We had to use this lever to hook under it to bring it back out of where it had sunken into the pelvis.
25:26I'm just a little worried that this plate alone won't be enough to hold everything, given that we're not repairing the fractures at the back end at all.
25:35We're just pulling that into alignment in the hope that that will heal itself.
25:39To make sure the fracture is completely stable, Noel decides to add some extra support.
25:46OK, so I put a second plate on for added stability.
25:52I expect Bella to be up and walking tomorrow and hopefully heal within four weeks.
25:59And maybe get in her bicycle basket again, but this time with a safety belt.
26:06OK, let's go to exchange. Thank you.
26:13OK.
26:14Morning, everyone!
26:28Seven o'clock, three, yeah?
26:29Seven o'clock, three, Madroxy.
26:30Yeah.
26:31Let's go on that.
26:34Morning!
26:36Oh, lovely!
26:38It can get very noisy working in the vets.
26:42When one dog starts, they can all start.
26:46You've got a whole choir, you've got a banging headache, you've just got to try and calm them all down.
26:52I'm really sorry, can you say that again?
26:57Amongst the chorus this morning, a bark with an Aussie twang can mean only one thing.
27:06Sounds like Skylar's here.
27:08Skylar has been having steroid injections for a trap nerve in her spine.
27:13A month since the final treatment, Andy and his mum, Lynn, have brought her in for a check-up.
27:31There's lots of talking going on out here in the school room.
27:35Where is my naughty school child, Skylar?
27:39What are you doing?
27:41So what's happening now?
27:43Well, she'd been responding to the injections well, I felt.
27:48Yeah.
27:49And then about ten days ago, I've noticed that she's started holding her leg up again.
27:54OK.
27:55All right, let's have a look.
27:56All right, Bubba.
27:57I think she probably knows what's coming this time as well.
28:00OK, good girl.
28:01Good girl.
28:02Yeah, it looks like she's sore again.
28:07Yeah.
28:08We're back at square one.
28:09There's no real point in repeating the epidurals again.
28:12No, no.
28:13So our choices at this stage is either do nothing or do surgery.
28:19Fusing the sacrum and the last lumbar vertebra together, there are risks of doing the procedure.
28:25Some of them don't wag their tail for a while.
28:28Some of them have difficulty paying for a while.
28:31It should work, but there's no guarantees.
28:34And that's the challenge, because it's not life-threatening.
28:37Yeah.
28:38So the question then is, do we proceed to fusion?
28:41And only you can answer that.
28:42I think we, because it took us quite a long time to get to this point.
28:46And as I say, we haven't really got any further forward.
28:49So I think it's a question of like, well, having to do something about it.
28:54But you've tried?
28:55Yeah.
28:56I think you had to try and know before you would go down the route of surgery.
29:00Thanks, Stephanie.
29:01I'm sorry.
29:02I'm sorry.
29:03Looks like I won't be able to cure you without taking a scalpel blade, unfortunately.
29:10I think really at this stage the surgery gives us the best option.
29:13Obviously there's risks involved in that.
29:15But if we can get her sorted and back to enjoying a properly active lifestyle, then that's good for Skylar as well.
29:22Hi, Brittany.
29:23Hello.
29:24How are you doing today?
29:25Seven days have passed since 11-month-old Brittany underwent neurosurgery.
29:29Hi there.
29:30How are you doing today?
29:31Hello.
29:32How are you doing today?
29:33Seven days have passed since 11-month-old Brittany underwent neurosurgery.
29:46Hi there.
29:47How are you?
29:48Hi there.
29:49How are you?
29:50Alison and best friend Carol have come to take the precious pug home.
29:55I'm excited, actually.
29:57I'm really looking forward to seeing her.
30:00I hope she remembers me, that's the thing, because I'm just a grandma, you know.
30:05So what we've basically done is we've put about 18 metal pins into Brittany's back.
30:10So if we look at this 3D model here, you can see that we've got pins being driven down and then the cement is this blob here.
30:18Neurologically, I think she's about the same as when you brought her in.
30:22And to be honest with you, at this stage, that's great.
30:25That's great, isn't it?
30:26Yeah.
30:27So realistically now the hard work starts and that's the rehabilitation.
30:31Yeah.
30:32So it's rest, which is going to be difficult because she is like a little bouncy spring at the moment.
30:37Yeah.
30:38And she wants to do loads because she thinks she's normal.
30:45It'd be difficult to keep her calm and quiet, you know.
30:49Come on, Cheeky.
30:55Hello.
30:56Hello, baby.
30:57Good to see you.
30:58Hello, darling.
30:59Oh, wow.
31:00Hello.
31:01Hello.
31:02Hello, beautiful.
31:03Oh, I've missed you so much.
31:05I have.
31:06Yeah.
31:07Yeah.
31:11She's sleeping.
31:12Yeah.
31:13Yeah, it's wonderful to have her back.
31:15It's a huge relief that she's come through it fine and she's going to improve from here on, I'm sure.
31:21Fitzpatrick referrals orthopaedic neurology, Laura speaking.
31:33How can I help?
31:34It's been two days since little puppy Bella had surgery after being run over when she jumped out of her bicycle basket.
31:42Yeah, it must be because it's fine when I'm on my own.
31:43I'm on my own.
31:44Dad, Peter, who was riding the bike at the time, hasn't seen Bella since the accident.
31:55Yeah, yeah.
31:56I'm going to get some breathing.
31:57I have to get some breathing going.
31:58He's nervous, Scott.
32:00I, I, when I handed over, the emergency vet was almost crying.
32:04What, did she look really horrible, did she?
32:06She was shaking and it was horrible.
32:09It was, um, that's my abiding memory at the moment.
32:12It's a very, um, dog in pain caused by me running around.
32:18Right. Hi guys.
32:19Sorry about the delay.
32:20Come on in.
32:21Come on in.
32:22I'm sorry about this, buddy.
32:23And then you had to go away and work.
32:25Oh, I, I almost didn't get on that plane.
32:27Yeah, no.
32:28What a tough day for you, mate.
32:29I was, it was awful.
32:30Yeah.
32:31I just looked around and there she was just going straight over the, over the wheel.
32:34It was, and then that scream, I've been reliving it over and over again.
32:37It's been horrible.
32:38Yeah, yeah, yeah.
32:39Now, this is the post-op.
32:41Oh, yeah.
32:42So you can see here that I've, uh, managed to pull that part of the pelvis that way.
32:48Yeah.
32:49So you can see that this gets pulled back into alignment by being kicked out.
32:52Yeah.
32:53And this bit should heal itself.
32:54Yeah.
32:55Um, so there's no running, no jumping, no slipping, no sliding, because otherwise if it rocks
33:00and rocks and rocks and rocks, then that rocking motion can still loosen screws.
33:04Right.
33:05Any questions before she comes in and creates mayhem?
33:09Oh, it's so good.
33:10Come on in then.
33:12Hey, Bella.
33:13Come on in.
33:14Bella.
33:15There we go.
33:16Good.
33:17There we go.
33:18You can give her, no, give her to mum.
33:19Give her to mum.
33:20Hi.
33:21So let me show you how to walk her.
33:27Okay.
33:28So.
33:31Like this.
33:32Look at that.
33:33Yeah.
33:34So as you can see.
33:35Come on, Bubba.
33:36Good girl.
33:37See?
33:38So this, this supports her.
33:40See?
33:41So she can put it down.
33:42Okay.
33:43Well done.
33:44Well done.
33:45She's a sweet little girl.
33:47She still loves her daddy, so it's all good.
33:50She's always loved him the most.
33:51Oh, did she?
33:52Just not fair.
33:53Is she a daddy's dog?
33:54Is she?
33:55Yeah.
33:56Like my mum sorts out everything for her and he just loves her.
33:58Oh.
33:59Yeah, mum.
34:00He sits on his lap all the time.
34:01Bella.
34:02Oh, that's beautiful.
34:03She's forgiven you.
34:05She's forgiven you.
34:06That's fantastic.
34:07Hey, Bella.
34:08We're going home.
34:09We are headed home.
34:10We are headed home.
34:20It's all a bit scary, isn't it?
34:21It's all a bit scary.
34:22Skylar, the barky Australian shepherd dog, is being prepped for surgery.
34:45After steroid injections only worked short term, the 18 month old is now going to have to
34:51have an operation to release pressure on the trapped nerves in her lower spine.
34:56Alright, here we go.
34:58So we're just cutting down through the muscle here.
35:00We're going to drill out the roof of the spinal canal.
35:03We've got to be careful as we do this because the nerves that go to the urinary bladder,
35:08the anal sphincter and the tail are directly under a rather thin roof here.
35:14You can see the nerves are being exposed like guitar strings.
35:35Just cutting into the disc now, like so.
35:40I'm going to take all that out.
35:43The primary problem for Skylar is that the lumbar spine, where it meets the sacrum, is actually
35:52moving and squishing the nerves.
35:54So when we push the vertebrae apart and stabilise them rock solid, that shouldn't happen.
36:00Noel inserts one of his own inventions, a spacer with threads on it that slowly pushes
36:06the vertebrae apart as it's screwed in place.
36:09Just moving the nerves back into position, like so.
36:24Noel now needs to fuse the last lumbar vertebra to the sacrum to prevent further movement in this area.
36:30So we've got four screws in now, we're going to link these with some rods using the clamps.
36:45Using barbell shaped rods, Noel braces the clamps.
36:49Hopefully that will get Skylar out of pain.
36:56It's fairly unlikely that she's going to wag her tail tomorrow.
37:00She might, however, want to bark a lot.
37:03So we'll keep her sedated for her own good, so she doesn't do too much, and for the good
37:09of those around her.
37:11Because I have a feeling she's going to get quite vocal.
37:15It's been a major operation that Skylar's family had hoped to avoid.
37:21Only time will tell if it will finally get her out of pain.
37:25Eight weeks have passed since mini diva Brittany had life-changing neurosurgery.
37:43Just like her namesake, she's made a great comeback.
37:51She's got a lot more strength, you know, particularly in her back legs.
37:56And she's like a normal little dog now, running around.
38:01She's looking good.
38:03She's just getting a bit noisy.
38:12I could hear her barking from the console room.
38:15So, she looks like she's doing well.
38:17Hello.
38:20She's doing extremely well.
38:22She seems to get stronger each week.
38:25Yeah.
38:26Good.
38:27And she's just as feisty as before.
38:28Yeah, probably.
38:30All right, well, have a little look at her then, if that's OK.
38:33Hello.
38:34Let's do a few little tests on your leg, shall we?
38:36Let's have a little look at a little hop.
38:39Good.
38:40Good.
38:41Before her operation, Brittany only had sensation halfway up her spine.
38:47Ooh.
38:48Yeah.
38:49She didn't even notice that before.
38:52So, that reflex has come all the way back to here now.
38:55Yeah.
38:56So, that's a big change.
38:57It's brilliant, isn't it?
38:58It's fantastic.
38:59She's doing really well.
39:00Yeah.
39:01On you.
39:02Really, really pleased.
39:03I think she's done better than I imagined she would have done at this stage.
39:07Yeah.
39:08And now she can't go on to have a really good quality of life for a really long time.
39:13Oh, she's good.
39:14Can we take her?
39:15Sure.
39:16To confirm Jeremy's assessment, Brittany is having a CT scan to check that the 18 pins are
39:23still fixed in place.
39:25There we go, bubba.
39:26Oh, you don't like my mask.
39:32Happily, all is secure and Brittany can be signed off.
39:37But only, that is, if the pug princess can be separated from her adoring fans.
39:43Are you taking Brittany?
39:44Do you know Brittany actually walks?
39:46Yeah.
39:47No, what's this?
39:48She'll sit down straight away.
39:49She'll sit down at the beginning.
39:50Come on then, Britters.
39:51Come on, Britters.
39:52Yay!
39:53Look at that.
39:54She's me.
39:55Yes, sir.
39:56Here she is.
39:58Hello, little darling.
39:59So, she's a little bit sleepy and a little bit wobbly.
40:02Thank you, Jeremy, for everything.
40:05No problem at all.
40:06It is an incredible transformation.
40:09I mean, she's a totally different dog.
40:11You know, she was slipping downhill quite quickly and she would have been disabled and
40:17would have had no quality of life, really.
40:19But she's just like a normal dog now.
40:22Oh, yeah.
40:23It's four months since outspoken Aussie Skylar had spinal surgery.
40:37Skylar's been doing really well.
40:38Good girl.
40:39And she's full of energy.
40:40She absolutely loves tearing around the place.
40:42But just as Skylar's mystery is resolved, Andy has turned up an injury of his own.
40:49I broke my foot, unfortunately.
40:51Ironic, really, that Skylar's just coming towards the end of her recovery and then I have a setback.
40:56Skylar's now allowed to play with the pack.
40:59She seems much happier, but she's still just as noisy.
41:04You can see the pleasure she gets from it, where the frustration was there before.
41:10She can now run and play and the injury is way in the past.
41:17I think she'll only go from strength to strength, really, now.
41:26Alison has been nursing feisty Brittany back to health after her operation.
41:31Good girl.
41:35She's still regularly visiting her granny.
41:38Brittany's absolutely fantastic now.
41:40She's running around like a normal dog, as if there's never been anything wrong with her.
41:45She's jumping up and down.
41:46She runs up and down the steps.
41:48She races round the lawn.
41:52I can't thank Jeremy and the team, you know.
41:55It's not coming.
41:57What they've done for her has been absolutely amazing.
41:59They've given her a new lease of life.
42:01And without that, I'm sure she'd be totally disabled.
42:05But now she's so lively.
42:06I have difficulty keeping up with her, actually.
42:08She wears me out.
42:12I just love having her around.
42:14She's full of it.
42:15Yeah.
42:16It's seven weeks since Bella was run over by a bicycle and needed her pelvis reconstructing.
42:36Want a nap?
42:37Yeah.
42:38We all want a nap.
42:39Oh my God.
42:40Well, you napped all the way up here.
42:41You just had an hour and a half keeping in the car.
42:45The Jack Russell puppy seems to be making good progress.
42:48Peter and Emma have brought her in for her checkup.
42:51Yeah, we're just slightly apprehensive that, you know, she seems great externally, but maybe internally it's not looking as good.
43:00So, yeah, we'll see.
43:03Yeah, here we go.
43:04Hello there.
43:06Shall we walk you in, Bella?
43:07You have a little walk.
43:09Show how good your legs are.
43:10Look at that.
43:11Hi, you're walking.
43:12Yes, yeah.
43:13Hello.
43:14Hi, Mrs.
43:15Hi, how are you?
43:16How are you?
43:17Hey, Mrs.
43:18How are you doing?
43:19Oh, there we are.
43:20Thank you very much.
43:21Are you getting over your trauma?
43:23Oh, God, yeah.
43:24It took some time.
43:25Yeah, I can imagine.
43:26But she seems to be very strong.
43:28She's definitely not as strong in that back left leg there.
43:31I mean, you know, when she puts pressure down with her right one when you hold her, but the left one she won't.
43:36Well, all that muscle will be damaged as well, remember?
43:39Yeah.
43:40Because the muscle, as with any fracture, if it was a human, you'd have to do some rehab.
43:45Yeah.
43:46So today is about determining on the x-ray picture if it's healed.
43:49Yeah.
43:50Let's get that done.
43:51Good.
43:52Please, God, all is well that it ends well.
43:56We live to ride another day.
43:58Yes.
43:59Shh.
44:00Don't put all your dogs in one basket.
44:02No.
44:03Oh.
44:04Sit.
44:05Oh, Bella.
44:07We're sitting.
44:12We're sitting.
44:13We're sitting, aren't you?
44:15We're sitting.
44:16Oh.
44:17Oh.
44:18Oh.
44:19Oh.
44:20Oh.
44:21This way, is it?
44:32Oh.
44:33Oh, ew.
44:49So, it's good news overall.
44:51You can see here, these fractures are healing in with callus.
44:55So, do you remember I told you if this was stable enough,
44:58that would hold those others until they healed?
45:00Yeah.
45:01Which is happening.
45:03So, happy days.
45:04You can get over your basket phobia.
45:06Yes.
45:07Hopefully.
45:10Hey! Hello, Bella.
45:12Bella will need six weeks of physio,
45:15but with no need for any further surgery,
45:18the outlook is rosy.
45:19Have you been gone?
45:21Bye-bye.
45:23Just a few weeks ago,
45:24we weren't even sure where we were going to be taking her home.
45:26A few weeks ago, she might not survive the weekend.
45:28Yeah.
45:29The kids are going to be really pleased.
45:31really pleased.
45:32So, yeah, looking good so far.
45:33Two and a half months after her accident,
45:46and the plucky pup is ready to get back in the saddle.
45:50See, I still think I'm more scared than you, Bella.
45:53I'll connect it first.
45:54I'll connect it through.
45:56I hope this doesn't bring back tough memories.
46:02Are you ready, Bella?
46:03I'm a little bit worried myself about getting back on the bike with her.
46:08It'll be fine.
46:09Let's give it a go then, Bella.
46:10But she seems to have forgotten, luckily.
46:13But I don't know how long before I forget.
46:15That might take a little bit longer.
46:17There you go.
46:18You're all right.
46:19Hello!
46:20Yeah, she loves him so much.
46:21She definitely prefers my dad to the rest of us,
46:23even though he was the one that ran her over.
46:25It was such a horrible thought of losing her.
46:35The change from when she was injured, you can't describe it.
46:39She's back to her old self, really.
46:40It's unbelievable.
46:55She's the one that's almost really lost
46:57and we'reástила her.
46:59And I'm not on this side.
47:00That's right.
47:01I'm in vain for life.
47:02So the one that ran away for her.
47:04I'm not even more tired.
47:05I'm not on this side.
47:06I'm not on this side.
47:07I'm in vain for you.
47:08You're all right.
47:09I'm back.
47:10I'm back.
47:11I'm back.
47:12I'm in vain for you.
47:14I'm back.
47:15I'm back.
47:16You're all right.
47:18I'm back.
47:19I'm back.
47:21I'm back.
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