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00:00I don't 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
00:12You can have some nice eggs, me.
00:14Offer cutting-edge solutions.
00:17You're glad to be there, 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.
00:55No, it's me.
00:56Yeah, it's going to be all right.
01:03Come on, nice and slowly.
01:04Gentle.
01:05That's perfect, isn't it?
01:07You're gorgeous.
01:08At the heart of Fitzpatrick referrals
01:11is a deep love of all animals.
01:13Oh, he's adorable.
01:15I am a massive sucker for Hungarian visualers and German shepherds.
01:20Good boy.
01:21But some steal hearts more than others.
01:24This is my child.
01:25I actually have a real soft spot for Italian greyhounds.
01:28They're so funny, so full of character.
01:31Oh, she's so sweet.
01:32All sorts of breeds, large or small.
01:35Isn't he cool?
01:36Tall or tiny.
01:37The little paw.
01:39Spotty or fluffy.
01:41He's so gosh darn cute.
01:42Every time we have a Pomeranian at the practice,
01:45they always say,
01:46Ruben, there's a Pomeranian here.
01:48Do you want to see him?
01:49He's like, yes.
01:50They really know I love Pomeranians.
01:52High five.
01:53High five.
01:54Good boy.
01:55I know I shouldn't be biased,
01:56but I do have two Maine Coons in my life.
01:59They're so affectionate,
02:01and they're just the best stress-busting companions
02:04you could ever wish for.
02:10Hello, this is Lexi.
02:12Take a pew.
02:14And help yourself to tea or coffee, okay?
02:17Or hot chocolate's nice.
02:20One-and-a-half-year-old Maine Coon Lexi
02:22is here today with Lucinda and Duncan.
02:25About two weeks ago,
02:26we've noticed that she's been quite all alone by herself,
02:30like hissing,
02:31and as she's walking, she's been limping,
02:33so we just decided to take her to the vet,
02:36got x-rays,
02:37and it looks like she fractured her left hip.
02:40Obviously, it's very sad to see her not doing well.
02:43She means the world to us.
02:44It's our first cat together,
02:46and she just climbed into our hearts immediately
02:49with her big Maine Coon paws.
02:51Lexi came into South Africans' Lucinda and Duncan's lives
02:56after they decided to make the UK their home.
02:59I've always been a dog person.
03:01I've had dogs my whole life,
03:02but Lucinda wanted to introduce me to Maine Coons,
03:05so it brought into the idea of giving a cat.
03:08Lexi!
03:09The idea of just having a big fat cat cuddling
03:13is just really nice.
03:15The couple fell in love with Maine Coons,
03:18one of the largest cat breeds,
03:20and not long after getting Lexi,
03:22she was joined by baby brother Levi.
03:25Lexi and Levi is literally our world.
03:28I can't imagine my life without them.
03:33Very quickly,
03:34Lexi confirmed her place in the family pecking order.
03:37Lexi is queen of the house.
03:39She's definitely ruling the household.
03:42What are you doing?
03:43Lexi's guilty pleasure is an ice cream.
03:47When you open that wrapper, she knows.
03:49And if I don't give her the leg,
03:51she will literally use a paw and go like that.
03:54She just absolutely loves it.
03:56But when Lexi fractured her hip, everything changed.
04:00I'm trying to compare her life before she had the injury.
04:06She was really playful, jumping everywhere.
04:08It's a big challenge for a other cat
04:10because Levi wants to play the whole time.
04:12For me, the definition of a cat is
04:15to be able to jump on anything you want to jump on.
04:18Run around crazy like a hooligan,
04:21and seeing her not being able to walk properly,
04:24just lying there, not being Lexi was heartbreaking.
04:28Hi, guys.
04:33Come on and grab a seat right there.
04:35Now, I love main cones.
04:38Like I'm crazy.
04:40So, I'm going to ignore you completely.
04:43I have too.
04:46And I love them like the joy of my life.
04:48How are you?
04:50Now, tell me how the incident happened, please.
04:53So, we actually have no idea how she hurt herself.
04:56Right.
04:57I took her to the vet thinking maybe the smaller baby
04:59that we have at home, maybe just caught her.
05:02You have a baby?
05:03Yes.
05:04Not a real, a mancoon.
05:05No, we both have two cat babies.
05:07Yes.
05:08So...
05:09Give her a go slowly on my knee.
05:11See what happens.
05:12That's it.
05:13There we go.
05:14It's okay.
05:15Shh.
05:16I know you're in pain.
05:17I know you're in pain.
05:18It's okay.
05:19Shh.
05:20Obviously showed the fracture.
05:21So, now we're here.
05:23I know.
05:24I know.
05:25I get it.
05:26It hurts.
05:27I don't need to pull her about because I've already seen an x-ray picture from your vet.
05:32So, this is a hip.
05:34Now, what you may have thought was going on was that we had a loose hip.
05:39That's not what you've got.
05:40Okay.
05:41It's called a slip capital femoral epiphysis.
05:44And slip capital femoral epiphysis is a big problem.
05:47The blood supply comes up through the femoral neck into the head.
05:51The blood supply comes down through the ligament into the head.
05:54And it joins in the middle.
05:55Now, there seems to be some kind of probably genetic predisposition
06:00that determines that the interlinking of those blood vessels doesn't work right.
06:05And when that happens, then the blood supply gets cut off and the neck rots away.
06:10And eventually, it just splits.
06:12And then the femur is separated from the femoral head by a hole.
06:16If a cat jumps from a height or twists awkwardly,
06:21they can twist the head off the femur at that plate.
06:24And that's what we believe has happened.
06:26And so, you can't get comfortable.
06:28I know.
06:29I know.
06:30I know.
06:31Now, to treat it, option one, femoral head and neck excision,
06:36where you chop off the head, chop off the neck and throw it away.
06:39Okay.
06:40That leaves a piston-type motion, so you've got no hip joint, just a fibrous pad.
06:46They never exert full weight on the leg.
06:48But most cats do fine with it, or total hip replacement.
06:52Yes.
06:53Total hip replacement can be very successful in cats and give them a normal life.
06:57But it's really up to you what you want.
06:59Would she need one hip replacement or two?
07:01We won't know till we get the x-ray pictures.
07:04Maine coons seem to be genetically more susceptible to this condition.
07:10It's more common in young males, and it can affect both hips.
07:15This cat means the world to me has been heavy on our hearts having to make a potential call
07:20that we don't want to make.
07:22So, if it's the one that's a full-on hip replacement, do what needs to be done to get her better.
07:28If it's unfortunately the two...
07:30Well, do you want to hang about while we get the rads?
07:32Yes.
07:33Okay.
07:34Right, Reuben, you've got a new friend.
07:36Oh, good morning.
07:37Beautiful, beautiful.
07:39Now, she will hiss at you, but use the Reuben charm.
07:45Before being x-rayed, the team are using a pressure-sensitive walkway
07:49to see how much weight Lexi is putting on her back legs.
07:54But Madam Lexi doesn't want to strut her stuff.
07:58Go on, Lexi.
07:59Go on.
08:00They're showing us up.
08:01They're showing us up, usually.
08:02I do like a good, big fluffy Maine Coon.
08:05But you have to have a lot of patience with cats.
08:08There's a few footprints.
08:09That's all we need.
08:10That's all we need.
08:11They seem to be a bit less tolerant than dogs.
08:13Even the comfort of her cat box isn't tickling her fancy.
08:19But as long as you've got the patience, then usually you're on to a good start.
08:24Not always.
08:25The dog.
08:26Yay!
08:27Yay!
08:28Yay!
08:29Yay!
08:30Yay!
08:31I got one.
08:32I got one.
08:34Do it all.
08:35Yeah, no, that's one for the second.
08:36You sit up there and I think you're back.
08:38I got one.
08:39I got one.
08:40I got one.
08:43Hi guys.
08:44Hi.
08:45Come on in.
08:46Come on in.
08:47Now, I do have bad news.
08:49It is both sides.
08:51I'm sorry.
08:53That was not evident on your previous x-ray pictures.
08:56But it has got a lot worse since.
08:58Which sadly is not uncommon.
09:01Sorry.
09:03You can see on the frog leg view that the femoral head is separated on both sides.
09:08Bookhead.
09:09No wonder she's in pain all the time.
09:12Because it's moving like that.
09:14I've personally never seen a bilateral slip capital femoral epiphysis in a female Maine Coon Cat.
09:24Ever.
09:25In 30 years of doing this.
09:27She's literally one in a million.
09:30In a good way and in a bad way.
09:33Bottom line from your perspective is what are we going to do?
09:38I think for us we'll need to assess the cause side of things.
09:43Of course.
09:44And that's the difficult part for me.
09:45It's the worst decision that I need to make in my entire life.
09:48I understand when a cat is like 13 years old, they've had their lifespan.
09:52Which is a year and a half.
09:55With two of Lexi's hips affected, the family now have an agonizing decision to make.
10:01A simpler procedure, leaving her without a joint.
10:04Or the chance of full mobility with a more complex hip replacement.
10:08Ricochet and Excalibur, the two boy Maine Coon cats,
10:12that I'm lucky enough to have in my life,
10:14are both in the age group that could get slipped capital femoral epiphysis like Lexi.
10:20And if that happened, I'd be devastated.
10:27What are we going to do?
10:29I can really empathize with what Lexi's family are going through.
10:34She's my baby, that girl.
10:35She's my baby, that girl.
10:36It's not your referrals. How can I help?
10:49Oh no.
10:50How mind you?
10:51Border Terrier Charlie is marking his arrival this morning, outside,
10:55with Dad James and Mum Kay.
10:57mum Kay. What's wrong with yours? A dog run into him about six weeks ago. It just took him out
11:04and I think it done his crucial ligament then. One-year-old Charlie is struggling to put any
11:09weight on his right hind leg. Charlie had a wee accident when he was a pup. I think he broke his
11:15leg but that self-healed and then he took a knock playing and his back leg just went so he's limping
11:21on that quite a lot. Lively terrier Charlie bounded into Kay and James's life with gusto.
11:31He is definitely the character of the house. He's extremely bubbly and bouncy. Good boy.
11:39Very quickly he established his place between ten-year-old Freddy and his new sister five-month-old
11:46Lily. He's going to win. No way Charlie's losing that. No way. Charlie is the dominant one even
11:55though he's the middle one. Border terriers are so hyper and they can be what we call them
12:04the terrorists. Running around picking up the pillars and they're throwing them and it can
12:10just be bonkers. I kept saying when's he going to grow out of this? But Charlie's recent accident
12:19has meant family life has changed. There's a good boy. All right. As soon as he hurt his leg
12:30as if fun went out of the house a bit you know Charlie brings that to the house. Yeah. He wasn't
12:35running around. He wasn't wanting to play with toys. He's either in pain or drowsy. And he's
12:41walking in three legs as well. Yeah. He's raising that leg up. It's very very hard and to watch
12:47a dog like in pain you know it's not nice to see. And not being able to do anything for him. It's hard.
12:57Now I know I should be unbiased but I am completely biased. Me not. Because I had a board
13:01authoritarian myself. I know. I'm so sorry about your dog. Can I cuddle? Yeah. We've got three of
13:06these two. You've got three? Yes. He's such a good dog. That's lovely. Now you just walk around
13:15there. There we go. Thank you. It's fine. I'll just observe the walking while we're doing that.
13:20I'll wipe the spit out of my mouth. It's all good. It's all good. So I notice as he walks around there
13:28that he toe touches when he's standing. Yeah. He doesn't put full weight on it. Yeah. And he's
13:34obviously in quite a lot of pain now. Good boy. If you go up here and put his head there for me.
13:39All right. Down here. Yeah. That's it. All right. Dad if you talk to him please. Hi Charlie. All right.
13:45Now unfortunately what I'm going to do next may hurt. I apologize in advance Charlie. Okay. Good boy.
13:52Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Right. There's two ligaments inside the knee. They're called cruciate
13:59because they cross over. When he was a baby he broke this growth plate and as a result that whole
14:06segment tilted backwards. Yeah. That did in fact go on to heal and your original tibial plateau angle
14:14was that. Mm-hmm. And now your tibial plateau angle is significantly steeper. Oh. The change in the angle
14:25of the tibial joint surface has put more strain on Charlie's cranial cruciate ligament which holds
14:31the femur in position. So therefore over time and especially when the other dog bashed into him
14:39the ligament ruptured. Oh. So there's two things that we can do to level the tibial plateau and take
14:47that green line back to where the purple line should be. One is you could take out a wedge and drop that
14:55down but it would make this bone shorter. He'd have one leg shorter than the other. He would have one leg
15:00shorter than the other. He already has one leg shorter than the other because this growth plate
15:04falls prematurely. There's another procedure that you can do which is called a tibial plateau
15:10leveling osteotomy which is a curve is made in this plane here and it's rotated around the center
15:18of the joint so you don't lose limb length but you still alter the angle. Yeah. Sometimes we use a
15:24combination of both however I won't know any of that till I take some x-ray pictures. Right. Okay. So we'll do
15:29that now. Now treat him like a prince. Look at him. Hello. CT scans will help Noel plan the surgery and x-ray
15:41pictures will compare tibial angles on Charlie's good and bad legs. And it's not good news. It's quite steep. It is.
15:51To reduce the steep angle Charlie will have a combination of both procedures with the bone
15:56segments secured with a plate. There are dozens of manufacturers of plates but with this very steep
16:05plateau angle none of the plates is going to fit this bone exactly. So it needs to be made up? Well
16:11we don't have to make it up but it is an option. It's possible to physically make a plate that fits
16:17wherever you want the screw holes, wherever you want the bend, wherever you want the curve. Yes. It's
16:22going to require quite a lot of complicated planning. And the downside is cage rest and lead only walking.
16:27Okay thank you. Okay I'll get him for you. Thank you. All right no worries. The family are hoping the best
16:33outcome will be a custom plate based on Charlie's CT scans. But that means they'll have to wait.
16:41It's quite difficult putting everything in the hokies. We've got an R2 of these dogs at home. We can't go for the big
16:46walks. So it just needs to be like that until we get them fixed unfortunately.
16:57Duncan and Lucinda have been coming to terms with the news that not one but both of Maine Coon
17:03Lexi's hips are degenerating. Heartbreaking but we have concluded that the best thing for her would be
17:10doing a total hip replacement. To give up some holidays to just have extra cuddles with her is
17:15definitely worth it. Lexi could be kept under general anaesthetic and Noel is free to operate
17:23straight away if the couple want to go ahead. Okay we're going to roll a go double hip replacement we'll
17:31make it work. I do not want you to feel pressured. No I think I think we agree. It seems to me that the
17:38left is more painful. So yeah I think so. We start with the left. Thanks doc appreciate it. We are doing the
17:46left. Let's go. We've just had the go ahead. The team prepare Lexi for the first of her double hip
17:53surgeries. Epidural went in nicely. Of course it did. Let's go to theatre. Small gilpies. Noel is going to
18:04replace the old femoral head and neck in Lexi's hip joint with new metal components and the socket with a
18:11plastic cup. He starts by getting rid of the damaged head and neck. Take care of it. Then drills out the
18:21existing hip socket into the marrow behind before pouring in bone cement to hold the new plastic cup.
18:32The important thing is not to get any blood around the cup between the cement and the cup or indeed
18:37between the cement and the bond and it requires me to press the cup in at exactly the right time
18:44so the cement is not too liquid and not too hard. You want to get one chance at this. It's vital that
18:49it's in the right spot. All right load it. Next Noel prepares the femur for the new head and neck
18:59drilling down into the femoral canal where he will place more cement. As you can see it's beginning to
19:05ooze out so I'm putting my finger on there to prevent air bubbles. Once the cement is the perfect
19:11consistency Noel inserts a metal stem into the femur. Give me the impactor please. Thank you.
19:20After attaching the metal ball the femur is repositioned in alignment with the new plastic cup.
19:27There we go. It feels secure. That's good. So we leave it there one side down.
19:35If the operation's a success, Lexi will have the procedure repeated on her right hip.
19:40All right Lexi, well done. Let's go to egg shape please. But she'll have to make a good recovery first.
19:46The team at Fitzpatrick referrals deal mainly with cats and dogs. But occasionally a smaller four-legged
20:01friend makes an appearance. This is adorable. We really enjoy seeing patients that we might not
20:07get see too often like ferrets and rabbits. Oh my goodness, the paws, they're so small.
20:13Word gets around very quickly and people get quite excited. Two, two tiny feet. Anything that's small,
20:18anything that's fluffy, get a lot of attention. I think he looks cute in his blanket with his fish sock.
20:23Today, it's a rabbit that's got the team in it is. I don't want to eat my oxygen.
20:29Two-year-old Lockie is being x-rayed for a suspected broken leg.
20:33It's quite big.
20:355.2 kilograms of bun bun.
20:44Hefty dwarf lop rabbit Lockie lives with dad Jake, mum Laura, nine-year-old Louie and six-year-old Millie.
20:53Whenever we have people come over, we get a lot of how he's so big, didn't realise rabbits could be
20:57that big, that sort of thing and he likes the attention. Lockie is about the size of an average
21:01cat. He is quite big. The kids insisted that they wanted to get a rabbit, that then turned into
21:08getting a rabbit each. We were told we were getting two boys. Lockie was a boy as planned and Lucky
21:15wasn't and we ended up with 18. Lockie's definitely the leader of our rabbit family. We have his children,
21:24Benji, Kinder, Nibbles. Cucumber. Lockie is grumpy, super stubborn. Get down. He definitely has a bit
21:33of a naughty streak. Yeah, you're definitely going to rip that to shreds, aren't you?
21:36Lockie and Millie have always had a close relationship. When you first meet him, he's a
21:42little bitey but when he gets to know you, he's calm and cuddly. He shows a softer side to the kids.
21:52I definitely think he means a lot to them. Lockie and his children have free run of the entire
21:59garden but the big boy hurt his leg when he was tucked up in his hutch. One day I came home from
22:07school and Lockie was just in the corner. Usually he just runs up to see me and I knew something was
22:17wrong. He was limping, couldn't weight bear on his paw at all. You could tell he was in a lot of pain.
22:24He wasn't eating and we couldn't really get him to cuddle. To see him hurt just makes me feel really sad.
22:35He's really important to the kids. He means a lot to us too and unfortunately we lost Lockie last year
22:42and that was really really hard on all of us and so the thought of losing Lockie, it doesn't bear
22:47thinking about really and so we just really want to get him the best treatment we can and try and make
22:51him better as quickly as we can. Our local vets did an x-ray, found that he had a break just above
22:56his wrist and they said that it wasn't something they would be able to help with. So they referred
23:02us to Fitzpatrick's. It is exactly what we would expect it to be, a tiny bone and a big fracture
23:12through it. And you can see the problem with fissures going up and down like lightning from the
23:19fracture site. So the only way that the term dwarf actually applies to this particular big guy is
23:29he's got dwarf bones. Skinny, skinny, skinny, skinny, skinny. Much smaller than you would think from his
23:35size. Rabbits. They're also super fragile in the old limb department. So there are three possible
23:43outcomes. One is euthanasia, which I legally have to tell you is an option, put him to sleep. One is
23:51amputation. He could cope on three legs but they find it difficult because they hop around. And the
23:58third is repair it. The problem that we have is that there are no current commercially available implants
24:04that are for rabbits. So one of the options we've looked at more recently is manufacturing a plate
24:10specific for the patient in the factory. My biggest thing with him is the recovery. Yes,
24:17it's really important to not have them away from the pack for too long. If you want to get re-socialising
24:23pretty quickly, then you need the function to be very good at the end of two weeks.
24:28I've got a friend. Hello.
24:32Lockie will stay at the practice while they wait for a custom plate.
24:35But the longer he's away from his bunny family, the greater the risk he will be rejected.
24:47At home in Gillingham, Kay's been carefully following doctor's orders, taking one-year-old border
24:54terrier Charlie for short walks only. Back in your cage for a little while, Charlie.
24:58It's been a hard regime while he waits for his implant to be made. It's tough leaving Charlie behind
25:06when I walk the other dogs. He starts howling quite a lot. He doesn't understand why he isn't going out
25:15for a walk. He's always been such a lively dog, but he's lost a bit of his personality limit because he's in pain.
25:23Charlie? Yeah. I can see he's getting depressed. It has affected the Phil household.
25:31Aw, is that right to see you? He's a good boy.
25:34We just want him to have his little doggy life back. Yeah.
25:41Finally, Charlie's specialised plate is ready and the knee surgery can go ahead.
25:47Hello. Hi there. Hi, guys. Well, do you want to see a work of art? That's his plate.
25:54Oh, wow. Highly complex piece of kit. Let me show you how it works.
25:58It looks a bit like my car now. We've invented this plate called a frog,
26:02which stands for Fitz Rotation Osteotomy Guide Plate. And it's a different design for every case.
26:10Wow. Hi, Charles. Come on. Big colour-frunk or not?
26:13Good boy.
26:14All right. Such a good boy.
26:15You're a guest planner.
26:17Hi, guys. God bless you.
26:19Good boy. Here we go. It's the man.
26:22It's like leaving a child, isn't it?
26:26No kisses.
26:28It's OK. Don't panic.
26:30Does anyone need anything from me? I have free hands.
26:40Charlie, the Border Terrier with a torn knee ligament, is in theatre.
26:46Noel aims to reduce the steep angle at the top of his tibia with two procedures
26:51that will hopefully end his pain.
26:53Stepper.
26:54In the first procedure, Noel will use a 3D-printed guide to make a curved cut in the top of the tibia.
27:06Then he will drill holes to match a customised plate,
27:10before rotating the joint surface to a better angle.
27:13Because the angle is still too steep, a second procedure will remove a wedge of the bone,
27:19and he'll use his invention, the frog plate, to align the three bone segments.
27:24First with non-locking screws, and finally securing the repair using locking screws.
27:36Right, here we go.
27:42After using a guide to cut the top of the tibia bone,
27:46Noel uses two more guides to cut the wedge.
27:53Before I take the wedge out, I'm going to rotate this top segment.
28:02He then moves the top of the tibia to the correct angle.
28:06This rotates 5.6 millimetres, which has converted that angle 27 degrees that way.
28:14And we're going to take a 31-degree wedge out of here to drop this down.
28:23OK.
28:23The three bone segments are aligned with Noel's innovative frog plate,
28:29designed to Charlie's exact measurements and held with temporary screws.
28:34With one single plate, we're able to address multiple deformity sites and rotate the top of the tibia
28:45into exactly the right alignment relative to the femur, whilst using the plate itself as the realignment guide.
28:52Happy with the alignment, Noel swaps temporary screws for final locking screws.
28:58All the screws are in position now.
29:01And the intricate surgery is complete.
29:06Well done, Charlie. Good boy.
29:08Hopefully that will work out well.
29:10CT.
29:19So I'm doing a barbecue Saturday night for the fam.
29:22You sound like you're a bit stressed about this already.
29:25Hey, today's a big day.
29:27You get to go home.
29:28Shall I get you out?
29:30I know you're going to be grumpy.
29:31And I know you're going to, going to go at that.
29:37Of course you are.
29:38Of course you are.
29:43Three days after her first hip operation,
29:45Mistress Lexi is still making her views known.
29:50Come on, sweetheart.
29:51Yes, I know.
29:52I know.
29:53I know.
29:53It's tough, isn't it?
29:55Isn't it tough?
29:59Duncan and Lucinda are keen to get Lexi back,
30:02as she's left a Maine Coon-sized hole in their family.
30:06Now.
30:07Especially for little brother Levi.
30:09Are you looking forward to getting at home?
30:11Yes, it's going to be nice.
30:12Sometimes when they start playing around, you're like,
30:14oh, can't they just be quiet for a while?
30:16No, it's too quiet.
30:17And now it's too quiet.
30:18In the box.
30:20Love you too.
30:21I think he misses her more than Lexi most.
30:24Lexi most probably is enjoying the peace and quiet.
30:26Yeah.
30:27Over to the annoying little brother for a bit.
30:30You know what?
30:31I'm quite convinced that in a few weeks' time, you'll realise what we've all been through is all good.
30:41Now, how are you guys?
30:43Good in you.
30:44I've had the...
30:45But I've also had the...
30:49Come on in, good to see you.
30:53The hip replacement looks good.
30:55It's very secure.
30:56She's walking on it really well.
30:59Clearly, we still have the pain associated with this one.
31:01If she's doing great, we'll crack on a week three or four and get the other one done and overlap the recoveries.
31:08Until Lexi fully recovers, her second hip operation will be on hold.
31:14Thank you very much.
31:15We really appreciate everything you've done for us.
31:17I know you do.
31:18And I have one thing to say to you before I go.
31:23To you, madam.
31:24And I'm hoping we'll get over that very soon.
31:27I love her.
31:28You know that.
31:30Bye.
31:36Affectionately known as the Fitz Ritz, every animal gets the five-star treatment when it comes to food.
31:43Curlico, hay, muesli, banana veg.
31:45Apparently banana favourite.
31:47While he's waiting for a plate to be designed for his broken leg,
31:51gigantic dwarf rabbit Lockie is enjoying his offerings.
31:55Cement.
31:57Oh man, that smells amazing.
32:00Custom plates take several days to create.
32:04But the longer Lockie is away from his pack, there's a risk he'll be rejected.
32:11Noel's engineering and manufacturing team have had to work fast.
32:15Today we had a rushed case for Lockie who has a fractured forearm.
32:22We got the CT scans through last night and then we've spent our morning designing a plate.
32:29There's lots of loose bone around so you can't put any screws through here because they've got nothing to hold on to.
32:34So we've put screws below and above the fracture line so that keeps it nice and strong in the centre where the break is.
32:41Also, when Lockie is jumping around, there'll be quite a lot of force going through this top screw here.
32:47So by extending the plate, we take away this stress and make sure that nothing will break again.
32:53It's been through three machining processes, threaded holes put in and then this is supported with soft metal because it's such a small plate.
33:03That's now finished on the inside.
33:05So now I'll just pop it in here and this will melt that metal off, take it off on the ends and that'll be it done.
33:11Hi, it's Lauren. I am coming. I'll be with you in two seconds. Okay, thanks.
33:29Be as quick as we can. Let's go now.
33:31The surgery is Lockie's best chance of fixing his leg and reuniting him with the pack quickly.
33:37Go, go, go, go, go, go.
33:4024 hours later, the plate and the team are ready to go.
33:44So it's wonderful that we can design a plate overnight and manufacture it the following day and have the plate here for surgery,
33:52which is a game-changer really for patients like Lockie.
33:58Hold on.
34:00Noel puts a stabilizing pin into the Alnabo, which helps pull the broken segments of the radius into alignment.
34:09So the next thing we're going to do is see where the plate should go.
34:15The advantage of this custom plate is because it's shaped the same as the bone based on the CT scan,
34:22it hugs the bone against itself and reduces the fracture for us.
34:29The plate should hold the segments together, but the screws used to attach it are only two millimeters in diameter,
34:36as Lockie's bones are so tiny.
34:39One of the big problems with rabid fractures is that as you tighten the screws they can splinter,
34:45because the bone is quite fragile.
34:57Yeah, that's a real problem.
34:59The problem is that this particular fissure is running down into that screw hole,
35:02and it's possible that that may come right down and fracture into the joint.
35:06So I cannot put another screw into that hole there, because it will destroy the bone.
35:11This is the ubiquitous problem with rabid fractures.
35:14They splinter like glass.
35:17We have a myriad more fissures than we had been able to see on the CT scan.
35:23So I'm going to have to back off at this point and leave this screw hole, this screw hole, and this screw hole empty.
35:29We hope those tiny splinters will all congeal into a callus to heal that fracture.
35:35It's a big ask of the biology, but I just have to hope my best is good enough.
35:44The alignment is good, so if it stays like that, that will be great.
35:49Right, you in there, Lockie? Are you feeling lucky, Lockie?
35:52I can't wait to be your own, can you? You're a big king of him and smiling.
36:07In reception, James and Kay have arrived to collect Charlie, their border terrier, after his knee surgery five days ago.
36:14Good boy, Charlie. Boop!
36:17So this is what we started with, which was a very large curve on the top of the tibia like so.
36:23And this is what you've ended up with.
36:26Oh, wow! What a difference, huh?
36:28God, yes!
36:29The plateau has been tilted back to normal through the combination of that curve cut with the wedge osteotomy, so that the femur no longer slips down that slope.
36:39That's brilliant.
36:41He's out here.
36:43Hello, baby!
36:46Oh, Charlie!
36:49So, that's good.
36:51Well, I'll get a job as a seamstress.
36:54So, as you can see, the wound is good.
36:57You've just got to not let him run, jump, slip or slide.
37:01He can happily have ten-minute walks.
37:03And when you walk him, you just ideally stoop down and grab his harness.
37:08Right, OK.
37:09OK, let's go.
37:11Thank you very much.
37:12No worries. I'll kiss him goodbye.
37:13Right, mate.
37:14Love you.
37:15Love you, mate.
37:16Love you.
37:18James and Kay have put their life on hold for the last three months, dealing with Charlie's injury.
37:24But it's not over yet.
37:27The next few weeks at home will be crucial for his recovery.
37:30This should be like a second home for her right now.
37:43Five weeks ago, Queen Bee Lexi had the first of her hip operations to help her walk pain-free again.
37:50Today, she's back for the second hip replacement.
37:57Alexi is full of beans, so we're pretty excited for her to have her second hip so she can get back to normal.
38:03Hi, guys.
38:04Hello.
38:06How you doing, baby? You all right?
38:09So, good on the hip we've already done, right?
38:10Yes, she's been trying to run in the cage, playing with anything and everything she can.
38:17Yes.
38:18I know, sweetheart. I know. It's OK. It's all right. You're with uncle. No, it's fine.
38:24Yeah, I know. I know. I've heard it all before. I've heard it all before. You know I have.
38:29Good. So, the second one today, you know the score. You've been through it before.
38:33Lexi will now have her other hip joint replaced. The neck of the femur has degenerated even further over the last few months.
38:43I've just had a look at the x-ray pictures and this hip's in a very bad way.
38:49The femoral neck has wasted away even more due to lack of blood supply, so-called avascular necrosis, which is sadly a genetic problem.
38:57Right, go on me, please. So, hopefully we can get Lexi permanently out of pain.
39:03And into a situation of good function after this hip replacement.
39:07Alright, let's go.
39:09The first one was really, really scary.
39:11And I guess you're getting through the second one and making sure that everything's fine and she fully recovers.
39:17So, it's quite a big emotional roller coaster.
39:33What have we here?
39:34Hey, mate.
39:35How you doing?
39:36I've got some salad for you, mate.
39:39It's been three days since enormous dwarf rabbit, Lockie, had a custom plate fitted to fix his broken leg.
39:46But he's not a happy bunny.
39:48Have you got the hump? Because I examined your leg. Is that what it is?
39:52Yeah, I think you might have.
39:54And if I get a dandelion with a longer stem.
39:57Any interest? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I'll have that. Thank you very much.
40:00Today, Laura's back to pick up her giant fluffy bundle.
40:05I've heard he's been a bit of a character. He's a bit of a diva. But I think he's had a nice time.
40:12Home time, mate. Home time.
40:15Hi, Noel.
40:16Come on in. Oh, my goodness, little card.
40:18Yeah, my daughter's made you a card.
40:19Oh, my God, that's beautiful.
40:20She made you a hamper.
40:21Oh, this is gorgeous. And how old is Millie?
40:23She's six.
40:24She's so grateful.
40:25She's beautiful.
40:26It's her rabbit.
40:27I mean, that's awesome. I can't even draw a rabbit that good.
40:31Anyway, this is what we started with, as you know.
40:33Oh, he's poor leg.
40:35This is what you have now.
40:37Oh, look at his little plate. Bionic rabbit.
40:40Yeah, but because of the multiple fissures here, I couldn't put a screw there or there or there.
40:45Right.
40:46Because it was going to fracture the bone more.
40:47It's too weak there.
40:48That's right. But fortunately, this is a beautifully strong plate.
40:52So even though there are holes in the middle, I don't think that they will be dramatic stress risers.
40:58Yeah.
40:59Now, all this needs to heal in.
41:01All the exploded bits, they need to congeal in a callus.
41:05And you've got to not let him accelerate or jump about, because if it does, these fissures will go down into those screws and he'll explode into his wrist.
41:15Okay.
41:16So that's why it's very necessary to keep him in his hutch.
41:20Complete cage rest.
41:21Complete cage rest at all times.
41:24He's an interesting character.
41:25And sometimes he's fine.
41:26He's like, all right, serve me from the rabbit salad platter, please.
41:31Yeah, hand feed me.
41:32Hand feed me.
41:33Yeah.
41:34Unlike the dandelion with just a head, he wants me to hand it to him on the stem.
41:38So that he can move.
41:39He nipples all the way up.
41:40That's right.
41:41Yeah, I can totally picture it.
41:42Whoa.
41:43Oh, bum to the door.
41:44Yeah.
41:45Hi.
41:46I am feeling the pressure for the next six weeks.
41:49Yeah, well, I can imagine.
41:50Yeah, yeah, yeah.
41:51Well, as long as he's in his hutch, you're good.
41:55Thank Millie so much.
41:56To be accepted back at home in his rabbit pack, Lockie needs to make a good recovery without any setbacks.
42:03Right, so you know the rules.
42:04Yeah.
42:05Anything else?
42:06No, I don't think so.
42:07He's got the right hump.
42:08He gets the hump.
42:09And then he turns his rump towards you when he gets the hump.
42:12It's called the Lockie rump hump.
42:13Yeah, the Lockie rump hump.
42:15Hi, darling.
42:18Hi.
42:19I can't believe the size of him.
42:21Yeah.
42:22He's bigger than my cat.
42:23Are you all right?
42:24Yeah, I'm going to try and keep him dead still.
42:28He's definitely not out of the woods yet.
42:30He's not allowed to move really at all for the next six weeks.
42:34So, really apprehensive about that.
42:48Lockie is gradually finding his feet back with his family.
42:52The first week or so after the operation was really difficult because Lockie had to be away from the rest of the rabbits.
42:58We had to keep him isolated and he wasn't really allowed to move too much.
43:01So, that was quite tough.
43:02But it was definitely worth going through that to see him happy and well again.
43:06He's back living outside, hopping around.
43:10I feel happy that his leg is all better and now I can snuggle with him.
43:17We get to do that again.
43:19Lockie has been reintroduced gradually back with his children as rabbits can be territorial if one leaves the pack.
43:26We're still working on him integrating back in with the rest of the rabbits.
43:31We're getting there.
43:32I feel happy that he's home.
43:34The other rabbits are still young and they need Lockie to protect them.
43:40He's a big part of the family and we're really pleased that he's on the mend.
43:44Lockie has been special since we got him.
43:47He's just been getting special, really.
43:57It's been five months since Charlie had his groundbreaking knee surgery.
44:03Charlie, come on.
44:04Come on, Charlie.
44:05James and Kay have worked hard for months to help his recovery.
44:09Good boy.
44:10Come on.
44:11Come on.
44:12Come on, Charlie.
44:13Come on, Charlie.
44:14Come get a bow.
44:15He's nearly back to normal now.
44:17Yeah.
44:18Which is really good to see.
44:19Charlie, get a bow.
44:20What's this?
44:22Swimming's been brilliant for him.
44:24Good for his leg.
44:26Charlie.
44:28Come on.
44:29What a good boy you are.
44:31What a good boy.
44:33Where's your bow?
44:34Get a bow.
44:35It's a relief to get him out of the cage, to not worry about if he's going to hurt his foot.
44:41Not all the worrying about the physio.
44:43Feels like we're just freer.
44:49It's been great to see Charlie getting his personality back.
44:52Starting to chase the ball, run about and just be really happy.
44:56It melts your heart to see him all running and playing.
45:00We've got a big family back.
45:01We're happy again, aren't we?
45:02Yay.
45:03Right.
45:04Go, go, go, go.
45:05Go, go, go, go.
45:06Oh, we've got a release on now.
45:07Oh, we've got a release on now.
45:11Lily, hold on up.
45:19After her two hip replacements, Maine Coon Lexi is back to her feisty feline self.
45:26It's back to normal. It's almost like the operation didn't happen.
45:31She's been running around in the house, jumping on the couch, jumping on the table, chasing her brother.
45:37Everything that she always did before her injury.
45:40Since Lexi wasn't around, Levi was kind of the dude in many ways.
45:45And I think he's enjoying playing with Lexi again.
45:49And she's quickly re-established the pecking order.
45:53She's been back to the normal, lovable self, purring when we pick her up,
45:58calling us when we need to come and give her some food if she already had breakfast.
46:03And still the boss of the house as she used to be.
46:06Being able to hold her without hurting her and her hissing at us is just one of the most amazing things for me personally.
46:14It's just nice seeing that she is back to her old self and her cuddly self
46:19Always just wants to give so much love out, so I'm very happy.
46:23Let's go.
46:24Let's go.
46:25Let's go.
46:26Let's go.
46:27Let's go.
46:30Let's go.
46:32Let's go.
46:34Transcription by CastingWords
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