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Zac was rescued as a 6 month old puppy through this practice
14 years ago around the time when I first arrived in Hinckley.
It has been very interesting to observe how Zac has "matured"
throughout that period.........he no doubt will have made
some interesting observations about me!
Only last week I was discussing with his owner how age
has affected him and what we could to ensure that he was
able to make the best of his twilight years. What was not
in doubt was that he still fulfilled all the criteria necessary
to establish that he was leading a good quality of life.
Unfortunately, after a week-end off I arrived at work last
Monday to discover that he had broken his leg whilst playing
in the garden.My colleagues had x-rayed his broken leg and
found that he had a very nasty fracture below his hip.
In this situation when healing is not as rapid as it once
was, it is very important to have the patient back up on
their feet as quickly as possible. This also applies to
elderly human patients who have suffered similar injuries.
Additionally, in reconstructing the damaged bone it is vital
to preserve the bloodsupply that is essential in achieving
a good repair.
In this instance I was able to use a combination of a stainless
steel intramedullary pin with an external fixator clamped
with connecting bars on the outside of the affected leg.
This provides excellent stability without disrupting the
body's natural healing process.
Given that Zac scoffed his dinner on the night of surgery
I am hopeful that he has exactly the right attitude to adversity
which will pull him through! There's life in the old boy
yet!
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