Case of the month

Freddy Nicholson

Freddy was seen out of hours at our Beccles branch as an emergency after having been hit by a car.  He wasn’t eating or drinking and showed an increased effort when breathing.

As well as the increased breathing effort, when Freddy was examined he was found to have an increased heart and breathing rate.   He also had a swollen area on his left hind leg and scuffed nails (often seen in cats involved in an RTA).

A conscious x-ray of Freddy’s chest led to the suspicion that Freddy might have a ruptured diaphragm (the muscle separating the chest and abdominal cavities).   Freddy was started on intravenous fluids and given pain relief to stabilise him before having a general anaesthetic to further investigate his injuries the next day.  

Further x-rays under general anaesthetic confirmed that Freddy did indeed have a ruptured diaphragm.   X-rays of his left hind leg did not show any fractures but the leg was very bruised and had some soft tissue swelling.   Freddy then had an operation under the same anaesthetic to repair the tear in his diaphragm.   Whilst this tear was being repaired Freddy was unable to breathe for himself.   This meant he needed to be carefully monitored and have a nurse breathe for him throughout the operation.   Freddy started breathing for himself again as his skin wound was being closed.   He recovered very well from his operation and his breathing pattern returned to normal.   Freddy was able to go home the next day to continue his recovery.   He needed to be cage rested for two weeks until his stitches were removed, then gradually he was allowed to return to normal exercise.   Freddy has now made a full recovery.

Road traffic accident is nearly always serious, if your pets does ever need emegency treatment contact us on 01502 712169.