Holbeach and Sutterton vets save a dog's life with intricate surgery after a bone became stuck in her throat
A family has thanked vets at a south Lincolnshire practice who saved their dog’s life with intricate surgery.
Laura Grigaliunaite and her family were faced with the heartbreaking decision to either put Bella the French Bulldog to sleep or undergo a complex operation after a bone had become stuck in her windpipe.
Vets at South Lincs Vets Group removed the bone, which was 4-5cm from her windpipe during an oesphagotomy at their Sutterton hosptial.
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Now the four-year-old, who had grabbed the bone after it had been accidentally dropped on the floor, is recovering well from her operation.
Laura, of Peterborough, said: “Bella is family and we really appreciate what the vets did for us. If we had waited any longer then she could have died.
“She is doing great and is eating and is herself again.”
Bella had been referred onto the surgery after she had lost her appetite and began to vomit after eating. The Sutterton team found a suspected bone fragment in an x-ray and went onto conduct an endoscopy.
A statement from the surgery said: “The endoscope could not fit past the large piece of the bone. Our veterinary surgeon Luciano Nebiante attempted to grasp the piece of bone with the endoscopic forceps but was not successful and there was a risk of causing further trauma and perforation of the oesophagus so this was then stopped.”
The situation was then explained to Laura and her family who made the decision to go ahead with the operation when vets made an incision into the windpipe to remove the bone.
The statement said: “The bone in the oesophagus had caused the trachea to be slightly deviated. An oesphagotomy was performed and the irregular sharp piece of bone of approximately 4-5cm diameter was carefully removed. Unfortunately the oesophagus had incurred a lot of trauma, although the bone had successfully been removed, Bella’s prognosis remained guarded due to the damage.
“We have seen Bella for her post operative check up and she is doing very well and we are so pleased with her progress.
“This was an accident but shows us just how careful we all need to be when preparing food or if giving bones as treats.”