Westport Veterinary Clinic has saved the life of a basset hound, after he was diagnosed with a potentially fatal gastric dilation volvulus.
Twelve-year-old Sherman underwent emergency life-saving surgery at the practice after his owners noticed him behaving unusually.
Sherman had been on his usual walk with his owners, Tracey and Paul Waddell, when they realised he was struggling to move. His abdomen was swelling rapidly, so they rushed him to the veterinary practice.
When their vet, Matthew Erskine, examined the basset hound, he discovered that his heart rate was very high and his abdomen was large and painful. The team treated Sherman with pain relief and intravenous fluids before performing an X-ray.
The scan revealed that his large stomach, which was filled with gas and food, had twisted on itself.
Sherman was diagnosed with gastric dilation volvulus (GDV). This is a life-threatening condition where the stomach fills with gas and twists, trapping pressure inside and cutting off blood flow to vital organs.
Despite attempts to alleviate the pressure in his stomach, it soon became clear that Sherman would need emergency surgery. Vets performed an incision into his stomach, draining it before stitching it to the body wall to prevent further twisting.
Since Sherman’s recovery was a high risk for complications, registered veterinary nurse Susan Tennant was there to support him.
Susan said: “There was a lot going on with poor Sherman, he’d gone through some really drastic surgery. Recovery was a critical period, it was vital that he was monitored really really closely. He was on constant observation, so I sat in the kennels with him.
“He was pretty unaware of what was going on around him for the first part of his recovery so it was really important we took things slowly and didn’t give him a fright when he was coming back round.”
After two days and two nights at Westport Veterinary Clinic, Sherman was discharged to continue the recovery process at home.
Tracey and Peter said: “We didn’t think that he was going to make it initially as he refused to eat for a couple of days. We had a few trips back and forward to Westport Vets, but thankfully he started to eat again.”
They added: “Speed is of the essence. I am so glad that Westport operates an on-site 24/7 service.
“We had recently moved to Westport, and previously we would have had to drive Sherman into Edinburgh. The time that this would have taken, would have almost certainly caused Sherman to have a different outcome to the one that he had. Phew! Sherman means the absolute world to us!”
Image © Westport Veterinary Clinic
