A dog that sustained extensive leg injuries is on the road to recovery thanks to the collaborative efforts of vets.
Lurcher Roxy presented at Seadown Veterinary Services in Hythe, Hampshire, with mystery injuries after running off from her owners during a woodland walk.
Massive injuries
The three-year-old dragged itself back to owners Jane and Josh Ayre with massive injuries to both hindlegs.
Jane Oatley, Seadown’s orthopaedics vet, said Roxy had lost the majority of skin on her legs and fractured both ankles.
The tissue and ligament damage was extensive and right down to the bones on both legs. Additionally, the wounds were massively contaminated.
Realign bones
A veterinary team worked together to realign Roxy’s bones and put her legs back in the correct position.
Dr Oatley said: “One leg was fixed and protected with an external frame. We created a false ligament for the other leg, but there was no skin left to cover it.
“Dressing had to be changed twice a day to remove any contamination, but, of course, the mere act of changing dressings also took off the healing tissue, so once tissue granulation had occurred, we used tilapia fish skins to help reduce the number of dressing changes.”
Tilapia skins sourced
Dr Oatley said the fish skins were couriered to Seadown free of charge by fellow vet Jonathan Anderson, from Rainbow Equine Hospital in North Yorkshire, which had, in turn, sourced them from the University of California, Davis.
She said: “It is a great example of the wider veterinary community coming together to help one another, and we were extremely grateful.”
Vets carried out multiple further procedures to remove a severely damaged toe, and used laser therapy, and the animal is now on the mend.
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