German Shepherd, Doug, survived against all odds!

DOUG, a seven-year-old German Shepherd was brought into St Boniface Veterinary Surgery, Crediton by his owners when he became suddenly lethargic and off his food.

He was examined by one of the vets and found to be pale with a raised temperature and more worryingly a large mass was felt in his abdomen. He

was admitted for an exploratory laparotomy – an operation to open his abdomen and investigate the cause of the large lump that could be felt.

In theatre, Doug was found to have a large growth on his spleen.

Splenic masses are risky to remove due to the high risk of bleeding and the lump on Doug’s spleen had already started to bleed quite considerably. His owners bravely agreed to proceed with surgery to try and save Doug’s life.

After an hour or more in theatre, a splenic mass was removed involving the whole of his spleen. Doug lost a lot of blood during the operation, and the vets were very worried for his chances of survival.

Slowly, but surely, he woke from his anaesthetic, and after only an hour was sitting up and well enough for his owners to visit!

He started to eat again the same evening and began the long journey to regain his strength and fitness.

The lump on Doug’s spleen was sent to the laboratory for testing and everyone waited anxiously for the results.

Doug continued to improve and just 24 hours after coming out of theatre, he was well enough to be discharged.

At his post op check, Doug had gained weight and was eating well, he was less pale and had more energy, although was still clearly feeling the effects of such major surgery.

A week after his operation, the results of the tests on came back and everyone was thrilled that Doug’s mass was benign and should be cured by the surgery to remove his spleen.

Doug continued to improve and by the time his stitches were removed, he was totally back to normal, enjoying life with his family and animal friends.

Everyone at the surgery is so pleased that this story has a happy ending!