Pippa, a three year old
Scotty has been a HAH client for several years. Last July, after her owners
came home from a short trip they found Pippa vomiting. They immediately brought
her to the HAH were an evaluation was done and a variety of therapies were
discussed.
Pippa’s symptoms were treated
and she went home with strict monitoring instructions for continued vomiting. After
a day at home the vomiting persisted so she was brought back to the HAH for x-rays
and bloodwork. X-rays revealed that Pippa indeed had ingested a foreign object and
surgical intervention was required.
Dr. Heim took her to
surgery that day with the assistance of Dr. Sessa. During surgery, a portion of
a rubber ball was found stuck in her intestines. There was extensive damage to
the duodenum (portion of the intestines just beyond the stomach). Because of the multiple important structures
in this area, removing the damaged tissue was not a possibility and a patch was
made using other areas of her intestine. The goal of this patch –a serosal
patch- was to assist in the regeneration of the damaged intestinal tissue.
Sometimes referred to as a surgical
parachute, this patch ultimately results in full regeneration of damaged
intestinal tissue. However, this is not a guaranteed solution. Healing of this
kind usually takes 2 weeks. Because the compromised tissue was left in Pippa’s body,
the chance for complications was increased. Recovery would be a race with time
to see what would grow faster, the infection or the healthy tissue.
Pippa was armed with all she needed to sustain
this fight. For the next two weeks her
doctors updated treatments and test every day to battle each change in her
symptoms. After transfusions, blood tests and intensive monitoring, Pippa did
recover.
Now, several
months later, Pippa is home and very happy. Her parents are pleased to have
their love back to normal and grateful to be able to share her story with us.
Pippa was a trooper and we are pleased to showcase her as our November Patient
of the Month. 
I'm so glad that Pippa is recovering well. I just moved to a new city and I've been looking for a good animal hospital in my area. My dog is my best friend and her health is important to me.
ReplyDeleteSusan Hirst | http://www.highlandanimalhospitalco.com
We agree!! Our pets are our family too and so are many of our client's pets. We are so happy to be able to share some of the awesome stories we see. Thank you for being a part of the conversation.
DeleteWe hope that through these stories we can educate owners about possibilities in the health of their pets. We have the same bonds that you do with our animal family and want to make every pet owner as prepared as possible.
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