A beloved pet dog underwent an urgent lifesaving operation after the team at Forest vets was stunned to discover a huge 13cm stick jammed in his neck.
Katherine Gist, head surgeon at Forest Veterinary Centre, made the shock discovery when examining a 10-year-old border collie called Harvey.
Harvey had arrived at Forest’s Epping practice suffering from a sore neck and loss of appetite but without any visible external issues.
Katherine carried out an examination of the beloved pet and said she was amazed to discover the cause of his symptoms.
She explained: “There were no obvious signs of any external injury and nothing visible at all in his oral cavity.
“However, a CT scan revealed a 13cm stick had gone through the back of poor Harvey’s throat and lodged within the tissues of his neck, with its tip adjacent to his shoulder.
“Amazingly, no important structures were damaged – and there are many in this area – and it is also very unusual to see no external trace of a foreign body of this size.”
Surgery needed for Harvey
Harvey needed urgent surgery and Katherine and colleague Hans van der Zee tackled the challenging task.
Hans said: “First, we had to carefully dissect through the muscles of the neck, which allowed us to successfully remove the stick in its entirety.
“We then flushed the tract out thoroughly and put a drain in place to ensure there was no build-up of contaminated fluid.
“Harvey stayed in hospital for two further nights after surgery before being allowed home.
“When he returned to the practice for his post-operative check we were delighted with his recovery. He is now completely back to normal.”
Harvey’s owner Paul O’Mullan, from Epping, is delighted with Harvey’s recovery, especially as he admitted he had feared for his dog’s life.
Paul said: “I was deeply concerned as to whether he was going to survive this trauma due to the severity of the injury and as infection had set in.
“Thankfully, though, he is fine now, completely recovered and back to his full self.
“The vets were really caring and gave great care and attention to all aspects and it’s a very professional practice.
“They carried out a complicated surgery on Harvey and give him excellent care until he come home so I would definitely recommend them.”
Forest Veterinary Centre aims to provide premium pet health care across Essex and the surrounding areas, with its hospital equipped with state-of-the-art facilities which help them put pets’ wellbeing first.
