15/10/2020
Meet Bear, a 10 month old German Shepherd, who was referred to Abington Park due to a very swollen and painful leg, which did not appear to respond to antibiotics.
The referring vet had the suspicion some foreign material was the culprit. Dr Riccardo Minelli and the medical team were indeed able to identify a linear solid foreign object with an ultrasound. It was suspected to be a long stick and required a panoramic ultrasound modality to include it whole!
A CT scan was then performed to plan the surgical removal appropriately, as the stick was lodged very close the femoral artery and near intestine and bladder. Bear was then operated by Dr Jamie McClement and the surgical team, they were able to remove the stick. It is unclear how the stick got that far, but likely that Bear has been naughty stealing it from a summer barbeque when nobody saw her.
Bear is now recovering well and acting like normal puppy again. Excellent teamwork!