January Highlights

The first month of the year was definitely a busy one for our surgeries! We welcomed lots of your gorgeous pets through our doors and were lucky enough to get plenty of cuddles from some very adorable four-legged visitors.

We had lots of fascinating cases this month, from life saving surgeries to some unique guests.

Find out more about some of the most memorable moments of the month below…

A Life Saving Surgery

This month was a very busy one for Briar House Vets!

11 year old Inky recently visited us for life saving surgery! 🆘 🚨

Inky came to see our AMAZING Vet Leanne 🌟 for an abdominal scan after his owners noticed that his abdomen was appearing bloated. 😢

Leanne sedated Inky and skilfully imaged a large splenic mass which needed removing surgically. 🏥

Inky went straight to the operating room and a whopping 3.7kg mass was removed from his abdomen which was sent to an external laboratory for testing.

Inky felt immediately better once recovered from his surgery and anaesthetic and was discharged that same evening to continue his recuperation at home! 😊  Not before our team gave him some well-deserved cuddles of course! 💙

Get well soon Inky- Team Briar think you are ace!! 😍 🐾

Leo’s Knee Surgery

💚  This adorable boy is Leon. 🐶 💚

He recently came to Streatham Hill Vets and as you can see, he became very fond of our student veterinary nurse Shalom during his stay. 😍

Leon came in for a TPLO surgery as he had ruptured his cranial cruciate ligament. 😢

TPLO is the abbreviation for Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy. It is a surgical procedure used to treat a rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament rupture in the stifle (the knee). The procedure involves cutting the tibia (shin bone) and then rotating it. It is then stabilised in a new position with a plate and screws, this takes away the need for the ruptured ligament.

Leon will have strict rest while he recovers from surgery. In 8 weeks he will return for x-rays to see how he has healed from his surgery.

We look forward to seeing this gorgeous boy for his post operative checks and of course, lots more cuddles. 💚 😍

A Case Of Cherry Eye

Mayow Veterinary Surgery recently had the pleasure of looking after this beautiful little lady and what an absolute diamond she was. 😍

Meet Minnie- so dinky but yet so brave! 💜  She was in recently for her ‘cherry eye’ surgery with our amazing vet Rachel. 👀

Did you know that dogs have an extra eyelid called the third eyelid? It’s a thin piece of skin that slides across the front of the eye to provide protection when necessary. It also contains a tear gland. 👁

Cherry eye is when the tear gland inside the third eyelid ‘pops out’. Cherry eye can be extremely painful and very irritating because the gland quickly becomes red, angry and sore. 😢

Minnie went home with eye drops and anti inflammatory/ pain relief. 💊  She got lots of TLC from her owner and of course, from the Mayow team! 💕

We will see her again soon for her post op check to make sure it is healing well. Wishing you a speedy recovery little lady. 🌟

Maggie’s Accident

😻 Look at those big bold eyes!😻

Poor little Maggie, we suspect was bitten by a dog and was left with some puncture wounds. 😢

Maggie was another guest at Mayow Veterinary Surgery and was admitted for anaesthetic so that our amazing Vet Mary Louise could thoroughly flush out and clean her wounds.

Maggie has now gone home for lots of TLC, monitoring and oral medication to help her feel better. 💊

Despite Maggie being uncomfortable, she was such a trooper. She received lots of love and affection from our team and we told her what a brave girl she’d been. Get better soon Maggie. 💛 💕🐱

Some Unique Visitors

Say hello to Sparkie! 👋

This adorable girl, pictured with our vet Debbie, is Sparkie. ✨

Sparkie’s owners brought her to Streatham Hill Vets for a “Jill jab”  recently as they had noticed she was nesting at home and acting a little differently.

A Jill jab—Jill refers to a female ferret—is a hormone injection that will suppress heat. Given just before or right at the start of the breeding season, the Jill jab often prevents heat for the entire breeding season. This injection will also prevent a Jill from getting pregnant and avoid developing life threatening anaemia. 💕

When a female ferret is in heat, the ferret’s estrogen levels remain high. High doses of estrogen suppress bone marrow function resulting in red blood cells not being produced. A female ferret’s season will not end until she ovulates. This can be done by allowing her to mate or triggering ovulation chemically.

Sparkie and her sibling received a lot of attention at the practice, especially from our student nurse Annie. We loved seeing these cuties. 😍 💜

Pluto’s Important Surgery

This adorable French Bulldog is Pluto, pictured with our lead vet Gabriella. 💙  Pluto visited Streatham Hill Vets recently as he suffers with Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS). 😔

What is BOAS❓
BOAS is a combination of upper airway problems seen in dogs that are bred to have short noses (eg Pugs, French Bulldogs and English Bulldogs). 🐶  This can cause an excess of soft tissue in the upper airways that obstructs airflow and forces the animal to rely on open mouth breathing more.

The signs of BOAS are varied and can range in severity, including some or all of the following:

🔸 Snorting
🔸 Excessive panting
🔸 Clear nasal discharge
🔸 Exercise intolerance
🔸 Difficulty breathing during exercise
🔸 Poor tolerance to heat stress
🔸 Restlessness at night
🔸 Sleep apnoea
🔸 Retching, regurgitation, vomiting
🔸 Collapse due to lack of air

Pluto had surgery on a number of areas to help increase airflow.

He was diagnosed with Stenotic Nares (narrowed nostrils), so Gabriella removed a section of the cartilage on the front of the nose that will help to improve the airflow through the nares. You can see in the picture of Pluto’s nose the difference after one nostril has been opened. 👃

Pluto also had an overlong soft palate. The excess length of the soft palate was reduced during surgery to allow more air flow into the larynx.

Finally, Gabriella removed Pluto’s laryngeal saccules which were everted to help with airflow.
Pluto recovered so well from his surgery and was delighted with his new nose! We can’t wait to see this happy little dude at his check up. 😍 😍 😍

If you are worried that your pet may be suffering with BOAS, please don’t hesitate to contact our surgery and we can book your beloved pet in for a BOAS assessment. 🐶