Vets save dog suffering rare life-threatening complication and severe septic shock
A leading Hampshire animal hospital has saved the life of a beloved family dog after he suffered a rare and life-threatening complication resulting in severe septic shock.
Freyr, a two-year-old male Sheltie, had become chronically ill, showing very alarming symptoms - including lethargy, vomiting, diarrhoea and blood in his urine.
Owner, Linda from Alton, immediately took Freyr to their local Cedar Vets. Here - despite being treated with intravenous fluids, analgesics, antibiotics and anti-emetics - his condition deteriorated rapidly.
The decision was quickly taken to refer him to nearby animal hospital Lumbry Park Veterinary Specialists and their emergency and critical care team. By the time Freyr arrived, he had collapsed and was in septic and hypovolemic shock - a critical state that required immediate stabilisation.
The Diagnostic Imaging team rapidly performed an ultrasound to see if they could identify the problem. It revealed a ruptured abscess in Frey’s prostate, along with a rare cause of septic shock. While abscesses of the prostate affect around 40% of male dogs with prostatic disease, a rupture is uncommon, making this an unusual and particularly severe case.
Without treatment, Freyr’s prognosis was almost certain fatality. Even with treatment, survival rates only average around 50%.
To treat Freyr, a number of the hospital’s leading specialists came together to pool their skills and expertise. The team initially worked to bolster and stablise Freyr’s blood pressure with intravenous fluids and medications. But despite these early efforts, his condition remained critical as he did not respond well to some of the normal medications.
Following discussion, the team gently altered his medication type, dose and frequency, which thankfully proved to be the turning point. The next step was surgery. A precise, complex and difficult abdominal operation was performed by veterinary specialist in Small Animal Surgery, Núria Comas, to clean the affected the prostate area - an incredibly challenging procedure essential to controlling the infection.
After the surgery, Freyr was placed in an intensive care unit and received round-the-clock care, feeding and medication by Lumbry’s team of specialist veterinary nurses. The septic shock had also left Freyr with acute kidney injury which also had to be treated.
Finally, after seven days of slow and steady recovery, Freyr was allowed to go home. Now, nearly one and a half years on, Freyr is thriving. His owner Linda reports that he has matured into a very happy and healthy family pet who loves nothing more than playing with their grandchildren and running in the local countryside!
Núria, who lead the surgical team, commented: “Freyr was such a lovely patient. It is so rewarding to see him do well when the prognosis was so poor. Freyr’s case underscores the importance of swift action in veterinary emergencies and highlights the incredible outcomes that are possible with expert intervention. It’s also testament to the multi-disciplinary approach we adopted to Freyr’s care where the full team was needed to overcome the many hurdles we faced along the way!”
Lumbry Veterinary Referrals is one of the largest and most advanced veterinary specialist referral centres in the UK. With a 140-strong team, it offers a broad range of specialist veterinary referral services including anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology and neurosurgery, ophthalmology, oncology, orthopaedics, physiotherapy, soft tissue surgery and has its own Critical and Emergency Care Centre.
For more information about Lumbry Park, which is part of the CVS Group, visit their website.