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In this Episode:
Series 1 Episode Guide:
Super Vets
A week before she was admitted to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, Taggy returned from a walk in the country a little lame. Three days later her hock was swollen and red. Two days on, despite investigation and treatment by her local vet, the redness progressed up her leg and the skin on her abdomen began to turn black. When Taggy collapsed, her vet referred her quickly to the QMHA and she was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit.
Initially, Taggy’s blood pressure was too low for general anaesthesia, and she was put on a fluids drip and given pain relief and antibiotics. Her wounds were investigated, cleaned as thoroughly as possible without anaesthesia, and dressings applied.
Taggy had a severe bacterial infection invading underneath her skin causing the skin to die. The bacteria were producing toxic substances affecting body systems and making her desperately sick; she was in a life threatening condition. Taggy's owners were warned that she might die at any time. They also knew that due to the severity of her injuries if the infection could not be brought under control, euthanasia would be the most humane option.
To prevent further infection and soak up the fluid that was oozing from her wounds, large dressings were applied. This procedure was then repeated and slowly the wounds began to improve.
Taggy was a strong little character, and after five days she was back on her feet and taking short walks outside on the grass. Samples from the wound taken when she arrived at the hospital identified the bacteria causing the problem and confirmed that MRSA was not present. With appropriate antibiotics and management of the wound there was a rapid arrest in the spread of infection and day-by-day Taggy’s general health and strength improved.
Her owners had some difficult decisions to make regarding her future treatment. Taggy had large areas of skin loss over her body and right hind leg. They had to decide whether to opt for amputation of the leg or to save the leg by use of skin grafts and possibly multiple surgeries. The second option would mean that Taggy would spend a lot of time in hospital and the costs of her care would be greater.
It was this second option Taggy’s owners chose to try, so she was returned to theatre for the skin graft procedure. A long strip of skin from her abdomen was selected and marked out by the surgeon. The blood supply coming from one point at the end of the skin strip made it possible to cut around the other three edges to release the strip, and rotate it around its one fixed end to form a graft on the inside of Taggy’s leg. A diagrammatic representation of this surgery can be viewed here.
A few days after the procedure, a number of holes opened up in the lines of sutures. It is not unusual for some wound breakdown to occur following large skin grafts, and left Taggy with three smaller, more manageable wounds instead of one huge one. It was thought best for her to go home for a few weeks to allow the wounds to continue close up naturally. It is expected that further surgery will be necessary within the next few weeks.
If you would like to see photographs, just follow this link. But please be warned, many contain graphic images of Taggy’s wounds, so DO NOT open them if you think they might disturb or upset you.
We will be reporting on Taggy’s progress in a future episode of Super Vets, and continuing to tell her story here on our website.
Taggy's owners have answered some of the questions many of you might be asking such as what was it like caring for Taggy when she came home from hospital and we have their answers for you here.
