The pet dog had been knocked down by a speeding car on Sept. 10

Onam, this year, went from being a nightmarish one to the ‘best ever’ for Muraleedharan Nair and his family after their pet dog survived an accident, thanks to the veterinarians of the Multi-Speciality Veterinary Hospital in Kudappanakunnu who successfully undertook a six-hour long thoracic surgery to bring the animal back to life.

Mickey, a 11-year-old Pomeranian-cross, was deemed to have a minimal chance of survival after she was knocked down by a speeding car when Muraleedharan let her out of their house in Punnakkamugal, near Poojappura, on September 10. While she did not appear to have suffered any major injury initially, Mickey had soon developed various difficulties including shortness of breath.

The dog was admitted to the District Veterinary Centre on the Thiruvonam day (on September 11) with severe respiratory problems, following which she was referred to the veterinary hospital three days later in a critical state with low chances of survival. With little time to spare, a team comprising veterinary surgeons Hari Krishnakumar, who is also the hospital’s deputy director, T. Rajeev, Anoop R. and Roshni commenced emergency surgery on the dog.

“It appeared to be gasping for breath with its tongue found to have turned bluish-purple, caused by cyanosis, an indicator of low oxygen levels in the blood. Upon inspection, we found that it suffered a severe internal haemorrhage. Its chest wall had collapsed and the organs within its abdominal cavity herniated (protruded) into the thoracic cavity through the diaphragm,” Dr. Rajeev said.

Various challenges

The team was faced with various challenges including the absence of an anaesthesia ventilator in the hospital. Nonetheless, they commenced the surgery by artificially ventilating the patient using an Ambu bag, a manual resuscitator, throughout the procedure that commenced at 8 p.m. and went on till around 2 a.m. the next day. They also managed to circumvent the threat of the dog’s lungs collapsing at the time of rupturing its thoracic wall.

Since the surgery, Mickey’s health condition has rapidly improved with various examinations including blood tests and X-ray showing satisfactory results. The procedure was the third thoracic surgery to be undertaken in the hospital, which was opened a year ago. The previous ones that were performed on a dog and a cat had been futile attempts.

Improving

Muraleedharan, an employee of the Travancore Devaswom Board, says Mickey’s appetite has picked up during the last few days. Her movement, too, has been gradually improving. “We couldn’t have asked for more. She has been a member of our family since her birth,” he says.