The Multi-Speciality Veterinary Hospital at Kudappanakunnu has achieved yet another breakthrough by reviving a three-month-old Alsatian pup that suffered from a congenital condition.
Anchal native Baby Blesson Kutty knocked on several doors to seek treatment for his pet dog Julie who found it difficult to digest solid food and survived on milk alone. As a result of chronic vomiting and cachexia (weight loss and muscle wasting), the puppy weighed 3.5 kg, less than half of what a healthy dog of the same breed would weigh at that age. “The veterinarians of a clinic run by the Eroor grama panchayat and the Government Veterinary Hospital were clueless about the condition, with some attributing it to tapeworm infection” Mr. Kutty says.
The dog found her saviours at the veterinary hospital in Kudappanakunnu, where she was diagnosed with persistent right aortic arch, a vascular ring anomaly that obstructs the oesophagus and prevents digestion.
A team comprising veterinary surgeons Hari Krishnakumar, who is also the hospital’s deputy director, T. Rajeev, Anoop R., and Rahul performed a five-hour-long thoracic surgery, along with the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology veterinary scientist Umashankar P.R.
The absence of an anaesthesia ventilator compelled them to artificially ventilate the dog using an Ambu (Artificial Manual Breathing Unit) bag, Dr. Rajeev said.