Page 6 - Small Talk - Winter 2014

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Barney’s
by
Lucy Rivett BVSc, MRCVS,GPcert (DI)
Summerhills Veterinary Centre
The spike had entered his body between his
forelimbs and could just be felt under the skin on
the left hand side of his back. His owners quickly
transported him to the practice, taking care not to
move the spike. When Barney arrived at the
veterinary surgery he was having problems
breathing as the spike had allowed air to enter his
chest cavity and it was compressing his lungs. He
immediately had two chest drains put in (to help
remove this air) and he was also given pain relief
and put onto a drip. Then x-rays were taken to
assess the path of the spike through his body.
The x-rays showed that although the spike was
passing through his lungs it had narrowly missed
his heart. Penetrating objects like this spike should
never just be pulled out as they can be stopping
internal bleeding, which can restart as they’re
removed. In addition this spike had a hook at its
tip which meant it was very likely to lacerate the
tissues around it if it was pulled.
Barney was given a general anaesthetic and had a
surgical procedure called a thoractomy where his
chest cavity was opened up. This enabled us to see
exactly what damage the spike had done and plan
for its safe removal. When this type of surgery is
performed, air enters the chest and surrounds the
lungs causing them to collapse, and so he had to
be ventilated throughout his anaesthetic by our
nursing team. The spike had skewered one of his
lung lobes, which due to the level of trauma meant
it had to be removed, but amazingly hadn’t injured
anything else. The hook of the spike was cut off and
then it was carefully pulled out of Barney’s chest.
The entrance and exit wound were stitched up, as
was the surgical wound.
For 24 hours after his surgery Barney had intensive
nursing care. His chest drains were checked every
hour and any remaining air around his lungs was
removed. His pain level was closely monitored and
he received a combination of pain killers to keep him
comfortable. In addition he was given antibiotics
and a tetanus antitoxin.
Two days after his surgery Barney went
home. He continued to recover well and
has never looked back.
Barney
is a six year old Labrador. Last winter he was running
through some undergrowth at high speed when his owners
heard him cry out. When they found him, he was impaled
on a thin rusty metal spike.
dice with death!