Hello Everyone. Hooray for Friday and Hooray for another really cool case! This case was VERY traumatic for both the owner and the pet, but has a great ending! 
Our case begins on a beautiful fall afternoon. One of those perfect fall sweatshirt, spend the day outside, get stuff done in preparation for winter kind of days. Our case involves a young yellow lab, who we will call Daisy (name changed for privacy). Daisy was outside with her dad, running around their many acres of land, chasing leaves and squirrels, and having a blast. Dad was preparing for winter. See, they had a natural fireplace and it was time to get all of the wood cut for winter. As you may know, this job is done much faster with a chainsaw.
Dad was in the zone, cutting wood. Daisy was off having fun. Both happy to be enjoying the day outside, until the two of them had an untimely meeting. Daisy ran up to check on Dad mid-cut, and before he could turn the chainsaw off, her nose got stuck in the blade. Oh boy.
Once under anesthesia with careful monitoring, the real work began.
To be honest, I have always enjoyed these cases……the planning and the intricate work of putting these injuries back together and making it look like it never happened is very rewarding. I saw many eyelids torn right at the lid margin, numerous dog fight wounds, and did a scrotal ablation neuter on a Dalmatian and perfectly matched up his spots while suturing. All of these surgeries are like puzzles, and it is great when the owners are appreciative of the post-surgical results.
Back to Daisy! As I mentioned, we could see into her nasal cavity when we started. And, chainsaws don’t cut cleanly, therefore, this wound was very jagged. After about an hour, and a couple layers of sutures inside and outside of her nose, we were ready to wake her up. Her recovery from anesthesia was uneventful, and a few hours later that evening, we sent her home. Mom and Dad were given strict orders to keep her quiet for 2 weeks, and that she MUST wear her E-collar (lampshade collar) at all times to prevent rubbing or scratching on the incision.
They were thrilled with how she looked when she went home that night, but I always cross my fingers until I see them back for suture removal two weeks later.
Here she is, right after her sutures were removed, smiling for the camera. She was such a good patient, not only on the night of her injury, but also for suture removal. You can see the white line traveling diagonal down the front of her nose, and below the left nostril, but if you look closely you can see the sutures on top of her nose and traveling down the left side as well. In time, these areas will likely re-pigment, but she may always have some thin scars to remind her of that fall afternoon when she got a little too close to Dad’s chainsaw.
Our case begins on a beautiful fall afternoon. One of those perfect fall sweatshirt, spend the day outside, get stuff done in preparation for winter kind of days. Our case involves a young yellow lab, who we will call Daisy (name changed for privacy). Daisy was outside with her dad, running around their many acres of land, chasing leaves and squirrels, and having a blast. Dad was preparing for winter. See, they had a natural fireplace and it was time to get all of the wood cut for winter. As you may know, this job is done much faster with a chainsaw.
Dad was in the zone, cutting wood. Daisy was off having fun. Both happy to be enjoying the day outside, until the two of them had an untimely meeting. Daisy ran up to check on Dad mid-cut, and before he could turn the chainsaw off, her nose got stuck in the blade. Oh boy.
Mom called the Animal Hospital, and you could hear the pure panic in her voice. They raced Daisy over to see me, and when they arrived, both Mom and Dad were in rough shape. During my very brief, but comprehensive physical exam, I noted that the left side of Daisy’s nose was hanging forward, and there was also a cut down the front of her nose as well. We could see into her nasal cavity, and she had lost a fair amount of blood already. Well, it was decision time. She definitely needed surgery as soon as possible, but we had to make sure that she was stable enough to undergo anesthesia for this repair. Pets in these trauma situations can go into shock quickly, leading to unsafe anesthesia. After deciding that she was healthy for anesthesia, off we went. Knowing she was in a lot of discomfort, the first thing we gave her, along with her sedation prior to anesthesia, was a good dosage of pain medication.
Once under anesthesia with careful monitoring, the real work began.
Back to Daisy! As I mentioned, we could see into her nasal cavity when we started. And, chainsaws don’t cut cleanly, therefore, this wound was very jagged. After about an hour, and a couple layers of sutures inside and outside of her nose, we were ready to wake her up. Her recovery from anesthesia was uneventful, and a few hours later that evening, we sent her home. Mom and Dad were given strict orders to keep her quiet for 2 weeks, and that she MUST wear her E-collar (lampshade collar) at all times to prevent rubbing or scratching on the incision.
They were thrilled with how she looked when she went home that night, but I always cross my fingers until I see them back for suture removal two weeks later.
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