Page 2 - PawsandHooves-Autumn2019

Inside this issue
Page 1
Fundraising news
Page 2
Stories from our hospitals: Increased open-heart surgery demand for dogs
Page 4
Fundraising for the ACT
Page 6
Stories from our hospitals: Great Dane’s recovery after ‘wobbler syndrome’ diagnosis
Page 8
Burns Pet Nutrition support the blood donor programme
Page 9
Fundraising events
Find out more about the Animal Care Trust at www.rvc.ac.uk/act
Follow us on social media for the very latest news, stories and events:
/rvcact @animalcaretrust @rvc_act
Animal Care Trust
Royal Veterinary College Hawkshead Lane
North Mymms, Herts AL9 7TA
act@rvc.ac.uk 01707 666237
Registered charity no: 281571
Welcome to Paws&Hooves
Your support this year has been phenomenal. Over £1,000,000 has been raised towards vital life-saving equipment that enables the
Royal Veterinary College’s (RVC) clinical and research teams to make developments in veterinary science and technology to deliver better care to animals.
I hope that you enjoy reading this edition of Paws&Hooves. We’ve got a range of stories about patients of the RVC’s animal hospitals and details of how your support is funding critical tools to help clinicians save the poorly pets in our care.
Discover how some of our fantastic supporters have raised funds for our work and the variety of ways that you can get involved with our work over the coming months. If you are inspired to try something a little different please do get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.
Thank you for your continued support.
Claire Mellis, Fundraising Manager
William West, a one-and-a-half-year- old British short haired cat came to the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital with lameness affecting both back legs.
On examination it was found that William
was suffering from a condition called
bilateral medial patella luxation. This is a
developmental abnormality which means
the patellas (kneecaps) on both back legs
sit outside of the grooves in which they are
supposed to move up and down when the
knee joint straightens and flexes. If left uncorrected this condition results in inappropriate wear and tear of both the bones and soft tissues of the joint, leading to pain and eventually arthritis.
In mild cases, appropriate rest and physiotherapy can prevent worsening of this condition; however, both of William’s knees were found to be severely affected. Because of this, surgical correction was strongly recommended.
Under a general anaesthetic the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital’s surgeon, Faye Forsythe, was able to correct the abnormalities affecting the right knee. Using specialist orthopaedic instruments, she moved a portion of the bone on the tibia which connected to the kneecap tendon, into the correct position, and secured it in place using metal wires. The soft tissues around the joint were also repositioned and tightened, helping to secure the kneecap into the correct position.
William recovered well from his surgery and was found to have normal use of the right leg postoperatively. He is scheduled to have the same procedure on his left leg later in the year and we wish him all the best for his next operation.
Thank you to the Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust for helping to fund William’s specialist treatment.
Surgical correction for lame cat