Soft Tissue Surgery for Frank the Dogue de Bordeaux

Frank, a one year old Dogue de Bordeaux, presented to our Soft Tissue department as an emergency.

A week prior to presentation, Frank was noted to have developed a swelling in the right axillary region followed by swelling of the right forelimb associated with non-weight bearing lameness.

There was initially some improvement with analgesia and antibiotics given by his primary care practice, however, on the night prior to presentation to us, the swelling started to increase and spread along the his chest and abdomen wall.

A CT scan identified a large fluid filled swelling starting from Frank’s neck right the way under his shoulder blade, across his chest and down his front leg. A sample of the fluid was taken and examined under the microscope which confirmed this swelling to be a very large abscess.

He was immediately taken to surgery where Soft Tissue Surgeon Smita Das made an incision on the thoracic wall through which the abscess cavity was drained and copiously flushed. Two wound drains were placed for ongoing drainage.

Recovery was smooth and Frank’s demeanour returned to normal within a couple of days. Our patient care nurses continued to nurse him through his recovery, managing his medications, emptying and cleaning his drains and providing lots of TLC! The drains were very productive and were maintained for 8 days, when they were removed before he was allowed home.

Frank thankfully made a full recovery and is enjoying life back at home.

Watch our video following Frank’s treatment at Davies.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/sNemgvEDjpk

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