July 2009 - Humphrey Lawson
Put your back into it Humphrey!
The Braveheart award for July has been awarded to Humphrey, a West Highland White Terrier for his outstanding, on-going bravery.
In May, Humphrey was bought into the surgery with the owner describing acute hind left leg paresis and circling almost like a stroke. The vet carried out a number of reflex tests including a proprioception test. To perform this test, the animal’s leg is placed to weight bear on the knuckle. A healthy animal will very quickly adjust this into a normal standing position whereas those with possible nerve or spinal damage will be slow or unable to. Humphrey was unable to quickly place his left hind leg into a normal position. The vets initial concern was that Humphrey may be suffering from an intervertebral disc prolapse. Humphrey was given some steroids and booked in for x-rays.
The x-rays revealed that Humphrey was suffering from spondylosis between the last lumbar vertebra and the first sacral vertebra. Spondylosis is the production of bony spurs along the bottom surface of the vertebrae. To treat this condition Humphrey was placed on to a steroid based medication from which the dose would gradually be reduced and eventually stopped.
Over June the condition gradually worsened with Humphrey now abducting his leg away from his body when standing quickly. The vet was now suspecting a nerve root compression and a referral for an MRI scan was suggested.
At the beginning of July, Humphrey was referred to Downs Referral Centre in Bristol. The MRI scan revealed a degeneration of the intervertebral disc between the last lumbar vertebra and the first sacral vertebra which was applying pressure to the lumbar nerve. The decision was made to go ahead with spinal surgery.
The surgery, called dorsal laminectomy with bilateral facetectomy was delicate and involved removing pieces of the bony spine to relieve pressure on the spinal nerves. He was given pain relief in the form of a patch on his skin and walked into our surgery 2 days later with only a mild limp.
Humphrey is now on the mend and continues to improve each day. His new hair cut may even start a new trend!
