Septic arthritis in a senior dog

On a freezing winter evening we got the visit of a senior female dog who had had a lump on her right hock for about 7 years. Up until now it did not give her any problem and never was investigated.

Al anochecer de un frío dia de invierno recibimos la visita de una perrita mayor con un bulto en su tobillo derecho desde hace 7 años. Hasta entonces no le había dado problemas ni nunca se examinó.

However, within the past 3-4 weeks she had gradually become more uncomfortable, cannot weight bear and, on initial presentation, there was no obvious heat or swelling around her hock, but a very marked bone enlargement which was not painful on palpation.

Sin embargo, en las últimas 3-4 semanas la ha estado molestando cada vez más, no se puede apoyar en el tobillo, y en la consulta no estaba caliente ni hinchado, pero sí un muy marcado cayo óseo que no le dolia en la palpación.

Tail amputation/ amputación de rabo

     In our out of hours night shift, this middle age male Scottish terrier presented with a skinless tail after it being caught by a garage door. As you might guess, the only we can do about it is amputating the piece of tail unprotected by the skin (read more).

Spine disorder/problema espinal

Radiographies were unremarkable.

On a weekend OOH service a 5 years old dog was presented unable to stand up or walk on his own, and needing to be carried by his owner. After a throughout exam we realized that he had several bruises and wounds in his skin but, most notably, he had paraplegia on his back legs.

Abnormal sitting position 

Durante el servicio de urgencias de un fin de semana, un perro de 5 años nos llega incapaz de levantarse o sentarse por sí mismo, requiriendo que su dueño lo llevase. Tras un completo examen nos damos cuenta que tiene varios rasguños y heridas en la piel pero, lo más notable es que presenta paraplegia en sus patas traseras (read more)

Hip dislocation

A hip dislocation is, basically, a very painful condition, due to the abnormal work of the pelvic-and-femoral joint, because the "head" of the femur slips out of the "socket" in the hip. The pets are limping constantly, and most of the time they are able to use the affected back leg. It requires a visit to the vet urgently, as sometimes, just with manipulating the bone back to its place, or replacement. 

However, this procedure has to be done under anaesthesia, and the longer it is left, the more likely the pet will need surgery to solve the problem.

Here is the case of a neutered, adult cat, who was missed for several weeks, and came back home limping very dearly and a "crackling" hip (read more)

Fracture in a 9 weeks old puppy/fractura en cachorro de 9 semanas

The check up of a puppy's radiography may become more challenging than those of grown-ups. There are lots of lines in puppies' skeleton from where their bones are still growing, are not sealed yet and, therefore, could be mistaken with fractures.

Revisar la radiografía de un cachorro puede ser más complejo que la de un adulto. Hay varias líneas en su esqueleto desde las que el hueso está creciendo, noestán cerradas, y se pueden confundir con fracturas (read more).

Coxofemoral luxation/luxación coxofemoral

Ventrodorsal radiography, by C. Topolski

On a Sunday morning we receive a 12 y.o. yorkshire terrier who has been limping from his back left leg for several days. His owner is not giving him any painkiller and, apparently, there is no reason to suspect of any fracture, any accident or condition. However, not only the pain is not diminishing, but he is limping more and yelping when he is touched.

The pain is so much that we need to put a muzzle on to calm him down and do a general check. His teeth are in a very bad condition and has a chronic gingivitis that may explain why he is refusing some food eventually. Under auscultation we found a heart murmur grade II, what may be a issue, as we need to perform some radiographies under sedation. Fortunately, he is not showing symptoms of heart failure (read more). 

Diaphragmatic rupture/rotura diafragmática

Dorso-ventral radiography, by vet 
nurses R. Mcilwrath and C. Topolski

Here is the case of a broken diaphragm in a 1 y.o. castrated cat. He was normally a fearless, active cat. At the time he arrived to the consult, he had not been himself for 2 days, and was not jumping from high places as he used to do. He was still eating, passing water and stools, but slowing down and very lethargic. Our main concern was his struggling to breath, despite a normal auscultation and no fever. He was active enough to need sedation to get radiographies. 

Oral tumours in dogs/tumores bucales en perros

There is a variety of oral tumours we can find in dogs. Two of them are specially common.
Hay una variedad de tumores orales que podemos encontrar en perros. Dos de ellos son especialmente comunes.

"Lion's jaw" in a 11 months old westy

1. Oral epuli or "polips" is a smooth, pink growth of tissue in the gums, that don't spread to the body (benign), but may affect the dental pieces by moving them apart, facilitating the settling of dental plaque, and making chewing annoying or painful.

1. Épuli o pólipos orales, son un crecimiento de tejido en la encía, suave y rosado, que no se extiende al resto del cuerpo (benigno), pero afecta a las piezas dentales al desplazarlas, facilita la aparición de sarro, y puede hacer la masticación molesta o dolorosa (read more)

Broken legs in rabbits/ rotura de pata en conejos.

Digital Xray of left back leg

Rabbit's bones are thinner and, therefore, weaker than those of cats or dogs. It's not so unusual having a pet bunny with a broken leg after pulling it from underneath some bed, or jumping from a table.

El esqueleto de los conejos es más fino y, por tanto, más frágil que los de perros y gatos. No es raro ver un conejo con una pata rota tras intentar sacarlo de debajo de la cama, o saltar desde la mesa.

Legg-Calvé-Perthes

This weird illness is becoming more usual due to the obssessive breeding of toy breeds, the smaller the better. This X-ray belongs to a male yorkshire terrier of only 2,5kgs. Since he was just 3 months old was limping eventually, his owners not being sure whether it was due to a hit, a kick, children playing with the dog... When he was 9 months old it was clear than painkillers were not the solution to this constant wobbling in his walking.

The problem is in the left joint, femur-hip. The solution should be an operation to remove the head of the femur. Unfortunately, the owners cannot afford it and have no choice but wait and see if their dog get much worse.

Esta rara enfermedad es cada vez más frecuente debido a la obsesión por criar razas toy, a más pequeños mejor. ESta radiografía pertenece a un yorkshire macho de sólo 2,5kgs.