THE Johannesburg SPCA hospital team performed a sophisticated surgery for the the first time in 10 years to save the life of a dog that would otherwise have been put to sleep.
JSPCA’s spokesperson, Jolene Beyleveld, informed the COURIER that this was a very proud and historic moment for the Johannesburg SPCA hospital team as they performed their first persistent right aortic arch surgical repair in 10 years.
The dog, Snoekie, was a five-month-old puppy that was presented to the SPCA with a history of vomiting after eating, which her owners watched with distress.
X-rays of her chest showed a dilated oesophagus caused by a band around the oesophagus called a persistent right aortic arch. Surgical repair to tie off this band can cost well over R8 000, as this surgery requires opening the chest cavity and that means a ventilator is a prerequisite.
“It broke our doctors’ hearts to have to put this bundle of hugs and kisses to sleep because of financial reasons, so it was decided to perform the surgery. With a dedicated team of theatre surgeons Dr Leo Manyora and Dr Asheena Surajpal assisted by Dr Tina Engel and our fantastic team of nurses and theatre orderlies, delicate corrective surgery was performed.
“We were extremely proud of how well our team handled the theatre pressure as well as ensuring Snoekie was manually ventilated. There were many sighs of relief when little Snoekie began breathing on her own. She recovered in leaps and bounds and is now eating like a trooper with no regurgitation. And the reunion with her owner was worth all the hard work. A big thank you to all the staff that assisted in Snoekie’s recovery,” said a very proud Jolene.
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