Zippy Gillingham has been awarded the Fromus Vet Group’s

September 2007 PET OF THE MONTH AWARD

Zippy is a five year old tabby cat with a handsome face, a friendly personality, and a purr for everyone he meets. One day in September, he disappeared and wasn’t seen by his owners all day. That night he arrived back at the house, and his owner immediately realised something was wrong. Zippy had managed to climb in through the open window, but was dragging his right hind leg behind him, and walking with difficulty. When she looked at him more closely, she could see that he had broken a bone in his leg, and that the bone was exposed through the skin. She realised that this was an emergency, and called the practice immediately on the 24- hour emergency number.

The vet told Zippy’s owner to bring him straight to the practice, where he was sedated as he was in a great deal of pain. The vet examined his leg and diagnosed a compound fracture (break) of the right tibia (shin-bone). Zippy was given strong painkillers and antibiotics, and a heavy support bandage was applied to make him more comfortable. He was also given an intravenous drip to help treat the blood loss and shock, and monitored closely throughout the night.

When a bone is fractured in such a way that the broken ends of the bone penetrate through the skin, there is a serious risk of infection. In Zippy’s case, not only was the broken bone exposed, but it was also dirty and contaminated with soil and blood, and there was extensive damage to the soft tissues of the leg (the skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments). To this day we still do not know what happened to Zippy, but the most likely explanation is that he was involved in a road accident. Because the damage was so severe, it was decided that the best option for Zippy would be to have the leg amputated.

The following morning Zippy was much more comfortable, and despite his injuries he had a friendly purr for all the vets and nurses. He was given more strong painkillers and antibiotics to prepare him for the operation ahead, and he was then given a general anaesthetic. After removing the bandage, the leg was carefully shaved and cleaned to remove dirt and bacteria. He was then taken to the operating theatre.

The vet firstly cut through the skin at the mid-thigh level, and then through the subcutaneous (fatty) tissues to expose the muscles and tendons. These were then carefully dissected to expose the femoral artery and vein (the large blood vessels supplying blood to the back leg), and the sciatic nerve (the main nerve controlling the back leg). Taking great care, the artery and vein were carefully ligated (tied off) and separated, and the nerve was transected (cut). The remaining muscles and tendons were then cut and rolled back to expose the bone of the femur (thigh bone).

The bone was cut, using a small sharp orthopaedic saw, taking care to avoid leaving any rough edges or sharp points. After making sure the end of the bone was nice and smooth, the muscles were sutured (stitched) together over the bone to form a neat stump, and the skin was closed using surgical staples.

After the surgery, Zippy was monitored closely and cared for by our dedicated nursing team. He was given more painkillers, encouraged to eat, and helped to use his litter tray. By the day after the surgery, Zippy was already standing, albeit a little unsteadily, and was bright in himself and purring at everyone.

As he was doing so well, his owner was allowed to take him home, although he would need confining to a small cage for strict rest for a further 10 days. He was seen back at the surgery for regular checks, and after 10 days his staples were removed. Zippy is now allowed to start exercising again, and is managing brilliantly on three legs. Throughout everything, he has never growled or hissed at his family, the vets, or the nurses who were caring for him, and even when in pain he has had nothing but purrs for everyone. This is why Zippy thoroughly deserves the title of Pet of the Month!

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