January Featured Patient:
Meet "Charlie" Colligan

"Charlie", a 2 year old beagle, came to the Animal Emergency and Critical Care Services facility on New Year's Day. He was transferred to us from another hospital for emergency ventilation. According to the owner, Charlie was fine the day before but that morning he was unable to get up. The referring hospital suspected a spinal injury and began treatment, but when Charlie began having difficulty breathing he was transferred to us.

By the time he arrived at AECCS, Charlie was near death. Dr. Nick Schroeder resuscitated him and placed an endotracheal tube to provide a clear airway, but Charlie would still not breathe on his own. Dr. Brian Roberts was consulted and Charlie was placed on a "long-term" ventilator. This machine has the ability to provide different levels of oxygen and ventilation for many respiratory emergencies. Since Charlie's primary problem was with his spinal cord and not his lungs, he was a good candidate for this life-saving treatment... however, due to its limited use in veterinary medicine it only has about a 40% success rate. Luckily, Charlie was in this group!

After 18 hours of continuous ventilation, Charlie was weaned off the machine and began breathing on his own. The swelling in his spinal cord responded to medication and rest. After a week of hospitalization, Charlie was discharged to his very happy owners! He still had some difficulty walking, but we expect this to improve with home rehabilitation. Special thanks to all the dedicated AECCS staff who gave this life-threatening challenge a happy ending!

Dr. Brian K. Roberts, Director AECCS

11/02 "Summer" Van Osdale