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 "...Belle had to be placed on a mechanical ventilator to breathe for her..."
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Featured Patient:
Belle is a 5 year old Shar Pei who was brought through our emergency service for trauma to her head and neck. She was running around her house playing when she slipped and hit a concrete wall. Her owners knew immediately that she was severely injured as she could not stand. On presentation to the hospital she was alert but could not move her front legs. It was suspected that she suffered trauma to her spinal cord. As time passed she progressed to not being able to move her hind legs and eventually was unable to breathe on her own. An MRI image confirmed the spinal injury and that only time would tell if she would recover. Both the doctors and the owners knew that the road ahead was going to be long and rough. Belle had to be placed on a mechanical ventilator to breathe for her. Multiple monitors were used to record her vital parameters. Supportive care was instituted for her nutritional and cleansing needs. The critical care service and the neurology department worked together night and day. Gradually, Belle improved and was slowly weaned from the ventilator. Belle beat the odds and was taken off the ventilator after 11 days. In veterinary literature, only 40% of dogs ventilated for neurological illness survive. She remained in the hospital for two more days and then was transferred to a facility for rehabilitation. At discharge she was still unable to walk but was breathing on her own. One month later she WALKED in for her reevaluation and is doing great. The pictures to the right show Belle in the hospital on the ventilator and at her 1 month recheck. Dr. Brian K. Roberts, DVM, DACVECC, Director of AECCS
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