Meet Shyla, our very brave toe amputee.
Shyla the 7-year-old rottweiler paid us a visit in early June, after experiencing intermittent lameness and a very swollen toe. After a course of pain relief and anti-biotics, with minimal improvement, Shyla was admitted for a general anaesthetic and a series of x-rays.
Unfortunately, x-rays revealed a suspicious mass on one of her toes. Dr Elita immediately contacted Shyla’s owners to discuss her findings, and recommended toe amputation as the best course of action.
Dr Elita did an exceptional job of removing the toe and a tissue sample was sent off to the lab for further testing.
With the laboratory results indicating a nasty squamous cell carcinoma under her nail (a form of skin cancer), we take our hats off to Dr. Elita, the BVH team and Shyla’s very supportive owners for making what turned out to be a life saving decision to go ahead with toe amputation.
Shyla has paid many visits to the clinic in the proceeding weeks for ongoing post-operative care, but still greets us with a happy tail wag! We’re pleased to report that her recovery is going well!