Patient Cases

 

Blockage's Bumps!


Blockage came in a few weeks ago as she had a some lumps that needed to be removed. 


Dr Emily removed two lumps on the right side of Blockage after she was intubated using our endoscope by Dr Michelle.    


Blockage recovered very well and we hope she continues to improve and that no more nasty lumps give her any more grief. 

 Sweet Moo Moo's Spey!


This is Moo Moo, a sweet female guinea pig that has come to see us to be desexed to prevent any further additions to their piggy family! 
Dr Mami desexed Moo Moo using the method of a flank spey.
This technique and an abdominal route are two different ways in which female guinea pigs can be desexed.


Moo Moo recovered very well after her surgery and began eating some parsley and mint once she was awake.


Moo Moo's owners have informed us that she has healed well and is back to her normal self after her procedure!

Iris and her issue!


This beautiful and utterly sweet one year old rat, is Iris!
Iris as you can see from the photos has a freeloader attached to her in the form of a tumor/lump.
Iris’s pawrents brought her in to see Dr Nao about said issue and it was decided that it was in Iris’s best interest to have it removed surgically. 
Iris then underwent her procedure to remove the huge mass which, when removed weighed a whopping 144 grams!


It is safe to say Iris is feeling a whole lot lighter after her surgery and recovered very well under the watchful eyes of our exotics nurses.
Iris was able to go home the same afternoon after enjoying a post surgery snack.
Since her operation, Iris’s owners have informed us that she is healing very well and has returned back to her cheeky self! 

Toothpaste's Toothy Trouble!


Toothpaste is a regular here at NRVH! 

She has a dental problem called incisor malocclusion.


This is a condition that occurs when the rabbits incisors do not line up correctly which in result, prohibits the incisor teeth from naturally burring down evenly.


Using a specialised dental burr, we are able to perform this procedure conscious (without using any sedatives) as it is very quick and painless.

Toothpaste always leaves the clinic feeling happy and I’m sure like a new bunny! 

Bubbles’ Balding Problem!


Bubbles is a ferret who was losing her hair a few months ago and in fact balding in spots, which had the owner baffled. 



On exam a large abdominal mass was palpated by Dr Michelle. She was admitted for the day for an abdominal ultrasound with our superstar Ultrasonographer Dr Jenny. 

The results of the ultrasound showed a large mass in her abdomen near her kidneys.

After trialing some medical management, Dr Michelle offered to owners an ex-lap (exploratory laparotomy) which is an exploration surgery.

Inside she found an irregular mass, which would’ve been the same mass Dr Jenny saw, attached to part of her left kidney.


The mass was removed and sent away for histopathology to determine what it was.

The results of the histopathology, unfortunately came back as inconclusive.

Dr Michelle stated to her owners that it could have been an adrenal mass which could be the cause of the hair loss and to check back in 4 weeks to see if her hair had grown back or not.


4 weeks later and Bubbles is a ferret full of hair! 

She looks like a normal ferret and we are so happy to see how much she has improved!!

Macaroni’s Mass Misery!


This little superstar is Macaroni the rat!


She had a substantial lump attached under her arm which was starting to affect her movement and health.

The risk of anaesthetic was high due to her age and condition, however Dr Mami recommended to remove the lump surgically to improve her quality of life. 


Dr Mami sucessfully removed the lump and thankfully she recovered really well after surgery, even to the point where she was happy enough to start eating moments after waking up! 


Before surgery, her weight was 300 grams. After the lump was removed.
Both Macaroni and the lump were weighed.

Macaroni reweighed at 200 grams and the lump weighed 100 grams.


She returned for her recheck post surgery, happy and inquisitive, plus her wound was healing well. Her owners stated she was more active at home and is doing great post op.

Maple's Mammary Mass!

This is the sweet Guinea pig, Maple whom is owned by the lovely people at Cavy Central Rescue.
Maple unfortunately presented to Dr Michelle with a mammary mass. 
Dr Michelle informed her carers that it would be in Maples best interest to have it removed.
Dr Nao performed the mass removal surgery successfully with the help of our exotics team!


Maple recovered very well post surgery and was able to go home the same afternoon


We hear she is on the mend and is back to her normal frisky self!

Milo's Testicular Trouble!

This is Milo the 3 year old ferret!


Milo was vasectomised a few years ago and has recently come in to see Dr Michelle for a rather unusual testicular cyst that has formed.


Dr Michelle informed his owners that it was in Milo’s best interest and health to surgically remove the cyst and remaining testicle by form of scrotal ablation.


His owners agreed and consented to the procedure and was back a few weeks later for his surgery. 
The surgery was a success and Milo was able to go home the same afternoon with some take home medication to assist his healing and recovery.
Milo’s owners inform us that he is doing very well as you can see, snuggled up with his pal, Slinky and we hope he continues to be in good health!

Terrible Tail Trouble!


Dennis came in to see Dr Nao two weeks ago when she had an unfortunate accident when the wheel from a bed base ran over her tail causing the skin to de-glove & expose the bone.
Dennis was very obviously in pain due to the injury and was licking & nibbling at the area. 
Otherwise appearing well and with no pre medical history, plus of course the obvious discomfort and the trauma to the tail which would be at a high risk of infection and necrosis, Dr Nao recommended that the tail be amputated
Dennis was given pain relief and antibiotics right away and the surgery was scheduled to be completed the next day, with Dennis to stay overnight in our hospital.
This is due to the issue that it was an afternoon consult and exotic species require long and intensive care during their recovery which couldn’t be provided at this time of night and would be unsafe for Dennis as our clinic is not a 24/7 hour hospital.
Dennis was provided with a long acting analgesia (pain relief) to ensure she would be kept comfortable during her night stay in hospital. 
The surgery was completed by Dr Nao the next morning, which was a success and she was able to be recovered safely and appropriately by one of our marvellous exotic nurses, plus was ensured that she was kept comfortable during her time with us before her owners came to collect her later that afternoon.
Dennis has since returned to us for a recheck and we are pleased to report that she is doing very well and the tail is healing amazingly!

Lilo's Little Toothy Trouble!


Lilo is a very sweet and bubbly entire female ferret whom came in to see Dr Nao for a discoloured tooth and some hormonal issues that her owners have noticed Lilo exhibiting!
Dr Nao explained to Lilo’s owners that it would be in her best interest to have her mouth radiographed with our special dental X-rays machine to see if the tooth needed to be removed and explained entire ferret hormonal behaviour and the options in which to combat these issues in this species, one of which is by the form of a hormonal implant that is given via an injection (similar to a microchip) and it usually needs to be repeated every 18 months. 
Lilo’s owners consented to the dental procedure and agreed it would be in her best interest to apply the hormonal implant at the same time (as this is a bigger needle, in ferrets we usually put them under a quick gaseous anaesthetic to inject this) so as all of our dental procedures no matter the species are done under a general anaesthetic (except for certain rabbit incisor trims), it was a good opportunity for this to be done at the same time.
Lilo presented back into our clinic for her dental procedure which went swimmingly!
The dental X-rays showed that the tooth was fractured and was required to be removed.
The removal was routine and the rest of her teeth were scaled and polished and the hormonal implant was given.
Lilo was given some pain relief and other medication to assist her healing post surgery!

Dental Drama!


This is Sebby, a 6.5 year old mini lop! 

Unfortunately Sebby suffers from chronic dental disease.


Dental disease is one of the common issues we see in rabbits sadly and is usually caused by either a poor diet or genetics. 


Dental disease is difficult to cure, but can be treated and managed by either lifelong medication, multiple surgeries or a combination of both.


He had been going well for a while and his owner was managing him with just medications, however another abscess presented itself, so into surgery he went!

Dr Michelle performed the dental surgery, debriding the abscess and getting him back to eating well again. 


Sebby is currently only requiring dental procedures annually to maintain his dental issues, however unfortunately will most likely be on medication indefinitely. 

Sebby went home the same afternoon and we are told he has recovered well!


Percys Lumpy Problem!


Percy the Guinea pig’s owners noticed a small lump near one of his teats and made a sensible decision to bring him into NRVH to get it checked out by a vet.


They saw Dr Mami for a consult, whom suggested it be removed as it could have the potential to grow in size and/or start to produce discharge from the nipple.



Dr Mami performed the surgery and successfully removed the lump.

Percy recovered very well post op in one of our brinseas (a temperature controlled box) 


He was then sent home the same afternoon with some medication to aid in his recovery. 

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