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Pet of the Month – April
by on April 13th, 2012
Category: Pet of the Month, Tags:
When Joe came to the surgery in December he was off colour and had a cough as well as nasal discharge. On examination he was found to have a heart murmur and a small mass on his neck, which we suspected to be a thyroid growth. Tests confirmed Joe to be hyperthyroid (ie suffering from an overactive thyroid), to have a leaky heart valve and to have elevated liver enzymes. Antibiotics and specific thyroid therapy improved Joe’s health but a few weeks later he suffered from a short period of ataxia, wobbliness and twitching. This quickly passed and further investigations revealed spondyloses of the spine, which are degenerative arthritis-like changes, and constipation. Joe was treated and initially improved, although he did suffer from snuffly respiration a month later. Although he again responded to antibiotics, follow-up blood tests showed his kidneys were starting to deteriorate. Not long afterwards Joe suffered once more from strange behaviour, wobbliness and nystagmus (flicking of the eyes from side to side). These symptoms were not explained by his overactive thyroid nor by his liver and kidney problems so he was referred to a specialist for a brain scan. The consultant neurologist discovered on MRI scans that on top of everything else poor Joe had a brain tumour. The specialist felt however that the location and extent of Joe’s tumour made him a good candidate for brain surgery. The operation was extremely successful and confirmed that Joe had developed a brain tumour called a meningioma. In the photograph you can see the staples in the skin on Joe’s scalp where the operation site was. Throughout everything Joe has been an absolute star and we are delighted to report that he is making excellent progress at home.
