Koopa is a 10 year old German Short Hair Pointer Cross. Koopa was bitten by another dog around her neck early in August. Koopa was examined by Dr Andrea who found that the other dog had torn a hole in Koopa's neck. She required a general anaesthetic to clean her wound, place a drain to remove any fluid and stitch the torn skin back together. Koopa was immediately given a pain relief injection and she was admitted to the hospital ward.

Dr Andrea and Nurse Janelle placed Koopa on an intravenous fluid drip. This would counteract any shock her body was in from the trauma of the dog bite as well as maintain her normal blood pressure throughout the anaesthetic and aid her recovery once the procedure was completed. Nurse Janelle monitored Koopa's anaesthetic by listening to her heart rate and ensuring that she remained at a comfortable anaesthetic depth.

Once Koopa was anaesthetised Dr Andrea found that there was quite a large deficit from where Koopa was bitten. Koopa's wound was thoroughly cleaned to remove any dirt and debris. A large area of skin was torn away from the underlying tissues so Dr Andrea had to place a drain to allow any fluid to be drained away from the wound. Koopa recovered well from her anaesthetic despite her age and she was discharged the same day. Koopa was also placed on antibiotics for any infection that could develop and her owner had to clean the drain everyday to ensure it remained clean.

Seven days after her injury Koopa's wound was looking good and her drain was able to be removed. Unfortunately 5 days after her drain had been removed her neck became swollen again due to the build up of fluid so Dr Andrea decided that we would have to give Koopa another anaesthetic and place another drain in the same area. If the fluid was left alone then the wound not be able to heal so it was important to drain the excess fluid from the area.

Again Koopa was very brave and underwent a second surgery. Another drain was placed and the area was again thoroughly cleaned. Some areas of skin around the original wound had broken down so Dr Andrea had to remove the area of dead tissue so that the healthy tissue had an opportunity to heal.

Koopa visited the clinic every 4 days so that Dr Andrea could examine the drain to ensure that fluid was not building up in the area again. Koopa was able to have her drain removed 16 days after her second surgery. Her wound has healed beautifully and thankfully Koopa is still willing to give all staff members a kiss when she visits the clinic.