Press Release About Baily

Bailey Berling

Bailey’s story begins on the morning of Christmas Eve 2012.  Bailey had tried to catch and kill a UPS truck menacing the neighborhood…but unfortunately, the truck had won the battle.  When Bailey arrived at First Regional, he was in critical condition with severe injuries – he was suffering from shock, his left hind leg broken in multiple places, and he had large open wounds on his hind legs, tail, and front paws.  The emergency team at FIRST Regional, led by Dr. Heather Hendricks, provided him with life-saving oxygen, intravenous fluids, antibiotics, and pain medication.  X-rays revealed further injuries:   tearing of his abdominal muscles; several pelvic fractures; and a broken femur at its articulation with the right hip.

For the next few days, Bailey remained in critical care. His shock was stabilized, the extensive wounds were treated several times daily, and he remained on high doses of pain medications until he was transferred to me for further evaluation and treatment.  Unfortunately, his left hind leg was so severely damaged that amputation was the only option.  I tried to stabilize the right hind leg, there was not enough bone to hold the surgical implants, and we had to remove the top of the femur bone that had shattered.  The owners were warned Bailey might have difficulty learning to walk again, due to the fact he was now missing a limb, a portion of his right hip joint, and had pelvic fractures that needed time to heal. 

However, despite the severity of injuries and aggressive surgery needed, Bailey’s remarkable tenacity and spirit began to shine through, and he started walking with assistance just a couple of days after surgery!  Unfortunately, another complication appeared right before he was going to be sent home.  During the accident, areas of his skin had lost their blood supply, and several regions on Bailey’s back and trunk appeared to be dying.  5 days after the first surgery, I tried placing a drain and compression bandage, in hopes that the remaining skin would heal and we could avoid additional surgery.  

Unfortunately, a few days later the skin in those areas died and infection set in.  On January 4, 2013, a second surgery was performed, and all of the dead skin was removed and the remaining skin sutured closed.  Bailey recovered quickly and was sent home with antibiotics.  Sadly, as you can see in the pictures, his recheck examination on January 7^threvealed additional areas of skin had died and infection progressed despite the antibiotics.  At that point, it was obvious traditional therapies would not work - over a third of the skin on his back and trunk had died and the whole area was infected.  We were worried Bailey might not survive after all.

Vacuum-assisted wound closure (VAC therapy) was recommended by our Critical Care Specialist, Dr. Alisa Reniker.  This treatment is new in veterinary medicine, but has proven effective in the treatment of many large, infected, and complicated human wounds, such as those suffered by the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It greatly accelerates wound healing by applying constant negative pressure to the wound to improve blood supply, remove excessive fluid, and rid the wound of infection.

Fortunately for Bailey, his owners were very dedicated to his recovery.   A third surgery, to remove the dead skin and place the initial VAC bandage, was performed on January 9^th.  Bailey had VAC bandage changes on the 10^th, 15^th, 18^th, and 21^st.  After 15 days of VAC therapy, the wound was less than a quarter of the original size, the infection had cleared, and there was a healthy tissue bed.  Today, the wound is almost completely healed due to his fighting spirit, his owners’ love and dedication, and a new technology that will hopefully help many more pets in the future.

   

	Left side
								Left side
		Left side
							Left side

Health Benefits of Pet Ownership

The team at First Regional Animal Hospital knows that your pet is a part of your family. Did you know there are even health benefits of pet ownership? 

Health Benefits of Pet Ownership

In our hearts we know that pets enrich our lives, and in recent years scientific studies have begun to pin-point the ways that companion animals improve our minds and our bodies. Beyond walks and "fetch," beyond lazy days in the sun and eager faces at the end of the day, pets provide documented health benefits. A 1993 report in the Harvard Health Letter explains that companion animals have more consistent behavior compared to our human companions and that they offer unconditional affection. The effect: lower blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety level for pet owners. We repay them with love and attention. In fact, more than 60 percent of pets receive "as much attention as children," according to the 1994 American Animal Hospital Association pet owner survey.

Originally published by Healthy Pet.