Santa Cruz, Galapagos
As the team opened the gates to start the afternoon shift, they were unpleasantly greeted by a terrible site; A truck pulled up with a bleeding dog in the back. The dog, called Mimi, had been hit by a bus.
Amazed that Mimi was still alive, the Doctors rushed to action to help her. Mimi was in so much pain and so scared that she had become very aggressive – trying to protect herself. The team had no choice but to sedate Mimi somewhat to be able to clinically examine her. The team establish quickly that Mimi was clinically stable – but she had sustained extensive injuries. The poor pup was covered in burn wounds from being dragged over asphalt by the bus, as well as a number of open wounds, and further skin loss and damage. The worst was a huge gaping wound on her left front leg near her elbow – a very difficult region to suture the skin due to the large amount of movement. Mimi was in terrible condition.
The Doctors began their surgery quickly, ready to clean and treat the multiple wounds covering her entire body. The most problematic was the gaping wound on her elbow – it needed to be closed, but there was not enough skin to stitch together and with the added problem of its location, the Doctors needed to find another solution.
“The decision was made to perform a skin graft surgery. From a donor site at the dorsal back region, a piece of skin was harvested and placed and sutured in the elbow wound.” reported the team. The team performed the surgery with meticulous care and went to great lengths ensure that Mimi would have the best chance at healing.
Mimi woke well from the surgery and was able to go home with a nice big bandage. She was to return daily for treatment, including special care for the graft region.
The next day, Mimi was already able to walk by herself and came into the clinic a much friendly and happier pup. Her road to recovery is still long, but the Doctors will be there to continue to support Mimi in this process.
While Mini’s story has a happy ending, treating such avoidable cases is not a great experience for the Doctors. After this case, the team would like to take a moment to ask everyone to remember to keep your dog on a leash and help avoid such horrible accidents.
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