Michelle and her two young children, Leila and Amber, bring their one and a half year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Ollie to the practice as an emergency after he was hit by a car. Ollie is a much loved member of their family, and the young girls are anxious to help make him feel better.

Professor Noel Fitzpatrick determines that Ollie has a condylar elbow fracture, which means that the break affects the joint of the elbow. When dealing with an elbow fracture, perfect reconstruction of the broken bone is essential to ensure no problems occur with movement of the joint and to avoid potential problems, such as arthritis in the future.

It is a tricky surgery. Ollie’s elbow is in quite a state, there are multiple tiny parts of bone in the joint, which will be incredibly challenging to piece back together perfectly. To realign the elbow joint Noel places a screw from one side of the elbow to the other.  There remains a tiny 1mm gap between the bones but Noel hopes this will heal over time.  The remainder of the elbow joint is supported with a plate and screws.  Thanks to Noels experience and skill, the operation is a success.

Just 2 days later the girls return to take their friend home for the rest of his recovery. The two girls love animals and want to become vets themselves one day, so Noel enlists on their help to aid Ollie’s recovery and make sure he is well cared for while he is on strict rest.

A week later and Ollie and his family return to the practice for a checkup and to meet Physiotherapist Sam, who shows the family some exercises that will help Ollie get stronger on his fixed elbow. Sam also lasers Ollie’s elbow to promote bone healing as the elbow was in some many tiny parts.

3 months later and Ollie is back on his feet and playing in the garden with his family. Amber and Leila are more determined than ever to pursue their dreams that one day they can help animals too, just like Professor Noel and the team!