Jasper

Noel was their last hope in their search for help. Andrea and Graham, were told they may have to consider euthanasia if nothing could be done to straighten Jasper’s legs. Andrea had never had a dog before and had grown very attached to her little puppy, and they wanted nothing more than to relieve him of his constant pain.

X-ray pictures showed that both forearms were bent badly and the heads of Jasper’s radius bones were dislocated out of the elbow joints in both front legs.
After a heart-wrenching consultation, Jasper’s family made the decision to commit to surgery to try and correct his condition. The timing of the surgery was vital and Noel and the team were hoping to capitalise on the plasticity of Jasper’s young bones to help reconstruct his elbow joints.

The task ahead to treat Jasper's problem involved major surgery to straighten the legs and remodel his elbows at the same time.

“I can only do what biology will allow me to do,” warns Noel, “If I’m in mid-surgery and I can’t get these to fit the way I want them to then I’m in big trouble. You need to understand it might not work.”

The initial surgery was successful but Jasper still required more surgery to complete the re-straightening, and it was then that he suddenly went into cardiac arrest, and the team frantically fought to bring him back from the brink and thankfully they succeeded. Cardiac arrests are an uncommon occurrence during anaesthesia and in Jaspers case, it was the prompt and professional attitude of the team that lead to successful resuscitation.

Despite Jasper’s unexpected cardiac arrest it was important to re-operate his legs and try and get this beautiful little creature back on the road to a normal life. Jasper’s second surgery went without a hitch and despite the obvious fear that a second arrest may occur, the team was prepared for all eventualities and Jasper sailed through his surgery and anaesthesia without a problem.

After a further programme of physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, Jasper was discharged back to his wonderful family.

Now seven years on from his surgeries, every day is a celebration for Jasper and his family.