Intricate Spinal Surgery At Cave Veterinary Specialists Helps Paralysed French Bulldog Walk Again

Five-year-old Milo was in great pain and paralysed in all four legs when he was referred as an emergency case to Cave Veterinary Specialists, near Wellington.

Now he’s back on all fours and fully recovered after expert care from neurology specialists Simon Bertram and Tom Cardy at the Linnaeus-owned referral centre.

Milo’s relieved owner, Morgan Brazington from Appledore, North Devon, is delighted with her prized pet’s excellent care, saying: “Cave were amazing, superb and I’m so thankful.

“Simon was so informative and straight to the point and I couldn’t have felt more reassured when we left Milo with him.

“Tom managed our follow up appointments and honestly his service and Simon’s have been second to none!

“The whole team at Cave couldn’t have been more helpful and reassuring. I was also given an NHS discount after they discovered that I was an orthopaedic scrub nurse.

“Best of all, Milo is now home again and back to his usual cheeky self. He really is a one in a million and is famous in Appledore where people recognise him over me!”

It’s all a huge relief for Morgan, who admits she was very worried about Milo’s chances of survival after seeing him deteriorate so dramatically.

She added: “I was hideously concerned about him and thought that perhaps I would have had to put him to sleep due to the severity of his condition.

“I was very sad and worried for his ongoing life and how much he would be able to do in the future but everything has turned out so well.”

Cave’s specialist in neurology Simon Bertram led Milo’s case and revealed the full extent of his problem.

Simon said: “Milo was referred to us at Cave as an emergency and when he arrived, he was unable to walk without help, showing paralysis of all four legs and had a very painful neck.

“He immediately underwent an MRI scan which showed an intervertebral disc in his neck had slipped and that there was a marked compression of his cervical spinal cord causing the paralysis.

“After discussions with Morgan we decided to move him straight to the operating theatre to give him the best chance to make a quick, pain-free and full recovery.

“The surgery was successful with all the slipped-out material removed to relieve the compression of the spinal cord and the results were almost immediate. After the surgery the pain was gone and the next day he was walking without help again.

“Milo continued to make a speedy recovery and was able to go home a day later and now he is back out and about again without any problems.”

Cave Veterinary Specialists offer comprehensive, specialist-led services in anaesthesia, cardiology, dermatology, internal medicine, neurology and neurosurgery, oncology, orthopaedic surgery, soft tissue surgery and pain management and rehabilitation.

For more information on Cave Veterinary Specialists, visit https://cave-vet-specialists.co.uk or search for Cave Veterinary Specialists on social media.