Elderly dog acting like a puppy again after huge lung tumour removed

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An elderly dog has been given a new lease of life after a huge lung mass was removed in a complex operation at a West Lothian vets.The successful surgery on 12-year-old Skip, a Jack Russell Terrier, was performed at Linnaeus-owned Veterinary Specialists Scotland (VSS) in Livingston and involved removing the mass, which took up 70 percent of his thoracic cavity.Such was the seriousness of Skip’s health, his owner Katie McLaughlin took him for a walk along his favourite beach with her family three days before the operation, believing it could be for the last time.However, thanks to the skill and dedication of the multidisciplinary team at VSS, which called upon its experts in internal medicine, anaesthesia, soft tissue surgery and critical care, Skip is now acting like a puppy again.Katie said: “Skip is our world and to think this could possibly be the end was heartbreaking.“We were very worried and our main concern was that he is a senior dog and the surgery would be too big for him.“We didn’t want to be selfish and do this massive surgery if it only gave him a few months at the other end.“However, tests showed the cancer hadn’t spread, so we decided to proceed with the operation and it’s truly the best outcome possible.“Just four days after the surgery, he was full of beans and it’s like having young Skip back.

The team at VSS saved our dog’s life and we will be forever grateful.”Leading the treatment at VSS were Sam Woods, clinical director and soft tissue surgeon, and Nicki Reed, small animal feline and internal medicine specialist.Sam said: “The surgery was extremely challenging due to the size of the mass and the access we had to it.“It also presented its own problems to our anaesthesia team, who had to keep a close