X-ray helps pinpoint cause of Labrador puppy’s distress

The owners of a Labrador puppy, which swallowed an open safety pin, have praised the internal medicine team at Davies Veterinary Specialists for safely retrieving the item from the puppy’s oesophagus.

Owners Will Maisey and Sarah Ritchie caught Bella swallowing the safety pin while rummaging in a bin. She was rushed to her local pet emergency clinic Vets Now in Milton Keynes where x-rays showed that the safety pin was lying in her oesophagus. She was then referred to the internal medicine team at Davies in Hertfordshire for emergency treatment.

“It wasn’t possible to tell from her x-ray if the safety pin had perforated the oesophagus or not,” said internal medicine resident Emma Rogers-Smith. “We discussed the options with the emergency team at Vets Now: either giving Bella a meal and making her sick or performing an emergency endoscopy.” Due to the risk of damage to the oesophagus with the former option, the referring vets sent Bella to Davies where she was anaesthetised and the safety pin retrieved from her distal oesophagus. Bella recovered quickly and was discharged the same afternoon.

Published on page 18 of the February 2021 issue of RAD Magazine.