Unfortunately things didn’t work out as planned for Vader as posted previously.
On the Tuesday he had a long journey down to the Glasgow Veterinary school.
Once there we met up with Shaun Clements and Patrick Pollock, both well experience with seals and their vet needs. We took some further x rays from various angles so they could make sure the bone could be plated and also to decide the best way to do it. We were joined by Damien Chase who would be performing the surgery the following morning. Vader was then bedded down in the stable buildings and fed. He seemed fairly relaxed considering his new environment. I was joined by Patrick around 11pm to give Vader his night feed as he wouldn’t be having anything until the following afternoon.
At around 8.30am I began helping prep Vader for surgery and while he was sedated he seemed to be unstressed with what was going on around him. Once he was under and ready for surgery he was taken for a CT scan to get a proper look at the area that was broken. Once into surgery everything was stable and going to plan until we got to the area of the break. This is when things took a turn for the worse with it being clear that the bone was still badly infected. This meant that it couldn’t be plated and normal options for a domestic animal such as an external fixator or amputation were not options for an animal returning to the wild. He would not have tolerated an external fixator and probably damaged himself trying to get it off, as well as being a hygienic nightmare even with our protocols and standards he would still get filthy. The surgeons also had grave doubts that the radial nerve that allows him to move the flipper would work again. This meant that even after putting him through all of this recovery that if he couldn’t move it he would be euthanaised. We took the only decision left for Vaders welfare and that was to put him to sleep while he was still under on the operating table.
A decision not taken lightly but the best for Vaders welfare.
Certainly a sad day, as it usually is when we have seals come in that need to be euthaniased and broken bones such as this its sometimes the only option, but with Vader more so because there was a bit of hope and we were all optimistic about his chances.
He remained at the Vet School for a post mortem and his skeleton will remain with the school for further study which will surely help any other seal that may need treatment so its nice to think Vader will help others and his short life wasnt in vain.
A huge thank you must go out to everyone at Glasgow University Veterinary School for their above and beyond work for Vader. I would like to thank especially Damian Chase the surgeon from the small animal hospital, Patrick Pollock and Shaun Clements for all the work they put in to helping Vader and for getting it all organized over a weekend when they could have been doing something outside of work. Also a big thanks to James Barnett our consultant Vet for getting the ball rolling.
Thanks from everyone at the Seal Hospital.
Vader was a tough little seal and hopefully we gave him some comfort whilst with us.
A privilege knowing him, for sure
I have attached a few photos to show the work that went in to helping Vader and the incredible standard of care he received.
Jamie Dyer
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