The first brave person, who has already successfully recovered from the operation, is the 14-year-old cat Lūsis, who lives in Riga. His owner, Oksana Šalare, says that Lusis was a street cat, which she gradually tamed and brought home last summer. Already at that time, the owner noticed that Lucy had discharge from her eyes and nose. Even after home care, they have not subsided and the first neurological symptoms appeared in January, and in February incoordination and seizures. The owner immediately took action and went to the veterinary clinic Toto to veterinarian Zane Kalniņa. Since the situation has worsened drastically, the doctor has sent Lucy to the LBTU Veterinary Clinic to perform a CT scan of her head.
The patient was admitted to the LBTU Veterinary Clinic by a veterinarian, assistant professor Armands Vekshins, who, during a computed tomography examination, diagnosed an intracranial tumor, as the findings were typical of a meningioma.
“A meningioma is formed from the sheath that covers the head and spinal cord, which means that the tumor is not of the brain itself, but of the meninges, however, it can extend into the brain and cause serious damage. In most cases, meningiomas are benign, so surgery is usually expected to be positive outcome. Until now, such operations were not performed at the LBTU Veterinary Clinic, however, realizing the clinic’s capabilities and the animal’s owner’s desire to help the cat, it was decided to perform the operation,” says A. Vekshins.
The docent reveals that the operation lasted 2 hours and the team consisted of veterinarians Irita Cirīte, Sofija Isayeva, veterinary anesthesiologist Laura Voiko, assisted by Ilze Jansone, and students who participated as observers. The operation was successful and the entire tumor was removed. After the operation, Lusis was said to have been depressed in the hospital, and gradually began to recover his vision, which had been lost before. Seizures were no longer observed, physiological indicators were within the normal range, but an extremely calm approach was necessary so that the cats were not disturbed and could feed.
“It’s been more than a month after the operation, and Lucis has now remained more active – he jumps, his vision has returned, he opened up and was active around the house much more than in the whole year before the operation. It seems that a new world has opened up for him. It is a gift from God. I express my immense gratitude to everyone to the doctors involved for their work and energy! Thank you to the two surgeons and the entire surgical unit for their professional courage!
She points out that sometimes there is a lack of information about the availability of veterinary clinics and diagnostic possibilities, and this causes people to feel hopeless. Therefore, thanks also go to the Toto clinic, which did not get confused and knew where to turn for further help.
“I am still in active contact with veterinarian Irita Cirītis and I want to share my story to inspire other animal owners to look for information and opportunities when everything seems hopeless. Sometimes, when talking to other animal owners, they say that maybe it was better to put Lusi to sleep, maybe I shouldn’t have tortured myself and him like that, but my position is firm: hope dies last and you have to fight for the one you have tamed and for whom you have taken responsibility,” says O. Šalare.
On the other hand, the director of the LBTU Veterinary Clinic, Elīna Kanka, expresses her gratitude to Lūša’s owner for her perseverance, successful cooperation with the veterinary clinic Toto, and also expresses great satisfaction for the involvement, courage and development of the field of neurology by the team of the university clinic.
The LBTU Veterinary Clinic is a place of study and research in veterinary medicine at the university, which ensures the provision of veterinary services and implementation of the reference function, clinical research and training of future veterinarians
Tags: LBTU Veterinary Clinic meningioma removal operation performed cat time
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