Bionic spine gives Chris Evans's dog a pain-free future

When vets told Chris Evans his beloved dog should be 'written off' after losing the feeling in its hind legs, the radio DJ refused to give up hope.

Enzo the German Shepherd had two herniated discs in his spine, leaving him paralysed and in pain.

His 42-year-old owner made sure he received the latest treatment - and now Enzo has a bionic spine.

Chris Evans
New life: Chris Evans's dog Enzo has regained the use of its back legs again

In a pioneering operation costing £5,000, the nine-year-old dog had two bolts inserted in the middle of his spine to fuse two vertebrae.

The SpondyloFitz bolts - named after inventor Noel Fitzpatrick, the vet who performed the surgery on Enzo last month - have cured his pain and will stay in permanently.

The dog is having extensive physiotherapy and hydrotherapy in the hope that he can one day learn to walk again.

Evans told Dogs Today magazine: 'It was make or break. The procedure was potentially a highly dangerous one and one that to Noel's knowledge had never been carried out before.

'We're giving this our very best shot. Enzo's worth it. So long as he keeps making progress we'll keep trying.

'Without this latest operation we had no hope, now we have a glimmer. But we have to be realistic. It's his last chance.'

Enlarge dog leg

Enzo is now resident at the Fitzpatrick-Referrals animal hospital in Referrals animal hospital in Surrey.

Before his operation he was completely paralysed but now he can use his back legs in the pool - although he is yet to support himself on land.

He is having four physiotherapy and hydrotherapy sessions a day to build up the muscles in his hind legs. Mr Fitzpatrick said: 'Chris's dog is a very difficult case and we may not be successful. He has a particularly bad form of spinal disease.

'At the moment we don't know if Enzo will ever walk again.

'He has a condition whereby several discs in his back dried out and over a period of time squashed his spinal cord.

'The nerves are inside the spinal cord and the bolts relieve the pressure on it. They fuse the vertebrae together. It is pain-free and the spinal cord can start to conduct again.

'The bolt pushes the vertebrae apart and relieves the sciatic nerve. The thing that will decide whether Enzo will walk again is whether the damage to the cord is permanent.'

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Workers free dog trapped in sewer pipe

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) -- The sound of barking underneath a street Tuesday led a team of city workers to a dog trapped in a narrow culvert - and you might say they used a backward approach to rescue the mutt. The sickly, scared dog was about 50 feet from the nearest entry point, but since the culvert was just 15 inches in diameter, the workers couldn't fit into it themselves. Not even offers of food could draw out the dog. "He was exhausted," said Tony Talamantez, a public works foreman. Then Talamantez and his colleagues had an idea. They rigged up a long video camera used to inspect drain pipes, and approached the dog from the back. They used the camera to nugdge the dog forward until he reached an entry point big enough for a person to pull him out. The camera recorded the rescue, showing the dog scampering ahead in fits and starts as the camera pokes him in the rear end. The dog wore no tags, only a worn collar. But Julia Gosen, animal control officer for the city, said ...
Read more

Crested Geckos - great pet for the disabled

Image
A few weekends ago at the Austin Reptile Expo, I had the opportunity to meet a really neat woman who breeds and sells Crested Geckos. Since I have lizards as pets and have written before about how great they are as pets for disabled folks, I thought I'd write about the Crested Gecko in particular. The woman I speak of is Kati of Kati's Crested's . She's here in Austin, TX. I had never held a crested gecko before this Expo, but I had seen them in a tank at a local reptile store. They are very kewl lizards! Soft to the touch, almost like suede. The one I held jumped from one hand to the other and held on with it's prehensile tail! The crested gecko originates from New Caledonia (an island east of Australia). Adults range from 6-9" in total length. In the wild, they are nocturnal, arboreal animals living in the forests. Most wild specimens are tail-less, presumably because they dropped their tails while escaping from a predator. All of Kati's cresteds are c...
Read more

Axe Me A Question

Go ahead and ask. Ask the questions you always wanted to ask someone in a wheelchair. Nothing is too embarrassing. You might as well ask me on this blog since you are somewhat anonymous and don't have to look me in the eye. What have you always wanted to ask someone in a wheelchair? Here, I'll start: Q: "Hi, my name is LaLaundria! I wanted to know how do you take a shower?" A: Well, LaLaundria, I sit down. On a shower chair. I have grab-bars installed in my shower/tub and my commode rooms to give me extra balance. A shower chair is a hard plastic chair made to fit in showers and tubs. I have a shower massage type shower head that helps get the water closer to my hair. Howze that? Ask away, no question is off limits! (Oh Jeez, what am I getting myself into!)
Read more