Soft Tissue Surgery
Soft tissue surgery includes operations for cancer cases, ear surgery, lung surgery, hernia surgery, liver or pancreatic surgery, and skin grafting.
Other problems such as surgery for trauma to the urinary system are not unusual and are offered here at NOAH.
Our caseload for soft tissue cases expands every year and challenges the specialists at NOAH to work in an innovative manner to provide effective surgical options to restore the quality of life of your pet no matter how large or small the trauma, injury, or issue being treated.
For more on our range of Specialist Soft Tissue Surgery Options, get in touch
NOAH Soft Tissue Surgery Services
Neoplasia & Tumour Removal Surgery
We treat Neoplasia and tumours on all body areas at NOAH (North Dublin Orthopaedic Animal Hospital). Chemotherapy is administered where appropriate. Tumour surgery depends on area malignancy. Surgical excision is part of treatment.
Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery
The most common problems with dog ears are chronic infections that thicken and block the ear canal. Other issues that can cause blockage are tumours that fill the middle ear or the external ear canal. These conditions usually require surgery. Sometimes an ear infection can be persistent and become chronic. These infections can reach the middle ear and result in painful symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, and a permeating foul odour. Ear infections are sometimes a symptom of other disorders such as endocrine diseases or allergies. Investigation into these matters may be necessary to ensure that chronic infections get resolved as well as improving the overall health and welfare of the pet. This can be done through surgical intervention or medical investigations depending on the case.
Pet Larynx Surgery
Laryngeal paralysis is the failure of the arytenoid cartilages to abduct during inspiration. Surgical treatment is recommended for patients with moderate to severe respiratory distress. The techniques used include unilateral arytenoid lateralisation.
Pet Oesophagus Surgery
Oesophageal foreign bodies can cause obstruction to the oesophageal lumen in cats and dogs. After a radiograph to make sure the foreign body location, the foreign bodies can be removed endoscopically.
Oesophageal strictures occur when fibrous tissue in the muscle obstructs the lumen. The surgical treatment for strictures involves bougienage which is dilation of the stricture using blunt dilators.
Collapsing Trachea Surgery
Tracheal collapse is due to tracheal cartilage becoming flaccid and flattened. The goal of surgery is to support the tracheal cartilage. Surgical techniques used at NOAH involve tracheal stents made from a special polymer much the same as stents used in Human surgery. Dr. William McCartney of NOAH (North Dublin Orthopaedic Animal Hospital) was the first to use this technique in Ireland.
Pet Thyroid Surgery
Hyperthyroidism, which occurs commonly in older cats, can be surgically treated by thyroidectomy.
Thyroid neoplasms that occur in dogs, benign adenomas or malignant carcinomas, can sometimes be removed surgically.
Pet Salivary Gland Excision
Salivary gland excision can be performed to treat salivary gland neoplasia or mucocele. Neoplastic masses include adenocarcinomas or carcinomas.
Thoracic Surgery
Pet Thoracic Surgery
The most common thoracic surgery that we perform is the removal of a lung lobe due to a tumour or other diseases that render the lobe useless. Diaphragmatic hernias would be common.
Pet Lung Lobectomy
If a lung lobe is twisted (lung lobe torsion) along the long axis it can twist the bronchus and pulmonary vessels. Our recommended surgical treatment is a lung lobectomy.
Pet Diaphragmatic Hernia Surgery
Diaphragmatic hernias occur when the abdominal organs penetrate into the cranial mediastinum via a hole in the diaphragm. NOAH has achieved a very high rate of success with this type of surgery.
Abdominal Surgery
General Abdominal Surgeries
Other surgeries include nephrectomy, ectopic ureters corrective surgery (neouretrostomy or uretroneocystostomy), urethral stents, subtotal colectomy (for megacolon), liver tumour resection, bile diversion and partial pancreatectomy.
Gastric Foreign Body Removal
Dogs are indiscriminate eaters, ingesting rocks, sticks, plastic toys, and other objects. Cats tend to ingest linear foreign objects. Symptoms include vomiting. Foreign bodies can be removed via a gastrostomy or endoscopically.
GDV Surgery
GDV refers to a stomach that is twisted. It is an acute condition with a mortality rate of 20% – 45% in treated animals. Once the animal is stable with medical management, surgical intervention to untwist the stomach in the opposite direction to the volvulus is needed, and to adhere the stomach to the body wall to prevent further malposition.
Pet Liver Shunts Surgery
Portosystemic shunts are vascular anomalies that allows blood that would normally be metabolised on the way to the liver to enter the systemic circulation directly.
The liver is not stimulated to grow, hepatic atrophy ensues with hepatic encephalopathy.
The goal of surgery is to occlude the abnormal vessel. At NOAH Dr. William McCartney has successfully implanted amberoid constrictors for the treatment of portosystemic shunts.
Pet Bile Diversion Therapy
Bile flow diversion is carried out when the common bile duct is obstructed or traumatised. Cholecystoenterostomy, is the procedure and is where the gallbladder is a opposed to the intestine to allow bile to flow directly into the intestine.
Pet Tumour Removal
Intestinal tumours occur usually in the colon and rectum in dogs and small intestine in cats. Adenomatous polyps and adenocarcinomas are the most common colorectal cancers. Others include lymphosarcomas, leiomyomas, and surgical resection can be considered.
Pet Urethra Surgery
Urethral blockage due to stones necessitates urethrostomy either temporary or permanent to relieve the blockage in cats and dogs. It is a common surgery and in many cases lifesaving.
Muscle Surgery
General Muscle Surgery
Muscle surgery commonly involves treating contractures, for example, quadriceps, infraspinatous or avulsions. It occurs when the normal muscle-tendon unit is replaced by fibrous tissue causing functional shorting of the muscle or tendon. Surgery involves releasing the fibrous tissue and adhesions allowing full range of motion.
Pet Tendon Surgery
Lacerations are tears in the tendon unit. Tendinous lacerations require appositional suturing. Delicate manipulation and apposition is needed if the repair could work. NOAH offers specialist tendon surgery services to repair tears in the tendon.