Jamshedpur golden retriever gets second lease of life at Kol clinic

Kolkata: A six-year-old golden retriever belonging to a doctor couple in Jamshedpur got a new lease of life about 281 km from home, in Kolkata, where it underwent an hour-long procedure at a private facility on Friday evening. Bruno, as oncologist Ashish Kumar and his gynaecologist wife Shalini Warman call their pet, had swallowed a car key that got lodged in his stomach. The couple initially took Bruno to a clinic in Jamshedpur, where veterinarians tried to get the key out but failed. Doctors said as the condition of the dog was taking a critical turn, it required an endoscopic operation, for which the pet parents were advised to take him to Kolkata.Warman recounted to TOI that Bruno had swallowed a car key on the night of March 22. "The next day, we took Bruno to a vet clinic where an X-ray showed the key inside its stomach. He was given medicine to soften the stool so that the key could come out easily. As it did not happen, another X-ray scan was carried out on Thursday and the report showed the key still stuck in the same position inside his stomach. Doctors did not take any risk and recommended that Bruno be taken to Kolkata for an immediate procedure. We searched online and came to know about Animal Health Pathology Lab, which had the facility to conduct the non-invasive procedure," she said.Kumar drove from their home at Sonari, Jamshedpur, to Kolkata for five hours to reach the clinic. At the clinic, Bruno underwent an hour-long endoscopic procedure, involving the use of different forceps, to extricate the key. "It was an extremely critical case which, in most situations, would have required a major surgical procedure, such as a gastrectomy. The patient had travelled from another state specifically to undergo advanced endoscopic management. So, we made every effort to manage it through the minimally invasive approach," said the veterinary surgeon who operated on the dog.He pointed out that did not carry out a general surgery as it would have been riskier and caused postoperative pain and complications associated with major abdominal surgery.As Bruno finally recovered, the pet parents felt happy. They drove back home the same day. "It's a relief that the key could be brought out. From now on, we have to be more careful and keep swallowable objects beyond his reach. As the key was taken out of its stomach with a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure, Bruno's going back to normal rhythm of life," Kumar said.