Chaussette
7-year-old female Cocker Spaniel
On April 4th, 2017, I was in the Ecrins massif at 3207m of altitude, with Chaussette who was used to coming with me on hikes, trails, skiing, etc…
After climbing up a corridor and taking a few pictures at the summit, I started descending with my crampons in order to be able to put my skis on about 50 meters below, but due to a lack of attention and/or overconfidence, I slipped on unstable rocks hidden under the snow and slid down about 200m.
Once I stopped, I looked up and called Chaussette, unsuccessfully…
Convinced that she was under the snow flow, I went back up to look for her but I didn’t find her.
I put on my skis that had stayed behind when I fell, and skied back down as best I could in spite of my injuries.
Going down, I saw traces of blood in the snow… There was still hope even if I imagined the worst…
An hour later and 900m further down, I discovered a huge bloodstain: Chaussette had gone to shelter from the wind a few meters below, unconscious and choking on her blood.
With my leg wounds and Chaussette’s condition, it was impossible to ski down, so I walked for an hour, with Chaussette in a survival blanket and in my backpack, to get back to the car and call for help.
The veterinarian in Bourg d’Oisans immediately took care of her.
She was hypothermic, with a major cranial trauma and she had already lost a lot of blood.
Several days later, when her condition had stabilized, I was directed to the veterinary clinic Pierre du Terrail in Pontcharra.
The exams revealed edema on her spine at the level of her cervical vertebrae, broken ribs and a complex fracture of the olecranon of the left limb.
On April 10th, 2017, a first surgery was performed to reduce the fracture with a pin. It unfortunately did not hold.
On May 20th, 2017, a second surgery was performed to put the olecranon back in its place, again with a pin system. But as the bone was very friable, the system did not stay in place.
Dr. BUTTIN, an itinerant surgeon on the Alpine Arc, suggested a new ligament and tendon prosthesis in order to save Chaussette’s limb. I quickly accepted, without any certainty about the result.
On June 13th, 2017, the previous material was removed during a third intervention but as the site was infected, it was impossible to implant the prosthesis.
On July 6th, 2017, Chaussette was operated for the fourth time: a NOVATEN® ligament prosthesis from Novetech Surgery was implanted.
On August 23rd, 2017, the X-ray control determined that Chaussette had to keep the splint on for 3 more weeks to avoid taking any risks.
On September 14th, 2017, on Chaussette’s birthday, I removed the splint.
The next day, she was walking on her 4 limbs again.
Thank you to the veterinary team and to Novetech Surgery.
