SUMTER, SC....Everyone that knows Noah's Arks Rescue and what we do knows that I NEVER post for an animal until I have the animal at our Hospital and I have as many facts as I can get about the animal. A lot of people involved have wanted information on him, but it was too soon for us to post until we confirmed his medical report.
Sweet Hatfield is a five-year-old Beagle that was picked up by a Good-Samaritan after being hit by a car. He was found wandering a road with blood coming from his mouth and nose. He was taken to a Vet for Medical Care and then was taken to an ER in Columbia, SC since he needed a Specialist. Hatfield's jaw is pretty much broken all the way around from top to bottom with several damaged teeth.
Skull radiographs and a Cat Scan confirmed a complete full circumferential fracture of the maxilla between the second and third premolars severe enough to allow the rostral maxilla to move in all planes easily. There is also a fracture of the rostral left mandible between the canine and corner incisor. Hatfield's jaw can move in all directions. He no longer has any jaw stability and therefore cannot eat in this condition.
We said we would take Hatfield and had him scheduled to be picked up and taken to our regular ER Vet in Matthews, NC, Carolina Veterinary Specialists. Hatfield's condition became critical, and he could not be moved to our facility. Everyone knows I use our Specialists for a reason because they can handle cases like this. I had to quickly do my due diligence and find out everything I could about the hospital where he was and their Surgeon.
CVETS (Carolina Veterinary Emergency Trauma & Speciality) is a brand new ER Facility that just opened in the Columbia area of South Carolina. Dr. Mike Schlicksup is one of the Owners of the Hospital along with his Wife, Tracey. I was very hesitant at first to have someone I was not familiar with work on Hatfield since his jaw was so mangled. I made lots of calls to other Surgeons to find out about Dr. Schlicksup, and everyone gave him five stars in his ability to do this procedure and other surgeries.
After talking to Dr. Mike (as I am now calling him because his last name is so long), I felt confident he could take care of Hatfield. This sweet boys surgery went way into the night. Dr. Mike had to wire Hatfield's jaw together and then a fixator splint had to be made to hold the aligned areas while they healed. The surgery was long and complicated, and Hatfield did terrific during the procedure.
What made me nervous in the beginning has turned out to be a great new place for us to take our pups in addition to the Speciality Clinics we already use. Check out the new facility in Columbia if you need a Specialist or an ER. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with their skill and compassion.
Hatfield's mouth will have to be cleaned several times a day, so he does not get an infection. His fixator splint will stay in for four weeks and then can be removed. Hatfield is a very lucky pup that someone picked him up. He would not have survived much longer with the pain from the breaks in his jaw and the infection that had set in. The top part of poor Hatfields jaw had broken through his nasal area which is why he had so much blood coming from his mouth and nose.
Hatfield's bills are quite extensive from his surgery and the Cat Scan he had to have. Please, Donate whatever you can so we can help more pups like Hatfield get the care they need to Survive and Thrive.
