'What have you found?' competition winner - October

'The Tortoise and the bone'

Tortoise bone 

The winner of our October Veterinary Review competition is Rob Reynolds, Veterinary Surgeon at Seer Croft Veterinary Surgery in Faygate, West Sussex. Readers sent in x-rays of the most unusual object they had found in an animal, and Rob's was a clear winner:

The radiograph is of a 60-year-old entire female Spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca), presented in May 2007. She had eaten well since the end of hibernation, but had been anorexic and passing urates but no faeces for 1 week. Routine biochemistry suggested oogenesis (raised total and ionised Calcium) and hepatic lipidosis (raised triglyceride, AST and LDH). A plain dorsoventral radiograph showed a small longbone in the caudal coelomic cavity.

A coeliotomy was performed. The bone and some impacted faecal material (including ascarid worms) were removed from the distal small intestine. The coelum was filled with pre-ovulatory ovarian follicles. A salpingectomy and liver biopsy were performed. An indwelliing oesophageal tube was used to feed and medicate her unitl she was eating normally. Recovery has been complete.

Histology confirmed hepatic lipidosis. The relative importance of the three conditions is uncertain. The bone may have been ingested as a result of a pica or as a source of dietary calcium.

Rob has won a Kodak EasyShare V570 digital camera. Look out for this month's competition in the December issue of Veterinary Review.  For more details click here.