A grateful dog owner has delivered a heartfelt vote of thanks to a Hertfordshire vet who removed a tumour from his prized pet's abdomen.

The 12-year-old chihuahua, called Chester, was successfully treated by soft tissue surgeon Krizia Compagnone at Linnaeus-owned Davies Veterinary Specialists in Higher Gobion, near Hitchin.

Vincent Gray-Cauvin said his beloved pet Chester was once again acting like a puppy thanks to the superb care and treatment from Krizia and the Davies team.

He said: "We were very happy with how the team at Davies, and particularly Krizia, were not discouraged by Chester's pre-existing heart condition and age. She was confident in her realism and a true professional.

"Chester is full of puppy-like energy, which really surprises people when they find out his age, so we're very grateful to Krizia and the Davies team for their work; it was very impressive."

Krizia said surgery to remove Chester's gastric wall tumour (leiomyoma) was complicated due to its unusual location.

She explained: "The tumour was centred around the cardias, which is the muscular sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach.

"This made the surgery quite challenging as it was not confined to the stomach alone, but also the end-part of the esophagus and this sphincter.

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"This is quite unusual, as more often gastric masses are found in other locations of the stomach.

"Chester underwent surgery for a partial gastrectomy (removing the part of the stomach involving the tumour) followed by reconstruction of the gastric lumen. He has made an outstanding recovery."

Krizia also thanked her expert colleagues at Davies for all their help and support in a truly multidisciplinary effort, revealing the teamwork which went into achieving such a successful result.

She added: "Katherine Clarke, our European Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine, saw Chester on his arrival, while our radiology team carried out and reviewed his CT scan images and collected ultrasound guided samples of the gastric mass, while pathologists then looked at those samples to provide us with an accurate diagnosis."

For more information about Davies and the wide range of specialist-led services it offers, visit https://vetspecialists.co.uk/ or search for them on Facebook or LinkedIn.