Latest news with #Supervet
ITV News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- ITV News
World's first bionic cat dies in Jersey aged 18 after 'paving the way for animals globally'
The world's first bionic cat has died at the age of 18. Oscar from Jersey underwent pioneering surgery in 2009 after both of his rear paws were chopped off by a combine harvester. With severe injuries and significant blood loss, his owners were concerned he may not survive but he was treated on island before being flown to Surrey. The operation by renowned vet Noel Fitzpatrick was the first time an animal had been fitted with two bionic leg implants and made international headlines, as well as setting two Guinness World Records. Oscar's journey was followed on TV, including in the popular Supervet series, and he defied by odds by living for a further 15 years. Noel says the operation revolutionised the treatment of animals. He explains: "The main consideration I had going into it was ethics. Was it the right thing to do for Oscar? "I felt apprehensive but now it's something that I do relatively frequently and it's really important that we move medicine forward for the benefit of all animals. "He truly has paved the way for animals globally to have this kind of technology in their moment of need. "Without him, numerous animals would not have limbs. Without him, numerous animals would not have light. And without him, we wouldn't have had that joy in our hearts." Owner Kate Nolan adds: "We were a bit hesitant when we first did it because obviously Oscar didn't have a say in the treatment. "We did think, 'Would it be kinder to let him go?' but the fact that he's had a really full, happy and content life, and his legacy lives on through so many other animals, is really wonderful. "We didn't know if they would last and we're just so pleased that he had this extraordinary life. "He never gave up and was really resilient. He was diagnosed with lymphoma about three years ago, so he's just an extraordinary cat."
Telegraph
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Saving Lives in Cardiff, review: however familiar the format, it's impossible not to be moved
It seems we're suckers for Saving Lives. We've been at Sea, we've stalked hospital corridors in Leeds, and now it's back to Saving Lives in Cardiff (BBC Two) for a second look at surgeons doing seemingly impossible things. Impossible things that make writing reviews about their jaw-dropping efforts question my life choices. Then again, the chances of me being able to sit for eight hours manoeuvring a delicate joystick in order to robotically remove a life-threatening tumour from behind the nose of a jolly ex-copper called Terry are next to zero. Thankfully for us, the likes of Prof Stuart Quine, the man in charge of said joystick, are wired differently. We know the score with the Saving Lives strand by now. Filmed at Cardiff and Vale University hospital, patients with tricky (that's putting it mildly) conditions check in, a mixture of hope and fear in their eyes, to put their lives in the hands of the surgeons they trust to put their lives back on track. Yet, however familiar the format, it's impossible not to be moved by the stories which unfold before our eyes. Aside from the almost impossibly chipper Terry, we also met Courtney, who, at 27 and hoping to start a family, had been diagnosed with Chiari malformation, a condition where the brain is too big for the skull. You're right, this is where things turned squeamish. Though the sequences aren't overdone, Saving Lives does feature up-close and bloody operation shots that are not for the faint-hearted. Watching a surgeon painstakingly pick their way through the pulsing scarlet inner workings of a brain is a stiff test of anyone's queasometer. Of course, no show set in a UK hospital in 2025 can sidestep the issues facing the NHS. And while the problem of ever-growing waiting lists is not front and centre, it's there all the same, with captions of escalating numbers, the implication that surgeons are having to choose which lives to save lurks like a spectre at the feast. Still, rather like Noel Fitzpatrick's Supervet series, you can tell that the producers strive to steer towards the stories that have upbeat outcomes, however much jeopardy is injected into the story arcs of the cases we follow. But gird those loins because my guess is that future episodes may feature tears for sorrow as well as joy. Because, well, life is like that.
