"Bernie"

On November 3, 2007 VSH became a temporary home for 8 year old Bernie, a mixed breed canine severely burned by the San Diego wildfires.  The San Diego Central Animal Shelter brought Bernie to Dr. Fred Pike for surgical management of extensive burn wounds to approximately 50% of his body. 

His surgical management included a subdermal plexus skin flap and a caudal superficial epigastric axial pattern flap.  To help expedite healing and maximize the survival of the skin flap, a platelet rich plasma gel was utilized (equipment and service provided by Perfusion Concepts, Inc., a San Diego company).  Bernie has made a full recovery, with the exception of minor hair loss, and has since been adopted by VSH’s own Dr. Steve and Barb Hill.