Amber presented to our clinic as an emergency when her owner went to feed her and found she had a ball stuck on the end of her tongue. As can be seen from the pictures, the ball had a small hole in it which Amber was somehow unlucky enough to get her tongue stuck in. When her owner noticed the ball was stuck he tried to remove it himself, but the suction that had formed and the swelling it caused in the tongue didn't allow the ball to be removed. Although Amber was in good spirits when she presented to the clinic, the staff had to act quickly to remove the ball as it could have compromised Amber's airways and caused lasting damage to her tongue.
Amber was quickly placed under general anaesthetic and intubated in order to maintain her airway. The ball was carefully cut through and removed from her tongue. When the ball was removed it was clear to see how swollen Amber's tongue as a result of the pressure of the suction formed by the ball. Luckily for Amber this didn't cause any lasting damage, and within a few days the swelling had reduced and she was back to doing what she loves most - going for walks and chasing a ball....however ones without holes in them from now on so history does not repeat itself!