Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Emmalein, a Domestic Shorthair Cat, was found as a stray kitten with a chest wound and fractured sternum, outside her family’s home. Before coming to AMC, she underwent three surgeries, but the wound remained open and infected. At AMC, she received several types of treatments including fish skin application (a medical dressing made from actual fish skin used to improve healing of large wounds), vacuum-assisted closure therapy, and surgery involving skin flaps and grafts performed by Dr. Jonathan Ferrari. Unfortunately, Emmalein also developed epilepsy, and her seizures caused the wound to reopen and the infection to emerge from beneath her skin. Drs. Dan Cimino and Zoe Daniels from the Neurology Service treated her seizures, and a CT scan revealed the underlying cause of the persistent infection—her fractured sternum had lost its blood supply and became necrotic bone. To address this, surgeons Dr. Jonathan Ferrari and Dr. Daniel Spector removed the infected bone and reconstructed the diaphragm (a sternbrectomy). With the infection source gone, the wound finally healed through regular bandage care and Emmalein has been able to resume a healthy and active life.
Emmalein, a Domestic Shorthair Cat, was found as a stray kitten with a chest wound and fractured sternum, outside her family’s home. Before coming to AMC, she underwent three surgeries, but the wound remained open and infected. At AMC, she received several types of treatments including fish skin application (a medical dressing made from actual fish skin used to improve healing of large wounds), vacuum-assisted closure therapy, and surgery involving skin flaps and grafts performed by Dr. Jonathan Ferrari. Unfortunately, Emmalein also developed epilepsy, and her seizures caused the wound to reopen and the infection to emerge from beneath her skin. Drs. Dan Cimino and Zoe Daniels from the Neurology Service treated her seizures, and a CT scan revealed the underlying cause of the persistent infection—her fractured sternum had lost its blood supply and became necrotic bone. To address this, surgeons Dr. Jonathan Ferrari and Dr. Daniel Spector removed the infected bone and reconstructed the diaphragm (a sternbrectomy). With the infection source gone, the wound finally healed through regular bandage care and Emmalein has been able to resume a healthy and active life.
