09/29/2026
Meet our Patient of the Month, Cleo! 🐾
When 12-year-old Cleo arrived at Overland Park Veterinary Emergency & Specialty with difficulty breathing, her family knew something wasn’t right. What followed was a journey through our Emergency, Surgery, and Oncology departments, and a powerful example of how collaborative specialty care can make a difference for a patient with multiple complex medical concerns.
Cleo first presented through our Emergency service, where Dr. Chris Fearnley evaluated her increased respiratory effort and recent decrease in appetite. Her medical history added another layer of concern: earlier in the year, Cleo had undergone removal of an oral mass that was diagnosed as malignant melanoma.
Chest radiographs revealed a spontaneous pneumothorax, a potentially life-threatening condition in which air accumulates within the chest cavity and prevents the lungs from expanding normally. The ER team performed a thoracocentesis, removing approximately 900 mL of air from Cleo’s chest. Her breathing initially improved, but additional imaging showed that air was continuing to leak into her chest.
At that point, Cleo needed more definitive treatment, and our Surgery team joined her care team.
Board-certified surgeon Dr. David Allen and surgical resident Dr. Jackson Balcom worked with the ER team to develop the next step in Cleo’s treatment. Under anesthesia, bilateral chest tubes were placed, allowing the team to manage air accumulating on both sides of her chest. Cleo also underwent an autologous blood patch, a procedure in which her own blood was introduced into the chest cavity to help seal the source of the persistent air leak.
Following the procedure, Cleo remained hospitalized for close monitoring. Dr. Balcom and the team carefully watched her respiratory status and chest tubes while managing her comfort and recovery. Fortunately, she continued to improve, allowing her to eventually return home with her family.
But Cleo’s care didn’t end there.
Because of her previous diagnosis of incompletely excised oral malignant melanoma, her Surgery and Oncology teams were already working together to consider her next steps. A lymph node sample was saved for our board-certified oncologist, Dr. Katilee Jacobs, and once Cleo had recovered from her respiratory emergency, Dr. Jacobs met with her family to discuss the melanoma, the risk of local recurrence or metastasis, and options for continued treatment and monitoring.
Cleo later began treatment with the ONCEPT canine melanoma vaccine, an immunotherapy designed to stimulate the immune system against melanoma cells.
Two weeks after her blood patch procedure, Cleo returned to our Surgery service for a recheck with surgical resident Dr. Daegan Bulloch. She was bright and alert, her cardiothoracic examination was within normal limits, and her procedure sites were healing appropriately. From there, her care continued with Oncology, including her melanoma vaccine and ongoing monitoring.
Cleo’s journey is a wonderful example of why having multiple specialties working together under one roof can be so valuable. What began as an acute respiratory emergency required the expertise of our Emergency and Surgery teams, while her underlying cancer diagnosis brought Oncology into the conversation. At every stage, information and care moved between departments so that each team could consider not only the immediate problem in front of them, but Cleo’s health as a whole.
We’re incredibly proud of Dr. Chris Fearnley, Dr. Jackson Balcom, Dr. David Allen, Dr. Katilee Jacobs, Dr. Daegan Bulloch, and the many technicians, assistants, and support team members who contributed to Cleo’s care.
And most of all, we’re so happy to see Cleo breathing easier and continuing the next chapter of her care with her family by her side. ❤️
