Abscess won't heal...

[AHBD]

Hi Jess, what did the vet say ? How is Stumpy's eye ?

 

[kingofnobbys]

What's Stumpy's outcome ?

I hope he's not going to need more surgery, or worse .... he's such a great pet it .

 

[Georgeandoscar]

Oh poor poor boy
How is he doing now? Can't even begin to imagine how stressful this all has been!

 

[Jessmvee]

I ended up not taking him in and waiting it out until his regularly scheduled appointment this Friday. I just know if I rush in and seem concerned, my vet will want to poke around.

I started flushing with saline and I just wanted to see what happened. He's doing ok. The swelling isn't worse and it seems to fluctuate all day.

I read that article and it's similar to the other research I found online. I feel terrible I did that to my poor boy. I should have done more research, but I just rushed him in when I saw swelling the first time.

And my vet convinced me not to biopsy since he said he probably couldn't do more surgery either way and I should just be happy with him and see what happens.

 

[AHBD]

Well right now it's good to hear that the eye is stable. It seems that the article recommended just flushing with saline and putting some lubricant on it. I think the eye will be alright.....are you settled in your mind as to what you will allow to be done ? For now it's better to just treat it as mentioned in the article and see how it does.. Maybe you could contact the writer of that article ?

But at least Stumpy got through the surgery and is eating + doing reasonably well. he can live without the eye. Just put your energy in to helping him with this new problem and loving your special boy.

 

[kingofnobbys]

hang in there .... Stumpy is worth it.

 

[Jessmvee]

Just left the vet. Stumpy has a hard time opening his eye. It's contstantly draining tears and its swollen. His enucleation site is also constantly filling and I have to drain it, so the vet thinks his tear glands are grossly overproducing and his tear ducts are backing up.

He said there's really nothing we can do to "cure" the issue without major surgery. He isn't comfortable injecting medications that could kill he gland, like lidocaine, so close to his brain and where he can't really see where it will end up after the eye removal. He also doesn't like the idea of using anti-inflammatory meds since he isn't comfortable with the amount of data on small reptiles.

He injected antibiotics into his wound to help with any post-op infection.

I asked about vitamin a and he said I could get liquid from the pharmacy and put 1 drop per 16 oz of water and use that as his water for the week.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Stumpy is very lucky to have such a good mom.

 

[AHBD]

Just checking on Stumpy....I'm always thinking of your boy, and I know others are as well. I'm almost afraid to ask, but how is he ? Hoping for better news but I know it may not be so.

 

[Jessmvee]

Nothing good to report. His wound site is filling so much I drain at least a tablespoon twice a day. His other eye is swollen like crazy. He can barely open it. I've tried removing his coil UV lamp until I get a better one, and I even heard I should try giving him a centrum vitamin (I crushed one tablet and gave him as much as would stick to the end of a wet syringe - so it might not have been enough to even make a difference). I just don't know what else to do. The vet wants to drain his good eye but I just don't want to go down that road again.

Thank you for always thinking of him.

 

[kingofnobbys]

poor boy.

Do think he's suffering / in pain with the swollen eye and the infected (?) surgical wound that's being treated ?
Does the vet think there is a chance his remaining eye will be viable now ?

Jess , I really feel for you, as you will probably have to make a very gut-wrenchingly difficult decision regarding Stumpy's quality of life and future if things don't improve. This would be my concern if I were in your shoes.

If he lost his other eye or the infected / swollen eye is no longer viable he'll need a mega changes to his enclosure so everything he needs is on ground level and he'll become totally reliant on you for feeding. All this is do-able.

 

[AHBD]

Yes, I'm always thinking of him.... I wish so badly that there were more options and some light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe send desperate e-mails + pics to Reptile's magazine and also any vet university nearby as well as the writer of the article that I linked a few posts ago. And you had great success with his gofundme page if there's another vet that might help and you need quick funds. Just some thoughts ....if thoughts + wishes could heal him he'd be well already.

 

[Jessmvee]

His wound site is constantly full. As soon as I drain it, more fluid comes. I just really wish I could figure out the source of the fluid. My vet thinks he might have damaged the tear producing gland during surgery, but I think this is what caused the initial swelling in the other eye.

Where on earth is all this fluid coming from?

I tried contacting the author of the article posted earlier, but they are unavailable. No one seems to know what to do at this point. I've heard vitamin A deficiency is so rare and you can easily overdose, so I'm worried about that.

My boy is miserable. But I just don't see it as my choice to decide if he lives or not. I can't make that decision.

Can anyone give any ideas? Here are some pics.

 

[AHBD]

Poor babe....is he eating ? Eating is always a good sign, even if the beard is black. The other eye looks fine from this angle, but I know you can see it as it fills.Is that eye closed now ? You might try the watered down raw honey on it if it's infected. Can you contact reptiles magazine ? Maybe some ideas from their staff vet. Check www.arav.com for a list of reptile vets. Send them pics along with this story. Maybe someone can help. Maybe the other eye will correct itself in time. You might also p.m. Drache613 to see if she knows anyone that could help.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Oh poor Stumpy, he doesn't look very happy.

At least his other eye looks OK from this angle.

One of the things the surgeon did with my leg abscess (after they'd cut them out to remove them) was to insert a special surgical wicking strip into the wound and pack it (to keep it from closing and help draw out fluids (exudate). In my case this was replaced daily while in hospital and daily by visiting nurse while I was healing and recouperating at home (over a period of 8 months).

And about 15 years ago when I was in the habit of using little ear plugs (designed mind you for the job and used very commonly by people in noisy industrial workplaces like the bar and rod mills (where I was working) to protect their hearing, rather than helmet mounted airmuffs, and I developed a nasty inner ear infection. My GP lanced the airdrum to release the puss and fluid pressure builtup , and inserted a special ear wick to drain the inner ear. (A similar sized structure as Stumpy's eye).

Maybe the vet can try this with the damaged tearduct , this will ensure it drains continuously and pressure / fluids are not allowed to accumulate (as I think these accumulated reserviours of fluid will likely harbour bacteria and be a perfect place for bacteria to grow).

Maybe he needs to insert an "Eye Spear" or an "Eye Fluid Wick" see http://www.hurricanemedical.com/hm_microsurgical.htm

Just a thought