EllenD
New member
- Aug 20, 2016
- 3,979
- 68
- Parrots
- Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
Last night I was watching some older episodes of "Dr. K's Exotic Animal ER", many of you are familiar with the show and know that it is a documentary-style show that takes place at Broward Avian and Exotic Veterinary Hospital in Deerfield Beach, FL (Fort Lauderdale area); the practice is owned by Dr. Susan Kelleher, a CAV and Exotics Veterinarian of almost 30 years. She specializes in Avian medicine and Avian surgical procedures....Well I watched an episode last night from 2017 that was frightening...and that made me so angry I could have thrown something through my TV...
A couple in their late 50's brought in their Greenwing Macaw, Bubba, to see Dr. K for a THIRD opinion...They brought Bubba home at 4 months old, and Bubba had just turned 22 during this episode of the show...Bubba's dad had been a first-responder at the Pentagon on 9/11, and Bubba was his "Therapy" afterwards, as his dad put it...They have no human children, just Bubba. So you can understand their relationship with Bubba, and Bubba's with them...Bubba cuddled close to his mama the entire visit, he is the sweetest, most loving parrot I've ever seen...And very well cared for...They live in Virginia, outside of Washington D.C., and they drove Bubba down to Fort Lauderdale, FL to see if Dr. K could save his life, as 2 other CAV's already told them to euthanize Bubba...Yes, 2 other Avian specialists, apparently good ones according to Dr. K.
Bubba was totally fine, no signs of illness at all, except he had suddenly started plucking his lower belly completely bald. That was it, that was Bubba's only sign/symptom, but he had never plucked anywhere before, and wasn't plucking anywhere else. And Bubba's belly was completely bare, not even a pin feather anywhere, with a completely straight line of feathers going across is upper belly/lower chest where he stopped plucking...So they took Bubba to their regular CAV, who did all the regular tests: Blood-Work, Fecal, etc...All was normal...So this CAV sent them to another Avian Specialist, who took x-rays...And on the x-rays they saw a huge mass in Bubba's lower abdomen that looked very vascularized and appeared to be right in the middle of his Intestines, feeding off of it's blood-supply...This specialist sent the x-rays back to their regular CAV, but told them it was totally inoperable and that they should put Bubba down...Their regular CAV reviewed the x-rays and told them the same, that they needed to euthanize Bubba before he got very sick...They "had no interest in doing that" as they very firmly stated, lol, and so they asked where the best of the best in parrot surgeons in the country were located...and the CAV specialist referred them to Dr. K in Florida...So they called Dr. K and she told them to come on down immediately, right now...So they made the 19 hour drive with Bubba...
Dr. K had the x-rays sent to her from the specialist, and they showed them on the TV show...Dr. K too thought that it looked to be a very large mass/tumor that was smack dab in the middle of Bubba's intestines, and even stated prior to operating on him that she was nervous as all-hell about doing the surgery, but she still agreed to try to remove the mass/tumor, because otherwise Bubba was definitely dead...So Dr. K took him to surgery that day...As soon as Dr. K made the very first incision (which they showed on TV), Bubba's intestines came bursting through the incision, which should not happen, as the wall of the Peritoneum holds all the organs inside...Well guess what? Bubba didn't have a "mass/tumor" at all, HE HAD A FREAKING HERNIA!!! That's right, because they had only done regular x-rays and not an ultrasound before deciding that Bubba should be "euthanized", by 2 CAV's, they couldn't see that it wasn't a mass/tumor, but just a Hernia...And Hernia's are very painful, so that's why Bubba had plucked his entire lower belly bald over-top of the Hernia, because it hurt!!! Dr. K said that she would have done an Ultrasound and possibly a CT Scan if still needed before recommending such a young Macaw be euthanized, but that she didn't blame the other 2 CAV's because she too thought it was a tumor inside of Bubba's intestines based on the plain x-rays...
You should have seen the faces of Bubba's parents when they came out and told them that not only did Bubba do fine with the anesthesia, but that Bubba didn't even have a mass or a tumor, but just a big Hernia that they quickly repaired!!! Bubba's dad goes "Wait, so no cancer then either, right? No Chemo?". Apparently they had been told that even if the mass/tumor could have been removed, that because "it had grown so quickly" that it was most-likely an aggressive Cancer, and Bubba would still have to endure rounds of Chemo/Radiation, multiple hospital stays, and possibly more surgeries. Bubba's dad actually said "So he doesn't even need an Anastomosis?", so for him to know the word "Anastomosis" and know what it meant told me that the other two Vets had told them if a surgeon was able to remove all of the tumor/mass from his intestines, that they would have to do an Anastomosis and Bubba would have to have a bag connected to what would be left of his intestinal tract after the surgery...That to me is A LOT of guess-work, assumption, and just plain scare-tactics used by the other two CAV's to try to convince them to euthanize Bubba. There is absolutely no-way to know if a patient with a tumor/mass in their intestinal tract and who's intestines are functioning completely normally, and who's intestines appear obviously totally alive in the x-ray will have to have an Anastomosis done until they actually get inside, attempt to remove the tumor/mass, and then see how much of the intestines they had to remove in order to remove the mass/tumor!!! So to me that's not cool for ANY doctor to do based simply on a regular x-ray, when they know that they have no idea what the end-result would be and were literally just trying to "scare" Bubba's owners into euthanizing him...Is this laziness? Or is this just two different CAV's trying to save a couple from spending a bunch of money and time, and from putting their bird through a bunch of painful procedures? I don't know, but it's not cool to tell someone that their bird will "definitely need" horrible procedures to be done when they don't have a clue if that's true or not ...It was a moment of extreme happiness and relief that quickly went to "My God, I'm glad we didn't listen to the other two CAV's"...
For me, as someone who deals with animal/bird medicine on a regular basis, it just reinforces that there is nothing more important to helping an animal, bird, or human that has a medical issue than thorough diagnostic testing. And if you see a large mass/tumor that is growing "into the intestines", yet the bird is not acting sick and their blood-work is totally normal, you need to take the next step..and the next, and the next, until you get a definitive diagnosis. You can't just look at one test that is abnormal and 10 others that are normal and go "Euthanize them"...
**Just to add something: This should be a lesson for all "Parronts", as well as all owners of other pets/family members, to not just take what the first Vet tells us as the "Gospel", and to seek a second opinion; Even more-so, we ALL need to make sure that we request, if not DEMAND that our Veterinarians run all the diagnostic-tests that they can BEFORE just guessing on a diagnosis...and before just prescribing any medications to our birds, reptiles, etc. "just in-case" and without running simple, basic, cheap diagnostic tests, like cultures/microscopy, blood-work, and x-rays. #SAYNOTOBAYTRIL
A couple in their late 50's brought in their Greenwing Macaw, Bubba, to see Dr. K for a THIRD opinion...They brought Bubba home at 4 months old, and Bubba had just turned 22 during this episode of the show...Bubba's dad had been a first-responder at the Pentagon on 9/11, and Bubba was his "Therapy" afterwards, as his dad put it...They have no human children, just Bubba. So you can understand their relationship with Bubba, and Bubba's with them...Bubba cuddled close to his mama the entire visit, he is the sweetest, most loving parrot I've ever seen...And very well cared for...They live in Virginia, outside of Washington D.C., and they drove Bubba down to Fort Lauderdale, FL to see if Dr. K could save his life, as 2 other CAV's already told them to euthanize Bubba...Yes, 2 other Avian specialists, apparently good ones according to Dr. K.
Bubba was totally fine, no signs of illness at all, except he had suddenly started plucking his lower belly completely bald. That was it, that was Bubba's only sign/symptom, but he had never plucked anywhere before, and wasn't plucking anywhere else. And Bubba's belly was completely bare, not even a pin feather anywhere, with a completely straight line of feathers going across is upper belly/lower chest where he stopped plucking...So they took Bubba to their regular CAV, who did all the regular tests: Blood-Work, Fecal, etc...All was normal...So this CAV sent them to another Avian Specialist, who took x-rays...And on the x-rays they saw a huge mass in Bubba's lower abdomen that looked very vascularized and appeared to be right in the middle of his Intestines, feeding off of it's blood-supply...This specialist sent the x-rays back to their regular CAV, but told them it was totally inoperable and that they should put Bubba down...Their regular CAV reviewed the x-rays and told them the same, that they needed to euthanize Bubba before he got very sick...They "had no interest in doing that" as they very firmly stated, lol, and so they asked where the best of the best in parrot surgeons in the country were located...and the CAV specialist referred them to Dr. K in Florida...So they called Dr. K and she told them to come on down immediately, right now...So they made the 19 hour drive with Bubba...
Dr. K had the x-rays sent to her from the specialist, and they showed them on the TV show...Dr. K too thought that it looked to be a very large mass/tumor that was smack dab in the middle of Bubba's intestines, and even stated prior to operating on him that she was nervous as all-hell about doing the surgery, but she still agreed to try to remove the mass/tumor, because otherwise Bubba was definitely dead...So Dr. K took him to surgery that day...As soon as Dr. K made the very first incision (which they showed on TV), Bubba's intestines came bursting through the incision, which should not happen, as the wall of the Peritoneum holds all the organs inside...Well guess what? Bubba didn't have a "mass/tumor" at all, HE HAD A FREAKING HERNIA!!! That's right, because they had only done regular x-rays and not an ultrasound before deciding that Bubba should be "euthanized", by 2 CAV's, they couldn't see that it wasn't a mass/tumor, but just a Hernia...And Hernia's are very painful, so that's why Bubba had plucked his entire lower belly bald over-top of the Hernia, because it hurt!!! Dr. K said that she would have done an Ultrasound and possibly a CT Scan if still needed before recommending such a young Macaw be euthanized, but that she didn't blame the other 2 CAV's because she too thought it was a tumor inside of Bubba's intestines based on the plain x-rays...
You should have seen the faces of Bubba's parents when they came out and told them that not only did Bubba do fine with the anesthesia, but that Bubba didn't even have a mass or a tumor, but just a big Hernia that they quickly repaired!!! Bubba's dad goes "Wait, so no cancer then either, right? No Chemo?". Apparently they had been told that even if the mass/tumor could have been removed, that because "it had grown so quickly" that it was most-likely an aggressive Cancer, and Bubba would still have to endure rounds of Chemo/Radiation, multiple hospital stays, and possibly more surgeries. Bubba's dad actually said "So he doesn't even need an Anastomosis?", so for him to know the word "Anastomosis" and know what it meant told me that the other two Vets had told them if a surgeon was able to remove all of the tumor/mass from his intestines, that they would have to do an Anastomosis and Bubba would have to have a bag connected to what would be left of his intestinal tract after the surgery...That to me is A LOT of guess-work, assumption, and just plain scare-tactics used by the other two CAV's to try to convince them to euthanize Bubba. There is absolutely no-way to know if a patient with a tumor/mass in their intestinal tract and who's intestines are functioning completely normally, and who's intestines appear obviously totally alive in the x-ray will have to have an Anastomosis done until they actually get inside, attempt to remove the tumor/mass, and then see how much of the intestines they had to remove in order to remove the mass/tumor!!! So to me that's not cool for ANY doctor to do based simply on a regular x-ray, when they know that they have no idea what the end-result would be and were literally just trying to "scare" Bubba's owners into euthanizing him...Is this laziness? Or is this just two different CAV's trying to save a couple from spending a bunch of money and time, and from putting their bird through a bunch of painful procedures? I don't know, but it's not cool to tell someone that their bird will "definitely need" horrible procedures to be done when they don't have a clue if that's true or not ...It was a moment of extreme happiness and relief that quickly went to "My God, I'm glad we didn't listen to the other two CAV's"...
For me, as someone who deals with animal/bird medicine on a regular basis, it just reinforces that there is nothing more important to helping an animal, bird, or human that has a medical issue than thorough diagnostic testing. And if you see a large mass/tumor that is growing "into the intestines", yet the bird is not acting sick and their blood-work is totally normal, you need to take the next step..and the next, and the next, until you get a definitive diagnosis. You can't just look at one test that is abnormal and 10 others that are normal and go "Euthanize them"...
**Just to add something: This should be a lesson for all "Parronts", as well as all owners of other pets/family members, to not just take what the first Vet tells us as the "Gospel", and to seek a second opinion; Even more-so, we ALL need to make sure that we request, if not DEMAND that our Veterinarians run all the diagnostic-tests that they can BEFORE just guessing on a diagnosis...and before just prescribing any medications to our birds, reptiles, etc. "just in-case" and without running simple, basic, cheap diagnostic tests, like cultures/microscopy, blood-work, and x-rays. #SAYNOTOBAYTRIL
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