Ongoing post-surgical complications - anyone have a similar experience?

[Scott]

Greetings! I'm new to the forum and have a time-critical situation, so forgive me for not doing a thorough search. This will also be posted in the Eclectus section.

My 21 yr. old Vosmarai Eclectus is suffering post-surgical complications. Several weeks ago a large non-malignant fatty tumor was removed from just below the crop. Recovery was slow, but in the past week his appetite and energy level rebounded. At the 3-week mark we noticed a frothing moistness from the crop region, and immediately returned to the vet. The initial diagnosis was a nicked crop, possibly a by-product of closeness to the tumor-site and use of a laser. During the second surgery, however, the tissue appeared to be "crop burn" damaged. We're very experienced owners and never feed hi-temp foods. Significant crop material was removed, the hole stitched, and leak-tested. The next day (today) he is enduring fluid seepage externally from his crop! Our avian vet will come in to check/advise, but we're all disappointed. We knew post-op was going to be challenging with potential for infection/feeding issues, but this was not expected.

Our Eclectus are fed an abundant diet of vegetables/fruits, and the clinic is exceptionally staffed with two experienced avian vets and state-of-the-art diagnostic/surgical equipment.

Thanks for reading.... anybody experience anything like this??

EDIT: Our vet performed emergency surgery to close region of the crop that began to ooze and placed a surgical abosorbent material. Also installed a feeding apparatus to bypass the crop. There is not much crop material remaining, so we're hoping the healing process can begin. He'll spend the night with a wonderfully dedicated RVT for care. Sasquatch's pain is under control, and he is clearly a trooper. None of us are going to give up.

 

[Bobby34231]

Hi Scott and welcome to the forum, I'm sorry to hear of the difficulties your experiencing, I've had a few birds throughout the years that have needed surgery, but none similar to yours so I cant give you advise on this, I would suggest however that if you feel something is being done wrong or isn't being addressed properly that you seek a second opinion from another avian vet if one is available in your area, just recently other members have sought second opinions and it has made a difference in the outcome of the health of their pets, if you have any doubts you should follow your instincts, as you said this is a time critical situation.best of luck with your fid, let us know how things turn out.......

 

[Scott]

Hi Bobby, and thanks for the reply. I live in northern San Diego County and know virtually all of the avian docs. It's not easy to locate competent care, and the trust level with our current clinic is extremely high - we go back 25 years or so. This is a tricky situation, though, and if I thought taking him elsewhere would be best it'd be done in a heartbeat. Unfortunately things aren't as dynamic as with human medicine where practitioners can freely visit the patient in any setting. Still, I believe he's in good hands. I'm afraid we're already at the "heroics" stage, but there's still hope. (he's pretty hardy to have survived 60 min of anesthesia yesterday and about 30 min today.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Despite the challenges it sounds like he has incredible facilities.

From what you've posted it sounds like he's in the best hands he could be and the best that could be done is hope or pray. However like Bobby said, a second opinion would never hurt. I've never heard of a responsible medical practitioner (avian or human) being disturbed by a patient (respectfully) informing them that they were seeking a second opinion - as long as it is opinion you seek first, then discuss options with them again. Some of the worst things patients can do is only follow through with half a treatment, try something else, then waffle back and forth. But getting input from another set of eyes with a different perspective could either verify that everything is being done as best as it can be or could suggest better alternatives.