Perforated Air Sac

[BirdyMomma]

Ok. I probably shouldn't be posting this, but I re-live this nightmare constantly in my head. There are a million "what ifs".

Last week, when my Amazon was attacked by my dog, we rushed him to a highly reputable Avian Vet on Long Island. After the preliminary assessment, the vet, (who seemed oddly young) assured us that not only was Bacci very lucky, that his injuries did not seem life threatening, but that he was going to be OK. She said it looked as if one of his lower air sacs was punctured. She described how she was going to clean it, and what we would have to do to help him recover. She told us how strong and healthy he was, and how this was not as grave as we feared. She even spoke about us modifying his diet after he recovered, because he was chunky.

Well, he died on her table. The next day, when I picked up my baby's body, I asked her what went wrong. How could someone so confident about the task at hand explain such a tragic outcome. She showed me x rays, and explained that there was a hole she couldn't see, and when she was cleaning his wounds, the saline went into his body cavity. Respiratory distress and cardiac failure followed.

Are air sac punctures typically fatal? Would a more experienced Doctor have known about the possibility of another hole? Could the injury have waited a day, until a more experienced Dr. Was available?.

I'm sorry. I know the fault was mine, but I still have questions.

 

[BirdyMomma]

I apologize if this got posted twice.

 

[henpecked]

That's a hard call to make. Hindsight is always 20/20. Puncture wounds are always serious. They're hard to clean and prone to infections. I'm so sorry to hear you lost your friend.

 

[Terry57]

Oh no, that makes it even worse that she led you to believe that everything was going to be ok
I can't speak to your air sac question, but I just wanted to say that you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. We have all done things with our animals that we regret and realize we could have done differently. The important thing is you loved Bacci and gave him a wonderful home, and have shared his story to help others. My thoughts are with you.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Birdymomma,
I'm so sorry for your tragic loss.
I'm wondering aabout that xray she showed you and the the small hole she couldn't see.
Wondering why she was able to show it to you on an xray, but that she says she didn't see it. ?????

 

[BirdyMomma]

She showed me the one she saw, but said there was one that could not be seen on a regular x ray. Apparently as she was cleaning his wounds, the saline (or cleaning agent) entered his body cavity through this second wound. He went into respiratory distress, and then cardiac arrest. She did mention that she intended to speak to her colleagues to determine wether a contrast x ray would've made the second hole visible.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

So sad. Blessings to you.

 

[TessieB]

This type of loss is horrifying for the owner and the veterinary staff. I'm so sorry you experienced this. I've seen unexpected deaths happen to new and experienced veterinarians. The more experienced vets have learned to temper their optimism and chose their words carefully when discussing prognosis of a patient. While avian anesthesia has come a long way in the last several years, there are always risks involved.

Telling you these things happen will in no way ease your pain. Knowing that others have gone through this is of no help, but we understand your anguish and share your pain.