Surgery

[MonicaMc]

Curious to know, how many parrot owners have had to put their birds through surgery, and for what reason? Did your bird make it through surgery fine? Were there any complications? Age of bird and species???

Species: Bourke Parakeet
Age at time of surgery: 14-16 years


I've only ever had to put one bird through surgery, and that's my bourke parakeet. She weighs around 36 grams, but used to weigh 42-44 grams in her younger days. She's 16-18 years old this year, which is considered old for her species! I can't find anything to say that a bourkes average lifespan is more than 11-15 years (her parents diet within that age range, although if not for a freak accident, her mother could have lived longer). The oldest I've heard of a bourke living to is 22 years of age.

Perhaps something that makes this so interesting is the fact that this is the *only* bourke that my avian vet (and, at the time, her assistant) has ever met, and she thought the bourke was 9 years old then.... not the little ol' gal that she is!

Here's a photo of her from her younger days.

Here's a photo pre-surgery showing the mass on her foot.

When it was originally examined, it was found to be non-cancerous. However, after surgery, the mass was more thoroughly tested, and they did find cancer. Unfortunately, they didn't get it all.


First image, she's getting anesthesia. The ones that follow are during surgery. If the image is a link, it may be graphic (blood/removing mass - view at your own discretion)

Local anesthesia to the mass

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/MonicaNFids/The Fids/Budgies N Bourkes/25a0f9aa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/MonicaNFids/The Fids/Budgies N Bourkes/434ccb66.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/MonicaNFids/The Fids/Budgies N Bourkes/398c9bb0.jpg

The mass was removed via laser surgery, so no requirements for stitches

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/MonicaNFids/The Fids/Budgies N Bourkes/8935e5f6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/MonicaNFids/The Fids/Budgies N Bourkes/61436878.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/MonicaNFids/The Fids/Budgies N Bourkes/b8ec2c05.jpg



The first night she was home, I wasn't sure she was going to make it. I felt horrible for putting her through this, but I didn't want the growth to continue, well, growing, either...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/MonicaNFids/The Fids/Budgies N Bourkes/a7a52db1.jpg


She had to learn how to cope with a bandage on her foot for a couple of weeks, but she did well!

This was the day she had the bandage removed, but there was still some stuff on the top of her foot. The vet and tech were afraid to remove this piece, in case it was attached to the skin, but it fell off later that day.

Although, as mentioned, the mass has grown back some.

I actually wanted to have her foot removed, in case it was cancerous, but my a-vet did not feel it was necessary at the time. Now, I can't imagine putting her through surgery again.

 

[NWQuakers]

Poor little gal!
Lets hope what they did get bought her some quality time.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Poor girl! I never had a bird have surgery. I had one bird with cancerous tumor but she was a budgie with a kidney tumor which bloated her abdomen and caused lameness in one leg. She was not eligible for surgery, we just tried to keep her comfortable and used pain management for her.
Your girl looked so sad that first day but after that she looked great!

 

[MonicaMc]

After surgery, they had her in a heated cage (akin to a brooder, limited air movement since it was all plastic/acrylic), wrapped up in a towel. I was told she just laid there and slept. Every once in a while, they would come in to check on her, tap on the front (clear panel), she'd wake up, look around, then go back to sleep!

It was rough on both of us, especially her!



ruffledfeathers, so sorry to hear that! I know budgies get tumors a lot!

 

[henpecked]

I've put maybe 30+ zons though surgery. In your case with that bird's history i'd be worried. I've never lost a bird in surgery put know how stressful it can be for older birds and avoid it at all cost.I would only consider it as a last resort, in your case. Like you, i would have removed the foot.Hind sight is 20/20.Do you want the contacts for a bird oncologist ? I know of some who treat cancer in parrots but i'm not sure it's worth it, especially in that age group with that kind of weight loss, they really need the fat reserves to survive.

 

[MikeyTN]

I've only had to have a budgie's foot amputated at one point and she did fine. But she was a young bird still at that time. I'm with henpecked there, I don't know if it would do her any good to go under the surgery again at her age. I'm very sorry for the return of the growth and I'm sure you'll be there all the way with her to care for her all the way through.

 

[JerseyWendy]

So sorry to hear the growth has returned. At her age, I would not subject her to another surgery.

My Hunter has had 4 surgeries in total. 3 last year alone. She had a Xanthoma on her third eyelid, which was hard to remove completely since the third eyelid is needed to keep the eye lubricated.

Hunter will be 14 this year, and she made it through each surgery just fine. Knock on wood, the Xanthoma has NOT grown back in over 6 months now.

 

[MonicaMc]

I've put maybe 30+ zons though surgery. In your case with that bird's history i'd be worried. I've never lost a bird in surgery put know how stressful it can be for older birds and avoid it at all cost.I would only consider it as a last resort, in your case. Like you, i would have removed the foot.Hind sight is 20/20.Do you want the contacts for a bird oncologist ? I know of some who treat cancer in parrots but i'm not sure it's worth it, especially in that age group with that kind of weight loss, they really need the fat reserves to survive.

I can't honestly imagine putting her through it again, especially as rough as it was. Here's a video I took of her two days after surgery, eating millet.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPjPdvGDcXU]Bourke Hen Eating Millet - YouTube[/ame]


If she was younger and stronger, maybe... but she's not. She's old. My a-vet was pretty confident that they could safely remove the mass, which they did. It was assumed then that it was not cancerous (due to the test), so "we" didn't think it would grow back. But it did.

Henpecked, I appreciate it, but really can't imagine putting her through any more stress! (I've heard there's chemotherapy for parrots) As it is, I need to occasionally give her milk thistle to help support her system. She isn't underweight, but she is thin. I had hoped that she'd put on weight when she was eating Harrison's High Potency, but she really didn't.

So sorry to hear the growth has returned. At her age, I would not subject her to another surgery.

My Hunter has had 4 surgeries in total. 3 last year alone. She had a Xanthoma on her third eyelid, which was hard to remove completely since the third eyelid is needed to keep the eye lubricated.

Hunter will be 14 this year, and she made it through each surgery just fine. Knock on wood, the Xanthoma has NOT grown back in over 6 months now.

That's great that Hunter's xanthoma has not grown back! I hope it doesn't!




And thanks everyone else for the kind words!

 

[aliray]

I personally would not put her through it again either. I would just keep her as comfortable as I could