Posted By: Jackie_Chans_Mom
Surgery, Bruce Lee & my thoughts - 05/15/08 02:38 PM
As you may know, 10 days ago I elected to have surgery on Little Bruce Lee. This was an agonizing decision. My vet and I spent 1 1/2 hours debating all the "what ifs" and "worst case scenerios" before I came to my decision. The reality was that there just was NO good decision. I was choosing between bad and worse. So, I thought I would bring it here and share with you what I have learned.
Bruce Lee was a mill bred glider who was sold with a significant injury to his foot. You can read more about him here: "Gimp Glider" Thread
Anyway, Bruce Lee is another unfortunate victim of being pulled from his parents too early. He was estimated at 4 1/2 weeks OOP when he came to me.
I searched and searched before taking him to the vet, but was unable to find anyone with experience in having surgery on a joey this young. Also unable to find anyone with a joey with such a significant injury at this young. So, we had to go with what we know.
Concerns that the vet and I debated and discussed:
1) Bruce Lee's Age certainly was prohibitive. So little is known about neurological development once OOP.
2) At 4 1/2 weeks OOP, thermoregulation is an issue already. EVERY animal looses body temperature (gets cold) when anesthesized. Would this be detrimental to a joey who already has trouble maintaining body temp?
3) At the time I was at the vet, the necrosis was severe in the foot and beginning to creep up the leg. Surgery today meant that I might be able to save the leg, thereby improving mobility for his future. Many gliders live full, happy lives with NO leg. However, don't I have a responsibiilty to save what I can?
4) I live 6 hours from my vet. IF the necrosis were to begin spreading much faster than we anticipated, would Bruce Lee make it to even the closest trusted emergency vet 4 hours away?
5) At the moment, Bruce was experiencing no pain. He had likely had the injury since birth. It was definately an old injury. If I allow the necrosis to continue spreading in order to improve Bruce's chances of surviving surgery, he may begin experiencing pain, which could lead to SM. Again, I am 6 hours from my vet.
6) Bruce Lee weighed only 26 grams at that time. The difference in anesthesia use with a 26 gram baby and a, say, 45 gram baby is negligable. Dr. Walsh felt that we could wait - at MOST - 2 more weeks before we would HAVE TO do the surgery. Was it worth the wait and the risk to try to put some weight on him and increase his age to 6 1/2 weeks OOP?
7) I was not about to risk the necrosis creeping beyond the leg. It HAD to be taken care of before it left the leg. So, either way, Bruce Lee was going to be under 8 weeks OOP when he had this major surgery.
8) Given all my experience with Jackie Chan, I am not a huge fan of anesthesia at all. But, I do understand that it cannot be avoided at times and that most gliders will never experience as much anesthesia as Jackie. But, I was concerned about a young joey's ability to rid his body of the anesthesia.
Turns out, I was right to be concerned. Weighing the risks either way, it seemed to me to be a wash. I decided to go ahead with the surgery at 4 1/2 weeks OOP in hopes that Bruce would only loose his foot, would recover well, and would compensate excellently since he has never had use of the foot.
Surgery was VERY quick and went without complication. However, it was 3 days before Bruce was able to hold body heat AT ALL after the surgery. AND, he was lethargic, pretty listless and not eating well for 6 days. Furthermore, since the surgery, Bruce Lee has no interest in grooming at all (previously he kept his face and tail VERY well groomed). He is constantly a mess. I am still hand feeding just to make sure I know exactly how much he is taking in. Even still, he is a constant mess. I have to clean feces and urine off him multiple times every day. Yesterday, I was able to give him a good bath (vet didn't want him to be 'wet" for at least 8 days), only to have him messy an hour later. But through it all, his leg is healing very nicely. AND, he has gained a lot of weight. He is up to 35 grams now.
It has been a long, hard 10 days. Bruce Lee reminds me a lot of Naruto - which tugs at my heart fiercly. I have spent every day thinking the "shoulda, coulda"s, but yesterday Bruce Lee really perked up. He is now climbing all over, maintaing his body heat, eating like a champ and moving his leg. He didn't move his little leg at all before the surgery, but he is now practicing using it! I am keeping him in the incubator for another week or so, just to be safe, and then will try him in his own little cage.
So, looking back, I still don't know if it is best to wait or if I made the right decision. I sure hope that there is never another who needs to make this same decision.
OH, how 'bout a picture or two of Bruce Lee?
Sleeping Angel
Could he BE any Cuter?
I think babies eating out of a measuring spoon is SOOO cute. So, I have been using this to train Bruce Lee to eat independently.
This is how I get so messy
Bruce Lee was a mill bred glider who was sold with a significant injury to his foot. You can read more about him here: "Gimp Glider" Thread
Anyway, Bruce Lee is another unfortunate victim of being pulled from his parents too early. He was estimated at 4 1/2 weeks OOP when he came to me.
I searched and searched before taking him to the vet, but was unable to find anyone with experience in having surgery on a joey this young. Also unable to find anyone with a joey with such a significant injury at this young. So, we had to go with what we know.
Concerns that the vet and I debated and discussed:
1) Bruce Lee's Age certainly was prohibitive. So little is known about neurological development once OOP.
2) At 4 1/2 weeks OOP, thermoregulation is an issue already. EVERY animal looses body temperature (gets cold) when anesthesized. Would this be detrimental to a joey who already has trouble maintaining body temp?
3) At the time I was at the vet, the necrosis was severe in the foot and beginning to creep up the leg. Surgery today meant that I might be able to save the leg, thereby improving mobility for his future. Many gliders live full, happy lives with NO leg. However, don't I have a responsibiilty to save what I can?
4) I live 6 hours from my vet. IF the necrosis were to begin spreading much faster than we anticipated, would Bruce Lee make it to even the closest trusted emergency vet 4 hours away?
5) At the moment, Bruce was experiencing no pain. He had likely had the injury since birth. It was definately an old injury. If I allow the necrosis to continue spreading in order to improve Bruce's chances of surviving surgery, he may begin experiencing pain, which could lead to SM. Again, I am 6 hours from my vet.
6) Bruce Lee weighed only 26 grams at that time. The difference in anesthesia use with a 26 gram baby and a, say, 45 gram baby is negligable. Dr. Walsh felt that we could wait - at MOST - 2 more weeks before we would HAVE TO do the surgery. Was it worth the wait and the risk to try to put some weight on him and increase his age to 6 1/2 weeks OOP?
7) I was not about to risk the necrosis creeping beyond the leg. It HAD to be taken care of before it left the leg. So, either way, Bruce Lee was going to be under 8 weeks OOP when he had this major surgery.
8) Given all my experience with Jackie Chan, I am not a huge fan of anesthesia at all. But, I do understand that it cannot be avoided at times and that most gliders will never experience as much anesthesia as Jackie. But, I was concerned about a young joey's ability to rid his body of the anesthesia.
Turns out, I was right to be concerned. Weighing the risks either way, it seemed to me to be a wash. I decided to go ahead with the surgery at 4 1/2 weeks OOP in hopes that Bruce would only loose his foot, would recover well, and would compensate excellently since he has never had use of the foot.
Surgery was VERY quick and went without complication. However, it was 3 days before Bruce was able to hold body heat AT ALL after the surgery. AND, he was lethargic, pretty listless and not eating well for 6 days. Furthermore, since the surgery, Bruce Lee has no interest in grooming at all (previously he kept his face and tail VERY well groomed). He is constantly a mess. I am still hand feeding just to make sure I know exactly how much he is taking in. Even still, he is a constant mess. I have to clean feces and urine off him multiple times every day. Yesterday, I was able to give him a good bath (vet didn't want him to be 'wet" for at least 8 days), only to have him messy an hour later. But through it all, his leg is healing very nicely. AND, he has gained a lot of weight. He is up to 35 grams now.
It has been a long, hard 10 days. Bruce Lee reminds me a lot of Naruto - which tugs at my heart fiercly. I have spent every day thinking the "shoulda, coulda"s, but yesterday Bruce Lee really perked up. He is now climbing all over, maintaing his body heat, eating like a champ and moving his leg. He didn't move his little leg at all before the surgery, but he is now practicing using it! I am keeping him in the incubator for another week or so, just to be safe, and then will try him in his own little cage.
So, looking back, I still don't know if it is best to wait or if I made the right decision. I sure hope that there is never another who needs to make this same decision.
OH, how 'bout a picture or two of Bruce Lee?
Sleeping Angel
Could he BE any Cuter?
I think babies eating out of a measuring spoon is SOOO cute. So, I have been using this to train Bruce Lee to eat independently.
This is how I get so messy