JerseyWendy
New member
- Jul 20, 2012
- 20,995
- 24
My nearly 17 year old YN Hunter had surgery yesterday - AGAIN. For the 5th time, for the same (hopefully) thing. 
About 10 years ago she developed a growth on her left eye which I had removed due to irritation. It was a Xanthoma. 4 years ago the thing came back with a vengeance. It was removed 3 additional times. The darn thing just kept coming back, and there was only so much 'membrane' left to work with. The Xanthoma was attached to her third eyelid, also called a membrane.
A little over a week ago I noticed something in her RIGHT eye. Sure enough, she was getting another one. So I scheduled an appointment with my beloved Dr. Doolen. The appointment was for NEXT Friday (he's pretty booked, plus he's cut back his hours due to his age).
Monday morning, when I uncovered the cage I was HORRIFIED. The mass looked like it had exploded overnight (grown tremendously), and Hunter had rubbed and scratched so much that all surrounding tissue was severely swollen. It became clear I couldn't wait. She had to be seen MUCH sooner. My appointment was for yesterday morning, 10AM.
In the meantime I gave her frequent very warm compresses on her eye, which brought down the swelling tremendously.
Here you can clearly see the mass:
The doctor I had my appointment with was Dr. Kimberly Mickley, certified Avian Vet, also located at Northstar Vets in Robbinsville, NJ.
To make a very long story shorter (my apologies for this novel), I had to leave Hunter at the vet's yesterday because the doctor made time to remove the mass the same day. She even consulted with an Opthalmologist who helped during the procedure. Having to say good-bye to her was one of THE hardest thing I've ever had to do.
Well, everything went well. The masses (there were 2 of them!!!) were removed. We don't know with certainty if all of it was removed because again, they were located on the membrane of the eye. There is a chance they may return. I sure as hell hope they don't!!
The masses were sent in to confirm they were indeed Xanthomas again, and nothing else. I should have the results within a week.
Here is Hunter this morning:
The affected eye:
And a short clip:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNFnqTbvOx0"]Hunter after surgery - YouTube[/ame]
She's still quite groggy, and I handfed her some formula this morning. But I am so happy to have her home with me! :heart: After I tucked everyone in for the night last night I splurged and ordered $100 worth of toys - JUST for her!
About 10 years ago she developed a growth on her left eye which I had removed due to irritation. It was a Xanthoma. 4 years ago the thing came back with a vengeance. It was removed 3 additional times. The darn thing just kept coming back, and there was only so much 'membrane' left to work with. The Xanthoma was attached to her third eyelid, also called a membrane.
A little over a week ago I noticed something in her RIGHT eye.
Sure enough, she was getting another one. So I scheduled an appointment with my beloved Dr. Doolen. The appointment was for NEXT Friday (he's pretty booked, plus he's cut back his hours due to his age).Monday morning, when I uncovered the cage I was HORRIFIED. The mass looked like it had exploded overnight (grown tremendously), and Hunter had rubbed and scratched so much that all surrounding tissue was severely swollen. It became clear I couldn't wait. She had to be seen MUCH sooner. My appointment was for yesterday morning, 10AM.
In the meantime I gave her frequent very warm compresses on her eye, which brought down the swelling tremendously.
Here you can clearly see the mass:
The doctor I had my appointment with was Dr. Kimberly Mickley, certified Avian Vet, also located at Northstar Vets in Robbinsville, NJ.
To make a very long story shorter (my apologies for this novel), I had to leave Hunter at the vet's yesterday because the doctor made time to remove the mass the same day. She even consulted with an Opthalmologist who helped during the procedure. Having to say good-bye to her was one of THE hardest thing I've ever had to do.
Well, everything went well. The masses (there were 2 of them!!!) were removed. We don't know with certainty if all of it was removed because again, they were located on the membrane of the eye. There is a chance they may return. I sure as hell hope they don't!!
The masses were sent in to confirm they were indeed Xanthomas again, and nothing else. I should have the results within a week.
Here is Hunter this morning:
The affected eye:
And a short clip:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNFnqTbvOx0"]Hunter after surgery - YouTube[/ame]
She's still quite groggy, and I handfed her some formula this morning. But I am so happy to have her home with me! :heart: After I tucked everyone in for the night last night I splurged and ordered $100 worth of toys - JUST for her!
