Devil's Surgery - January 11, 2011

For those following Devil from the Chip-In page, here's an update.

I did not receive much help from the Chip-In, but everything worked out OK. There was one sweet, caring individual who donated her Christmas Eve sales to Devil. To whom, Devil & I thank and are much appreciative!

On January 11, 2011 between 8 & 8:30 a.m., Devil was on his way to All About Pets Animal Hospital. I didn't take him in the cat carrier I bought for him last August because he didn't like it the last time. He spun around like the Tasmanian Devil causing slight injury to his nose. He scraped it up a bit. We received snow a couple days before, which had yet to melt. Odd for north Texas, as it is usually gone by the same afternoon or, at the very least, the next day. Because of the cold, I wrapped Devil in a throw blanket. He meowed some in the truck, but was otherwise a good boy.

When I got there, I explained again how I wanted Dr. Rhoads to try to correct Devil's eye problem. They asked if I wanted blood work done prior to the surgery. I didn't really know. The anesthesiologist was there when I dropped Devil off; so, I was able to talk to her about the blood work and also a few concerns I had. For Instance, being Devil has tested positive for FIV, I was wondering how that affected the anesthesia. She said since Devil is 8-10 yrs old, the smaller blood test would probably be a good idea. It would check for any organ issues that he may have that have not presented symptoms yet. She said other than him possibly being a little anemic due to the FIV, he should be OK, otherwise.

I agreed to have the blood work done because the whole point was to make sure he was well and taken care of... something he's never had before.

After signing some paperwork and being reassured everything would be OK, I left and awaited their call with an update.

Shortly after lunch, I received the update call. Devil made it through his surgery & was doing well. Whew! I always get nervous when I have a critter undergoing anesthesia & surgery. Anesthesia can cause many problems and you never know what might happen. I was, needless to say, relieved to receive the call. I was told he could go home anytime after 4 p.m.

All About Pets Animal Hospital maintains a page on Facebook where Dr Rhoads posts a Case of the Day. These are cases that stand out that Dr Rhoads thinks people will find interesting. She includes photos of the critter along with captions as to what is going on in the photo. I did suggest they use Devil's surgery as the Case of the Day when I dropped him off; whether or not this led to them using his case, I don't know. If you would like to see Devil's Case of the Day, please click here: Case of the Day: Blink of an Eye

Before & after images:

Before surgery

After surgery

I think it is interesting to see how she corrected his problem. To leave a comment, you have to click the "Like" at the top of the page of All About Pets Animal Hospital's home page.

In addition to getting his eye fixed, Devil was also neutered and received all his shots.

When we got home, Devil was hungry & tired. He readily ate his supper & slept quietly in the laundry room for the rest of the day & night.

Please come back as I update his healing process.