Morning update
Original sender: Eric----
Late Monday I got a phone call from the surgeon that operated on JJ yesterday. His case has been transferred from internal medicine to the surgery unit. JJ has a new vet and student.
On the Kidney front JJ’s BUN was down to 35 and Creatinine was 3.5. His values are within sight of normal (27). They will be gradually reducing the amount of IV fluids to see how his kidneys respond. So far there has been little evidence the kidneys are able to concentrate urine (at such high fluid levels the volumes are too great for even healthy kidneys to concentrate anything) so the reduction in fluids will challenge his system to see just what his kidneys can do. It is a delicate balance to keep his fluids balanced. Ideally he will continue to drink water and his kidneys will do more of the work with lower fluid volumes.
The surgical team removed the vacuum bandage and the foam and found that the wound had improved some but they still had to abrade the wound and remove all the dead/diseased tissue in the leg. They put a new vacuum bandage on it and will go back in on Thursday to see what the progress is. The foam needs to be changed every 4 or 5 days to prevent tissue ingrowth. On Thursday there are 3 choices: 1) remove the sponges and suture the wounds (send him home Saturday?), 2) re-abrade the wound and re-vacuum, or 3) aggressively re-abrade.
The culture of his wound came back with a couple of different nasties one of which was not being addressed by his current antibiotic regimen. Baytril is being restarted to address it.
In the meantime the swelling in his leg has gone down some, not enough. They will be aggressively massaging the leg to try and drive out as much fluid as possible.
His appetite is not yet strong. He is being a reluctant eater. The surgeons implanted a feeding tube in his esophagus so they can force feed him directly if he doesn’t eat. They will be offering him food this am first and reevaluate. I could not give much of a list of his favorite foods to try him on since historically he has inhaled everything with equal vigor. I did suggest “accidentally” dropping something on the floor (or having a parrot drop it); The vet promised to let me know if they experience any success with that method.
I am not expecting any actual news today. The next bloodwork is scheduled for tomorrow and the next surgery is Thursday. I am trying to decide if it makes sense to drive up Wednesday night and see him Thursday morning before his surgery. The doc told me everyone initially thinks he’s a puppy and finds him super cute. He’s being a very good patient and is apparently developing quite a fan club, getting tons of attention and affection from the staff.
Thanks so much for all of your support and emails,
Late Monday I got a phone call from the surgeon that operated on JJ yesterday. His case has been transferred from internal medicine to the surgery unit. JJ has a new vet and student.
On the Kidney front JJ’s BUN was down to 35 and Creatinine was 3.5. His values are within sight of normal (27). They will be gradually reducing the amount of IV fluids to see how his kidneys respond. So far there has been little evidence the kidneys are able to concentrate urine (at such high fluid levels the volumes are too great for even healthy kidneys to concentrate anything) so the reduction in fluids will challenge his system to see just what his kidneys can do. It is a delicate balance to keep his fluids balanced. Ideally he will continue to drink water and his kidneys will do more of the work with lower fluid volumes.
The surgical team removed the vacuum bandage and the foam and found that the wound had improved some but they still had to abrade the wound and remove all the dead/diseased tissue in the leg. They put a new vacuum bandage on it and will go back in on Thursday to see what the progress is. The foam needs to be changed every 4 or 5 days to prevent tissue ingrowth. On Thursday there are 3 choices: 1) remove the sponges and suture the wounds (send him home Saturday?), 2) re-abrade the wound and re-vacuum, or 3) aggressively re-abrade.
The culture of his wound came back with a couple of different nasties one of which was not being addressed by his current antibiotic regimen. Baytril is being restarted to address it.
In the meantime the swelling in his leg has gone down some, not enough. They will be aggressively massaging the leg to try and drive out as much fluid as possible.
His appetite is not yet strong. He is being a reluctant eater. The surgeons implanted a feeding tube in his esophagus so they can force feed him directly if he doesn’t eat. They will be offering him food this am first and reevaluate. I could not give much of a list of his favorite foods to try him on since historically he has inhaled everything with equal vigor. I did suggest “accidentally” dropping something on the floor (or having a parrot drop it); The vet promised to let me know if they experience any success with that method.
I am not expecting any actual news today. The next bloodwork is scheduled for tomorrow and the next surgery is Thursday. I am trying to decide if it makes sense to drive up Wednesday night and see him Thursday morning before his surgery. The doc told me everyone initially thinks he’s a puppy and finds him super cute. He’s being a very good patient and is apparently developing quite a fan club, getting tons of attention and affection from the staff.
Thanks so much for all of your support and emails,
posted by Elf at 10:45 AM
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