ventral bulla osteotomy

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Blackberry

Somewhere there- is love for- everyone

Purred: Tue Sep 20, '11 10:17am PST


	Hi there! Has anyone here had any experience with the removal of an ear polyp by ventral bulla osteotomy? This has been recommended for Blackberry as he has an ear polyp without a stalk, so it can't just be simply pulled and cut out. I worry about it because of the slight possibility of permenant, neurological side effects. The surgery involves the removal of the lower part of the bone that surrounds the inner ear. This is from peteducation.com (http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2123&aid=1561): "Some cats may have some mild nerve damage (resulting from the surgery) that causes the eyelid to droop or even some incoordination and difficulty walking. In the majority of these cases, these symptoms go away in several weeks, although, in some rare cases, they may be permanent." My vet agrees that this is not an impossibility. If surgery is not done, however, there can be permanent damage to the eardrum, not to mention neurological damage caused by the polyp itself when it gets too big, and the constant threat of ear infections. I would love to know if anyone has, or knows of, a cat that has been through this and what the outcome was. We're off to see the vet again tonight. Thanks very much! Blackberry's mom

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Rusty

let no food bowl- be empty

Purred: Tue Sep 20, '11 10:42am PST


	Hi; Rusty's Mom here. We have done TECA surgery, which is total ear ablation at my work. It and the Ventral bulla osteotomy should be preformed by a board certified veterinary surgeon with experience in this procedure. The TECA cases I have seen, the cat is always deaf afterwards. There is always horners syndrome afterwards. That is where the third eyelid is up and the one eye is dilated and the other pupil is pinpoint. This goes away in a month. It is a painfull procedure and the pain medication needs to be constant. We keep them in the hospital for 2 to 3 days on an IV of fentanyl and then send them home on buprenex. The ones I have seen have done very well. Here is a link to a short article written about the surgery your cat needs to have. Hope this helps. http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/HealthConditions/SmallAnimalTopics/ NasopharyngealPolyps/

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Blackberry

Somewhere there- is love for- everyone

Purred: Tue Sep 20, '11 1:09pm PST


	Hi Rusty's mom, and thank you very much for the response. Unfortunately, I get "page not found" when I paste the link. Well, I have to run off to the vet right now. I already kind of put him off last week, so I'll have to say something now; he is not a board certified surgeon, but he says that he has done a few of these and would love to do another. Normally, I would ask to see the certified surgeon, but he says he would charge around $2000 for the surgery and my vet will charge a lot less if he does it himself and this is for s stray cat that I haven't even had for a month yet (and who has already cost me about $500 at the vet). I'll report back again.

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Smithwick

Tigger is my- favorite!

Purred: Tue Sep 20, '11 1:17pm PST


	don't have any experience with this, but just wanted to send support to you & sweet Blackberry.

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Ben

I fetch,- therefore I am.

moderator

Purred: Tue Sep 20, '11 3:50pm PST


	The URL that Rusty posted isn't working because, for some unknown reason, Catster's forums tend to insert an unnecessary space. If you take out the space, it will work. Here is the corrected link for you, Blackberry: Nasopharyngeal Polyps in Cats

Blackberry

Somewhere there- is love for- everyone

Purred: Tue Sep 20, '11 6:22pm PST


	Thank you all for your responses. Reading Rusty's link and others that I've found really scare me about this surgery. The potential side effects just seem so severe. If something were to happen, I would hate to think that it was because of my decision. I did not see the vet tonight, but one of the techs who I happen to really respect. Blackberry only got this FVRCP booster and blood taken for pre-op screening. The poor guy seems to be at the vet at least once a week; the girls there told me I must really love being there since they see me so often. I still didn't commit myself to a date for the surgery, just said I'd make an appointment when I heard the blood work results. The tech told me that in 30 years of dong her job, she'd never seen this surgery done. That really adds to my confidence level about the whole thing, er, not. But, I should add that my vet told me that he's done a couple of these surgeries over the years and they all turned out well and he'd like to do another, so maybe I'm just being overly nervous about this. Oh, and I forgot to add that they also want to pull both his canine teeth while he's under because they are both cracked, one up to the gum line. I can only imagine that he'd be in a lot of pain after all this gets done. Thanks again, Blackberry's mom

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Rusty

let no food bowl- be empty

Purred: Tue Sep 20, '11 7:55pm PST


	Hi, Rusty's Mom here again. Just wondering, how did they diagnose the polyp in the ear? Have they seen it or was there imaging done? What are Blackberry's symptoms?

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Tigger

1192275

Purred: Tue Sep 20, '11 9:45pm PST


	That surgery does sound scary! From what I'm reading it seems most of the times any of the after affects go away eventually so that makes it a little more reassuring but overall I don't blame you for being stressed about this decision. While I generally like to just trust my vet since he knows a lot more than I do, yours seems a little anxious to try this surgery again. I'm not saying don't let him do it, just make sure you feel completely comfortable about it before hand, maybe discuss it with him some more.

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Blackberry

Somewhere there- is love for- everyone

Purred: Wed Sep 21, '11 3:59am PST


	Hi Rusty's mom and Tigger's mom (or dad). My vet suspected it when I brought Blackberry in a day after I found him. As I remember, the reason was that he appeared to have a middle ear infection, which is something not common in cats although it is seen in dogs. He said that in cats it would most likely be caused by an ear polyp. When I brought Blackberry back a few days later to be neutered, my vet also scoped his ear and confirmed the presence of a rounded, red polyp, no stalk. He was going to show me the images, but apparently the computer had been improperly turned off and the images were not saved. As far as my own observations go, I hadn't really noticed anything obvious that would indicate that his ear was bothering him and I haven't noticed any tilt of the head, or unsteady gait that I have read indicate the possible presence of a polyp. However, last Friday when I was rubbing his ears, I heard a sound coming from his right ear (the one with the polyp) that sounded like a thick liquid being squished as I rubbed, no sign of discharge. I brought him to the vet and they kind of cleaned the ear a bit with swabs. They did a culture, but only found a few surface bacteria and no yeast. They said this kind of thing will most likely keep happening until the polyp is removed. I know it probably sounds a bit as if I don't trust my vet. We've been with his practice for years though and I've never heard anything particularly negative about him and I really like his staff. I'd be lying though if I said that it didn't bother me that he told me that he's only done a few of these operations over the years and that he'd love to do another for the experience. I have to give it to him that he was totally honest about that though and he did offer me the option of the board certified surgeon. Thanks, Blackberry's mom Edited by author Wed Sep 21, '11 4:02am PST

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Smithwick

Tigger is my- favorite!

Purred: Wed Sep 21, '11 3:01pm PST


	boy I can truly understand your concern. I have had times too when I was not at complete confidence with one of the vets at our office. I know it is another cost, but what about another opinion? That way at least you would know for sure, and maybe be able to make a more confident decision.

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