I need some help, my sweet 3 yo kitty Ophelia has struggled with ear infections for a little while, and just recently last month my vet discovered a large polyp/mass in her ear we were then recommended to a surgeon who I met with yesterday, and said she would need to have a CT scan to see where the mass is and either have her entire ear canal removed (TECA), or removed through the bottom of her jaw, these both have extreme risks like hemorrhaging, facial paralysis, neurological issues etc. these risks just seem so big and common that it almost didn’t seem worth it, not to mention that all of these would add up to around $5,000-$8,000 possibly even higher if there were complications, unfortunately her insurance won’t cover it because they said it is preexisting since she had a past ear infection, and as a college student that is just too much for me right now so I would have to wait and save, it makes me feel like a bad pet parent, I love her so much and want to help her and do whatever is the best for her, I always have money saved aside but she just had an FHO surgery a few months ago which I used that for. She doesn’t seem like she’s in any pain and I make sure to clean her ear everyday but I wonder if there is anything else I could do to shrink to the polyp or other less invasive treatments I could try first before going with a surgery so risky? I wish my vets could have caught this earlier when she was younger maybe it would have been smaller and could have just been easily taken out, I am just so worried and stressed right now I don’t know what to do. Any help and good thoughts are really appreciated.
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Possible TECA surgery, advice needed
- Thread starter thydeman
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Hi.
You sound like a very good, conscientious cat parent to me.
I have done the recovery and after care for a cat that had a bilateral TECA surgery, when I worked for a surgical specialist. I am not going to lie to you, it is very painful. In fact on the first night caring for the cat in her home, I went through the first three days of pain meds ( buprenorphine) and still could barely manage the cats pain. It was expected that she would be deaf afterwards. She did recover from the surgery and I don’t remember any complications. That was around 2009 I think.
When I worked s as t the exclusive cat hospital, the doctor there removed ear polyps with an endoscopic procedure. Some use this method with a laser. It is not as invasive and as far as I know yield good results. The veterinarian at the cat hospital did not require a CT scan first.
If this was my cat, I would look for a feline only hospital if there is one near you, and get a second opinion. I would not discuss your conversation with the specialist because the veterinary community is very small, snd vets don’t like to step on other vets toes, so to speak.
Don’t feel bad because of money. That is a heck of allot of money, and most people would not be able to do it.
I am posting a link below on this.
I am not a veterinarian and the above is just my opinion snd what I would do if I was in your situation.
Journal of Veterinary Clinics
You sound like a very good, conscientious cat parent to me.
I have done the recovery and after care for a cat that had a bilateral TECA surgery, when I worked for a surgical specialist. I am not going to lie to you, it is very painful. In fact on the first night caring for the cat in her home, I went through the first three days of pain meds ( buprenorphine) and still could barely manage the cats pain. It was expected that she would be deaf afterwards. She did recover from the surgery and I don’t remember any complications. That was around 2009 I think.
When I worked s as t the exclusive cat hospital, the doctor there removed ear polyps with an endoscopic procedure. Some use this method with a laser. It is not as invasive and as far as I know yield good results. The veterinarian at the cat hospital did not require a CT scan first.
If this was my cat, I would look for a feline only hospital if there is one near you, and get a second opinion. I would not discuss your conversation with the specialist because the veterinary community is very small, snd vets don’t like to step on other vets toes, so to speak.
Don’t feel bad because of money. That is a heck of allot of money, and most people would not be able to do it.
I am posting a link below on this.
I am not a veterinarian and the above is just my opinion snd what I would do if I was in your situation.
Journal of Veterinary Clinics
