Diaphragmatic hernia

[SpaceLamb]

Anyone have experience with their cat having a diaphragmatic hernia/having hernia repair surgery?

For some

I’ve been caring for a colony of cats for about 9 months and since the beginning one of the cats has had a bad leg. He basically can’t straighten it at all and it basically just sits shriveled up against his body. I tried multiple times to trap him so I could get him to the vet but he outsmarted me every time.

Finally, after building up lots of trust with him, I was able to grab him while he ate and wrangle him into a dog crate. Friday he went to the vet and they suggested that in addition to a X-ray of his leg we should also do a full torso X-ray.

The X-ray of his leg showed exactly what we suspected - that he had a fracture that healimproperly and is now stuck in a permanently flexed position. What we weren’t expecting was for the torso X-ray to show that he has a diaphragmatic hernia.

My normal vet has never done the hernia repair surgery and isn’t able to provide 24/7 monitoring following the surgery so he’s referred us to a surgery center where we have an appointment on Tuesday.

I guess I’m just wanting to hear others experiences with this surgery so I have an idea what to expect before going into the surgery consult.

I’ve attached his X-rays and also a picture of the little guy who we’ve been calling Skunk for anyone curious.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Until other members with direct experience come along, maybe you would like to check out previous related threads? Not all are likely to be the exact same thing but might give you some insight. Sorry if you have already searched for/found them.
Diaphragmatic Hernia in Kitten | TheCatSite
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia | TheCatSite
Diaphragmatic Hernia | TheCatSite
Newbie | TheCatSite
Question About Stiches - Worst Time To Go In Heat | TheCatSite
Anaesthesia Effect | TheCatSite
Atena And Me! | TheCatSite
Kitten with diaphragmatic hernia - lethargic | TheCatSite
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia | TheCatSite

It is very good of your vet to refer you to someone who they believe can better serve your cat! That is a plus on their part.

 

[silent meowlook]

Wow!!! The intestines are not supposed to be there.
I have seen many successful diaphragmatic hernia repairs in cats. Although that one is really severe. I have seen cats survive quite a long time with hernias, but the severity of that one, I doubt that would be the case.
I am not a vet and am just looking at a tiny picture on a screen. He is a beautiful cat.
Does he have difficulty breathing?
I would make sure when you go to the specialist that they also look at the leg X-ray.
Are you able to provide him an indoor only home after all this?

 

[SpaceLamb]

Hi. Until other members with direct experience come along, maybe you would like to check out previous related threads? Not all are likely to be the exact same thing but might give you some insight. Sorry if you have already searched for/found them.
Diaphragmatic Hernia in Kitten | TheCatSite
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia | TheCatSite
Diaphragmatic Hernia | TheCatSite
Newbie | TheCatSite
Question About Stiches - Worst Time To Go In Heat | TheCatSite
Anaesthesia Effect | TheCatSite
Atena And Me! | TheCatSite
Kitten with diaphragmatic hernia - lethargic | TheCatSite
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia | TheCatSite

It is very good of your vet to refer you to someone who they believe can better serve your cat! That is a plus on their part.

Yes one of the first things I did after hearing his diagnosis was try and read as much as I could. Thank you though!

 

[SpaceLamb]

Wow!!! The intestines are not supposed to be there.
I have seen many successful diaphragmatic hernia repairs in cats. Although that one is really severe. I have seen cats survive quite a long time with hernias, but the severity of that one, I doubt that would be the case.
I am not a vet and am just looking at a tiny picture on a screen. He is a beautiful cat.
Does he have difficulty breathing?
I would make sure when you go to the specialist that they also look at the leg X-ray.
Are you able to provide him an indoor only home after all this?

I know I feel so terrible for the little guy. He breaths a little shallow but doesn’t gasp or pant like I’ve seen in videos of other cats with hernias.

Will definitely have the surgeon look at the leg though my normal vet kinda said that he’ll need an amputation but that’s the secondary concern at this point. And yes he’ll definitely be an inside boy after all this. He’s so young - get estimated 2-3 years - and he’s already had such a hard life I just feel like he deserves a chance.

Thank you for your reply!

 

[SpaceLamb]

I wanted to update this just for anyone who's curious or like me who searches for diaphragmatic hernia and might come across this thread.

Skunk had his specialist appointment yesterday. The vet was amazing and walked us through the whole procedure and spent over an hour with us answering all of our questions. We opted to proceed with surgery despite the risks and they were able to squeeze him in to have surgery this morning.

The surgeon was shocked that he was able to breath at all as once she opened him up she realized his stomach, liver, gallbladder, and pretty much his whole small and large intestine were up in his chest cavity. He also was incredibly lucky that nothing had lost blood flow so everything was able to be moved back into place and they were able to repair the diaphragm. Then, because he was doing so well under anesthesia, the anesthesiologist said he was okay to be repositioned so they could amputate his bad leg at the same time.

He's in recovery now and will spend the rest of the day and probably overnight in an oxygen cage just as a precaution and will spend the next two days in the hospital before he's able to come home, assuming there's no complications post-op. Once he's home he has a two week recovery ahead of him where he'll be in a cone and confined to a large dog crate to allow everything to heal but long term the vet says his prognosis is very good.

 

[silent meowlook]

This is wonderful news. I am so glad you went ahead with the surgery. You are an amazing person and he, an amazing cat. Please keep us posted on how he does!!!

 

[fionasmom]

Please keep us posted as to how the recuperation progresses and thank you for updating us. You did a remarkable thing for this little boy. As long as he is inside, he will be fine as an amputee.

 

[SpaceLamb]

One-week post-op update -

Skunk is doing fantastic. He's being such a trooper with everything.

He hated wearing the hard plastic cone so much that we modified some baby onesies to cover all of his incisions which he seems more comfortable with even if he doesn't love the actual process of us changing his little onesies in the mornings. He's also not a huge fan of taking his meds (gabapentin and buprenorphine) but is so patient and hasn't lashed out once despite having never really been handled by people before this last week.

So far he seems to be healing well. All his incisions look great, the swelling has gone down completely and he's moving around better. He doesn't seem to always remember that he doesn't have that back leg to lean on anymore, but I think that'll get better once he's off of crate rest and can move around a little bit more freely. He's also learning that affection isn't actually scary and has even started seeking it out when I go sit with him.

His follow up appointment with the surgeon is in another week where he'll have stitches removed and be cleared to be out of the onesies and off of crate rest. I'll probably keep updating as I've enjoyed keeping a journal of sorts of this whole process.

I've attached some pictures of him looking adorable in his little onesies but please ignore the mess in his crate - for some reason I took both pictures before his morning blanket and litter change.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thank you for the update. What wonderful news. Keep up the great work, Skunk and S SpaceLamb !!!!!

 

[fionasmom]

I'll probably keep updating as I've enjoyed keeping a journal of sorts of this whole process.

Thank you for letting us know the good news! Keep updating as we love to know what goes on and it is a big help to future members who might have the same issues.