To Enucleate Or Not

[dustydiamond1]

If it was Gypsy, I would remove the eye.
I might feel differently if the eye was working but he is used to not seeing out of the eye already. Thanks for the update, keep us posted.

 

[di and bob]

I have had many ferals with one eye damaged and they lived for many more years after that. I personally don't think removing a perfectly good eye just because he can't see out of it unnecessary and subjects the cat to a lot of pain over something that may not happen. Cancer MAY happen, but the chances are it MAY not. If and when changes occur for the worse, then do it. Cancer doesn't happen overnight, it has to develop. If you monitor it and have regular checkups and screenings, that should do it. We ALL may develop cancer in our lifetimes, but to start removing parts? I don't think so. Even women taht do it to prevent breast cancer carry a special gene and they have been tested for it beforehand. If they didn't carry it, they wouldn't have done it.
DON'T rely on the internet for advise. Everything causes cancer according to it. Listen to cat experts and your vets, they know and have seen much more. Don't do something because of what if's.

 

[dustydiamond1]

How are things going?

 

[Grey_Tuxedo]

No new developments, I think I'm going to get him the surgery though. I haven't ruled out bringing him somewhere for a second opinion but I'm not sure where best to go around here. I'll definitely need to save up some cash first, and I will be sure to post an update when anything moves forward.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Second opinions are always good, and a third if you need to split a tie vote! We're here whenever you have news for us!

 

[dustydiamond1]

Second opinions are always good, and a third if you need to split a tie vote! We're here whenever you have news for us!

 

[dustydiamond1]

No new developments, I think I'm going to get him the surgery though. I haven't ruled out bringing him somewhere for a second opinion but I'm not sure where best to go around here. I'll definitely need to save up some cash first, and I will be sure to post an update when anything moves forward.

 

[Grey_Tuxedo]

An update: Nothing has changed except that I've made an appointment in preparation to have Greyman's eye removed. The thought of him getting cancer in his eye and dying from something that was preventable is a tough one to live with... so, my fear of something that may (probably) not happen has led me to make plans to pay over $1000 for a procedure that is sure to cause pain and possibly complications with infection, irritation, chronic congestion and a change in happy lifestyle. Yep, I'm freaking out again.

Some helpful info to anyone just joining the thread: post–traumatic ocular sarcoma's are rare and no one can actually say what the chances are that Greyman will develop one although the very young age that he experienced the trauma probably makes it less rare. Also, in the event of this particularly aggressive sarcoma (that often starts at the optic nerve) it may spread to the brain before it is detected.

I'm not entirely sure what kind of answers, if any, I'm looking for by reviving this thread. Perhaps I should have started a new one asking about complications/lack-of-complications from having eye balls removed?

After making the appointment today (it's in two weeks, this doctor rarely has appointments that are timely and now I have what is sure to be an excruciatingly long wait.) I read a bunch of scary stories on another site about congestion/nasal issues among other even more troubling things and my heads a mess again. I'll do my best to spare any readers the worst of it (my head, that is).

Until then, any post-enucleation reports are most appreciated along with any other info or banter.

And how about this fresh picture of Greyman?

 

[kleigh300]

An update: Nothing has changed except that I've made an appointment in preparation to have Greyman's eye removed. The thought of him getting cancer in his eye and dying from something that was preventable is a tough one to live with... so, my fear of something that may (probably) not happen has led me to make plans to pay over $1000 for a procedure that is sure to cause pain and possibly complications with infection, irritation, chronic congestion and a change in happy lifestyle. Yep, I'm freaking out again.

Some helpful info to anyone just joining the thread: post–traumatic ocular sarcoma's are rare and no one can actually say what the chances are that Greyman will develop one although the very young age that he experienced the trauma probably makes it less rare. Also, in the event of this particularly aggressive sarcoma (that often starts at the optic nerve) it may spread to the brain before it is detected.

I'm not entirely sure what kind of answers, if any, I'm looking for by reviving this thread. Perhaps I should have started a new one asking about complications/lack-of-complications from having eye balls removed?

After making the appointment today (it's in two weeks, this doctor rarely has appointments that are timely and now I have what is sure to be an excruciatingly long wait.) I read a bunch of scary stories on another site about congestion/nasal issues among other even more troubling things and my heads a mess again. I'll do my best to spare any readers the worst of it (my head, that is).

Until then, any post-enucleation reports are most appreciated along with any other info or banter.

And how about this fresh picture of Greyman?

Hi Grey_Tuxedo. I have a rescue male (Bandit) who is now at the age of 7 years old but was 7 months when I first got him. He had already under gone the enucleation to his left eye before I had got him and it had healed nicely with no other further complications. He has never acted as if he is missing his eye. As a matter of fact, his abilities to play, jump and chase things are better than my cats that have two eyes. He never acted stressed over having only one eye and both my husband and I feel like he acts as if he has two. He's fast when he runs and never hits anything in his way. It's as if he doesn't know he is missing an eye. I used to wake up in the morning only to find him walking the top stair railing on the second floor. He lives with 5 other cats and not one of them treats him differently. He is the Alpha to the rest of the cats and they respect him. He plays tackle and tag with my other male cat and female cats in the house without any fears. They all play well together.

One consideration for payment is to ask your vet if they accept CareCredit and apply through your vets office. If you are granted credit, you will be able to charge the surgery and care on the CareCredit card and pay the balance over time with a 0% interest rate. Another consideration for payment is to start a gofundme page for Greyman and see if you can raise some or all of the money for his surgery.

I'm including pictures of my Bandit and you can see for yourself how happy he is.

 

[Grey_Tuxedo]

Thanks so much for your story and the great pictures. Bandit is a handsome dude! Both vets I've talked to have been somewhat dismissive of my concerns about complications, which is actually reassuring. They have both offered the enuclear option as a way to avoid worry for the future but my worry has only spiked as I've moved ahead with the plan. Getting feedback from others who have been through it or have your kind of long-term experience is way better than relying on "problem" posts on the internet, so thanks again.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I promise you this...he will adjust faster to having one eye than you will adjust to seeing him with one eye. And his "new" face will become precious to you in no time flat.

 

[Grey_Tuxedo]

I promise you this...he will adjust faster to having one eye than you will adjust to seeing him with one eye. And his "new" face will become precious to you in no time flat.

Thank so much, I regularly picture him in my head with one eye and he is handsome indeed!

 

[Kieka]

This is not something you are rushing into and I think I would make the same choice in your place. Best wishes for a smooth surgery and speedy recovery.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I have to admit that I read your post and none of the responses . . . but I would absolutely, positively have the enucleation surgery--no doubts about it.

We've had to have the same done for several ferals in our colonies and I can tell you that they recover almost immediately.

Your cat is fantastically fortunate to have such a caring custodian. Please keep us up to date.

 

[Grey_Tuxedo]

Hi Guys. I had a good consultation with the Vet today - The Dr. is terrific and I feel very confident in his knowledge, abilities and concern for my guy. One concern is Greyman's history of idiopathic cystitis (FIC). He's only had one very scary but successfully treated episode - still, the stress and trauma of this surgery could possibly trigger it again and I will be anxiously monitoring his pee (golfballs are good, but tangerines are the best!) along the way. We are going to give him a full two weeks of pain meds during his recovery to reduce stress.

We have a date set for Friday July 19th, and I'm pretty sure that I will be reporting on how it goes and also about his recovery. Here's a bit of info that might be helpful to someone else going through the same thing: The cost in West Phoenix.

Today I was charged $150 for a blood test to determine how fit he is to undergo the anesthesia. The estimate for the rest is as follows:

Anesthesia - Induction 40.97
Anesthesia - Isoflurane Inhalation 204.81
Anesthesia - Monitoring 62.19
Cerenia 10mg/ml Injection (Perioperative) 25.83
Enucleation 651.86
IV Catheter and IV Fluids CRI during Surgery 92.16
Pain Injection / Anesthesia Premedication 45.62
Pain Medication (to go home) 39.95
Presurgical Consultation 0.00
Surgical Pack Fee 40.10
Subtotal 1,203.49
Tax 0.00
TOTAL 1,203.49

'till then, I'll probably check this thread a couple times just to look at the great photo of the one-eyed Bandit. That picture is the best.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

We're pulling for him, all the way!

 

[Grey_Tuxedo]

We did it! Greyman had his stitches removed yesterday and the doc says that he's healed superbly. I'm so relieved that I don't have to worry about him getting cancer in his damaged eye anymore and he's acting like nothing's changed.

There were some challenging things, but no real complications. Going through the experience with him was something I never want to do again, but will ultimately not remember as a nightmare but as as a mostly special time when he required a lot of attention (and a case of Tuna Mousse wet treats).

There was one bad part. Two full days after his surgery, just a few hours after giving him his regular pain medication (Buprenorphine) he retreated to his room where I found him (maybe half an hour later) drooling, crying and unable to sit up (his legs were tense, and he would just fall over). So scary! I didn't know what to do, drool was running down my arm as I held him. Needing to "do something" even though the vet was closed, I gave him another dose of pain meds. It worked - fifteen minutes later he was asleep. The next day the vet confirmed it was a pain thing and we started giving him pain medication 3 times a day instead of twice for the next couple days.

Other than that, everything went according to plan. He wore a cone for two whole weeks and thankfully didn't have any urinary issues. I expected that he would be trying to scratch his eye or stitches, but it strangely didn't seem to concern him too much. Except I had to discourage him from rubbing that side against my face, even though he snuck up and got me plenty of times.

The inability to groom was a bit of an issue. He certainly didn't mind all the extra brushing and took a surprise liking to baby-wipes. When it seemed to really bother him that he couldn't groom, I would take the cone off and watch him closely while he did his thing for a few minutes.

Ok, here's a kind of complication that I wonder if others have experienced after anesthesia: The first couple of times that he went pee, he came out of the litter box with his back-end soaked. Maybe he wasn't lifting himself up enough or something? Poor dude. His introduction to the baby-wipes was a labored one (on my part).

So now he's awesome. Super energetic, hyper aware and so happy to play with his toys without the cone on. And I didn't miss that cone at all when I woke up this morning without it pressed against some part of me (usually my head!).

Check him out:

 

[silkenpaw]

I’m new to Greyman’s story but he’s a handsome dude indeed! He needs an eyepatch and a tattoo!

I have a cat, Armani, who has eye damage. I don’t know how it happened, he came to his previous owner like that as a young cat. He’s now 8 years old. The difference is that he has normal sight in that eye, though the pupil is abnormal. It used to bother me to look at that eye but now I just see my sweet boy and not the weird-shaped pupil.

Given Greyman’s history, I think I would have done the same thing you did. I’m glad you no longer have to worry about the risk of sarcoma for Greyman.

 

[Grey_Tuxedo]

Thanks for such a nice reply. I can certainly relate to mixed feelings over a damaged eye and also to loving the way the my guy looks no matter what "abnormality" he might have. If Armani has normal sight in his eye, then I bet he doesn't have the kind of injury (lens tear/destruction) that would have put him at risk for this type of rare sarcoma ...just in case some reassurance is helpful!

 

[silkenpaw]

LOL, thanks for the reassurance! Yes, What the vet thinks happened is that his eye got perforated (maybe a claw?) and then the iris plugged the hole and got damaged in the process. So the lens and the retina are fine, as confirmed at exam by an ophthalmologist. But I worry about my guys. I think I’ll read that paper you quoted and talk to my vet about it.