Anyway, I just got a call from Dr. Webb at MedVet (Dr. Corbett is in Cincinnati this week, but Dr. Webb works with her). Lexie's incision sites did not bleed much through the night, which is good becuase it's a sign she does not have Von Willebrand's disease, but they don't know for sure if she has it yet because her test results still aren't back from New York. Anyway, Lexie's bacterial culture did come back showing that she's got two different kinds of bacterial infections right now: staph and serratia, which are resistant to the antibiotics she is currently taking. I should also add that Dr. Webb believes that these infections may be the reason why Lexie's incisions are pulling. So, they've changed Lexie to a more heavy-duty antibiotic.
Meanwhile, Dr. Webb has consulted with their soft tissue surgeon, Dr. Kennedy, who will be repairing Lexie's incision. Luckily, Dr. Kennedy feels Lou still has enough surrounding soft tissue to make it possible to re-close the wounds without having to perform a skin flap surgery, which is kind of an extensive (and I'm presuming expensive) last resort procedure.
I did ask Dr. Webb about Lexie's immune system because I know it has been weakened by the Prednisone (steroid) she was taking in the 1-1/2 weeks leading up to her bilateral enucleation surgery. She had been prescribed Prednisone because it was believed that her original disorder, anterior uveitis, was an autoimmune disorder, and Prednisone's function is to weaken her immune system in order to get it to stop attacking her own body. However, the ER vet on duty last night, Dr. Foust, explained that Lexie's weakened immune system could be a reason why she's having these post-surgical complications and not healing as quickly as we would like. Therefore, I asked Dr. Webb if there was anything they could give Lexie that would help build her immune system back up. Dr. Webb said I posed an excellent question, and she would speak to their Integrative Medicine department, which specializes in alternative therapies to compliment conventional treatments and veterinary medicine. She said they may have some suggestions for improving Lexie's immune system.
On an up note, when I asked Dr. Webb about a cost estimate, she said that she didn't have one yet, but added, "I promise, we are going to do all we can to keep the cost as minimal as possible for you." She said that I would probably still end up with a balance, but she said she was going to talk to Dr. Corbett and even Dr. Ellis to see what they could work out. (I forgot to mention that when I dropped Lou off last night, Dr. Foust told me they weren't going to require a deposit this time, which was such a relief.)
As I was writing this, Dr. Kennedy called. He said that the fact that Lexie has a staph infection, which is quite extensive, in addition to the serratia infection, is a little concerning. He said it would be prudent for them to treat this as an open wound for a couple of days in order to allow her new antibiotics to start fighting the infections while they also treat and clean the soft tissues of her wound. That way they'll be as healthy as possible when she goes into surgery on Monday, or possibly Sunday. He sounded confident, though, that Lexie is going to be okay when this is all said and done (if it ever ends!!!!). I asked Dr. Kennedy if HE had a cost estimate, because Dr. Webb had predicted that Lexie would come home tomorrow, but now it looks like Lexie may not come home until next Monday or Tuesday. Dr. Kennedy said he did not know yet what this will cost, but he said that they are still "working on it," and he'll call me later with an estimate.
Please continue to keep Lexie in your thoughts in prayers, especially for her immune system to regain strength in order to fight the bacterial infections, along with her new antibiotics. As much as I love the doctors at MedVet, I'm hoping never to see them again after this next surgery. *knock on wood*
It would just be nice if we could have a vet in this town who would be able to treat her at least a little bit.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! However, I will say that I understand their hesitancy after Lexie almost bled to death during her last surgery. Still, I'd LOVE IT if there was a veterminary ophthalmologist closer to Huntington. :-/
DeleteCourtney and Lou:
ReplyDeleteJust yikes. Travis and I have you both (and the rest of your family) in our hearts as you go through this difficult time. We have a unique and special understanding of the scariness of infection and its treatment. If you need someone to talk to or just want someone to listen on the other end of the phone while you cry or scream or reason things out, let us know. Even if it's the middle of the night.
Good luck to you both. Most of all though, I hope Lexie remains happy and spunky and out of pain as much as possible.
That means so much to me, Christi. Thank you. :) I will say that Lexie has remained in pretty good spirits despite all of her traveling and complications. I'm sure she'll be a million times happier when it's all over, though, and that's what I'm looking forward to the most.
DeleteI have developed an interesting relationship with bacteria over the past seven months. I do feel badly for Lexie, since you can't explain to her that his little microbes are not making her very happy right now.
ReplyDeleteLiving things fight to survive and with the proper regiment the bacterial worries will end.
One day Lexie and I will share staph stories and we should have good scars to share.
Awww... Is it weird that I think it's sweet that you and Lexie have staph infections in common now? Thanks so much for the words of encouragement, Travis. :)
DeletePrayers are with u and Lexie. Xxx as a dog owner and a Doberman owner this break my heart as they are such living animals and shouldn't have to go through all the pain. She will get better. Shes a fighter. Xx
ReplyDeleteShe IS a fighter. :) Thank you so much for the words of encouragement.
DeleteI'm praying for you, Lou and Courtney! Gosh darn it, this ain't easy, but like I said, I'm praying and sending lots of love, strengthening, encouraging and healing vibes your way. -JMJ
DeleteI'm so sorry about Lexie :( I also read your hippie vet post first before coming to this one, and it made me happy to hear that she was willing to go for alternative therapies. Especially the mangosteen juice specifically, if only because I just heard of Mangosteens like 4 years ago and think they're tasty.
ReplyDeleteThis back and forth about Von Willebrand's is confusing to me, at her age. Granted, I'm entirely ignorant of your history of having Lexie; I don't know how old Lou was when you got her, if you got her from a breeder, etc. I think there are....two tests? A DNA one and a "snap test" (I apologize, I don't know the real term, just the colloquial one), so that you can actually confirm whether she's got it, so that it's on record so that you know, for mitigation in these situations. I know that my Elka is a carrier, because her parentage, and thus will not be affected by the disease.
Thinking about your girl, and hoping she's home with you again soon!
Thanks, Jen. I'm confused about the Von Willebrand's, myself. Lexie did not come from a breeder, and I'm not exactly sure how old she was when we got her. We found an ad for her in our local Ad Bulletin, and she was advertised as having no papers, but her ears were already cropped and her tail was docked. So, I'm guessing she was about a year old, or close to 1 year old.
DeleteAnyway, last summer she had to have emergency surgery because she had developed pyometra. That was considered a major surgery, and yet there were absolutely NO problems with bleeding during that surgery. So, the fact that she almost bled to death during her enucleation surgery came as quite a shock to Dr. Ellis. I'm not sure which test they gave her to test for Von Willebrand's, but they said it takes about a week to come back.
The doctors at MedVet have suggested that Lexie may have bled so much simply because the eyes are a very vascular part of the body. There are SO many vessels and things that they need to cut through, and Dr. Corbett said that no two dogs' eyes are ever "wired" the same. So, it's possible that Lexie bled so much simply because so many vessels were cut during her surgery. (At least, that's how I understood it.)
I'm no doctor (I don't even play one on the Internet!) but that explanation for the bleeding makes sense. Thanks for answering my question!
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