Any luck with surgery??

[leighks]

Willow’s second procedure was 2 days ago, and she came home yesterday. She’s doing well. She’s eating pretty well and she wants out of the crate, but she has to be on cage rest for 2 weeks so the sutures don’t pull too much.

Because the vet had to remove so much skin from the abdomen he had to pull the remaining skin fairly tight to cover the gap. There’s still 1 area that has questionable blood supply that may take longer to heal. Here’s the before and after:

It still looks pretty ugly but I can tell she is feeling so much better. I haven’t seen her lay down yet so good thing chickens can sleep standing up.
Ps-for the 2nd picture, you can see the topical cream on the wound, but the bottom yellow part is the area that we have to keep an eye on, but so far, so good!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for the update and photos!

I'm hoping she has a speedy recovery and no more set backs.

At least she has TV in her "hospital room" LOL

 

[fldiver97]

Thanks for the update! Hope she recovers quickly

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Any updates on Willow?

 

[Mimi13]

She might like Nat.Geo.Wild since they are doing 12 Days of Dr. Pol this week, LOL. Glad to hear that she is doing well.

Dr. Pol is the best show ever...if you like seeing prolapses and such...which I do. But in all honesty, you can learn so much from watching his show. And BTW, I watched those 12 Days of Dr. Pol. There were even some chicken and duck illnesses he took care of.

 

[leighks]

Willow is doing a lot better, gaining the weight back, and liking house life. She had the last of the stitches removed last week- they were kept in longer than average because they really had to stretch the skin to cover all that was removed from the second surgery. BUT- there is still 1 small area that hasn’t granulated in yet. It’s likely that the tight stitches in 1 area was pulling the skin in another area. There’s a small area of skin where the abdomen meets the inner leg (groin area I guess?) that’s still a bit open.
The options were to have a 3rd surgery (UGH) or give it time to see if it will granulate in. After seeing how great chickens are at healing, I’m going to wait on surgery and see if it can heal. If it won’t close on its own or starts to look infected I may have to reconsider (she’s still on antibiotics) but for now I’m letting nature take its course.
The yellow crusting you see in the pic below, along the skin opening, is not pus or infection, but scabbing starting to form on the edges. The white stuff above it is a cream I put on the skin daily. I email pics to the vet regularly so he can monitor her progress.

This little bird is so resilient!! And she thinks she’s a parrot, the way she sits on my shoulder.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Hiya Willow
So happy to hear she’s doing so well. Thanks so much for the update. Her journey is just so fascinating and I’ve never seen anything like her story. It’s nice you update us so many don’t and we just have to wonder. So thank you!

Happy Valentines Willow!

 

[fldiver97]

Thanks for the update!! Glad to hear Willow is doing well! Hopefully the tissue will granulate and heal without further surgery! You are an amazing chicken nurse

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Willow is doing a lot better, gaining the weight back, and liking house life. She had the last of the stitches removed last week- they were kept in longer than average because they really had to stretch the skin to cover all that was removed from the second surgery. BUT- there is still 1 small area that hasn’t granulated in yet. It’s likely that the tight stitches in 1 area was pulling the skin in another area. There’s a small area of skin where the abdomen meets the inner leg (groin area I guess?) that’s still a bit open.
The options were to have a 3rd surgery (UGH) or give it time to see if it will granulate in. After seeing how great chickens are at healing, I’m going to wait on surgery and see if it can heal. If it won’t close on its own or starts to look infected I may have to reconsider (she’s still on antibiotics) but for now I’m letting nature take its course.
The yellow crusting you see in the pic below, along the skin opening, is not pus or infection, but scabbing starting to form on the edges. The white stuff above it is a cream I put on the skin daily. I email pics to the vet regularly so he can monitor her progress.

View attachment 1673276
This little bird is so resilient!! And she thinks she’s a parrot, the way she sits on my shoulder.
View attachment 1673279

She's a Sweetheart!
I'm glad to hear that she is healing!

Thank you for the update.

 

[leighks]

We thank you all for your support,
kind words, and encouragement!