On 3-22-2011 Mia's feeding tube fell out! I rushed her back to Cornell and that tube was replaced by a better feeding tube. We are hoping that Mia can finally rest for a while and just be a dog (other than eating on her own.) She is a little wonder dog and has touched so many people.
Mia's first surgery was done on November 30th, 2010 at Orchard Park Animal Hospital. She was 5 months old. Her opening ran the entire length of her hard and soft palate. During this surgery a feeding tube was placed in her neck so that the repair could heal.
Unfortunately that repair broke down and Mia needed another surgery to repair the break. That surgery was scheduled for January 4th, 2011
Before any surgeries
Mia's 2nd surgery was done on January 4th, 2011. At that time her feeding tube was removed! Something I will never understand because they just did surgery on her mouth and then expected her to eat for the 1st time in her life. But she did eat for three weeks all by herself.
On our way for her 2nd surgery
Recovering in the incubater
Mia eating for the 1st time in her life
Mia's 3rd surgery was done on January 27th, 2011. This was a very emotional surgery. Mia almost died. Not during the surgery but what led up to surgery and the care she received at Orchard Park. I demanded that a new feeding tube be placed this time. The repair broke down immediately following the surgery, she had an intestinal bleed and went from 1 pound 11 ounces to 1 pound 3 ounces. She was starving to death and I was the only one that noticed or cared!! I was told by two vets at that time to consider euthanasia. I left that place with my dying dog after I let them know how I felt. I was going to bring her home and do what I could to get her back. I held Mia for 3 days. I fed her and loved her. Mia slowly regained her strength and now it was time to find a new Vet to take on her case.
her face was deformed. They pulled teeth and pulled her cheek over. She was a very sick dog after this surgery.
new feeding tube
recovering
Mia's 4th surgery was done at Cornell in Ithaca, NY on 3-9-2011. Upon examination the awesome doctors there noted that Mia was pretty much out of options at this point but decided to build a bridge to cover the defect and give it a good year to heal. They made a plug to cover the opening in her hard palate. There are still 3 tiny holes in her soft palate that we will leave for now. Mia thrived after this surgery! Her mouth finally started to feel better. I have committed to tube feeding her for another 6 months to a year before we even discuss any further surgeries on her.
the plug
the plug in place
in the hotel room after the surgery
On 3-22-2011 Mia's feeding tube fell out! I rushed her back to Cornell and that tube was replaced by a better feeding tube. We are hoping that Mia can finally rest for a while and just be a dog (other than eating on her own.) She is a little wonder dog and has touched so many people.
this is Mia recovering in the hotel room. You can hardly see her new feeding tube. I brought her back the following morning to have the IV in her back leg removed
6-2-2011 Mia had a 6th surgery today. Her teeth were pulled and a small hole in her soft palate repaired. She goes back for her 7th and hopefully FINAL surgery in 3 weeks!!
6-29-2011 ~ Mia's 7th surgery
Today was a very difficult day. I have never been so afraid for any other surgery. She was still mending from her previous procedure and still had pneumonia. But she survived the surgery and the doc feels everything went well. She is now holding her own. We almost lost her that evening from hypoclycemia (from not eating all day) and was weaker than I have ever seen her. She has recovered from that but is still having difficulty breathing from the pneumonia. We have her on two antibiotics. She gets nebulized throughout the day and oxygen when she's having a bad spell.
Sadly, this repair broke down too!! I have no idea where we go from here. I only know one thing, I will NOT give up!! For a picture of what the breakdown looks like now, click here
She developed a very severe case of pneumonia after this procedure. She spent two nights at animal emergency and one day at Cornell. I was told by three vets to euthanize her because she was too critical to treat. I was also told that she had a heart defect. We saw a cardiologist and that was a false diagnosis. Her heart is just fine. I chose NOT to euthanize and within 5 days Mia was back to her old self.
Mia has a big surgery scheduled on 6-29 to do a (hopefully) final repair on her palate. The dental vet is going to use a bone graft in the hole and cover that with the tissue where her teeth were. This is Mia's last chance at a repair. After this there will be NO more tissue left to work with.
< Before After >
