For the record, Fungi is NOT a Fun Guy! I totally misheard him when he introduced himself and asked to come inside my nose to play. However, the eviction process is well underway now, and soon I’ll be feeling much better thanks to my surgery. But oh what a scary process it was to get here!
On the night before my surgery, my nosebleeds increased in intensity. By morning though, the bleeding subsided, and we headed off for my procedure. However, just as we parked at the animal hospital, I let out a prodigious sneeze splattering blood everywhere and opening the floodgates. Mom and Dad cleaned me up as best they could, but I walked into the hospital looking a fright. Not wanting to scare anyone I put on my biggest smile, but as I heard Dad say, I looked like a smiling Cujo. They sat me in the cat waiting room to keep me away from the traffic flow of the main door, in a quiet area. There I sat, with the biggest smile on my face, forgetting how looked, happy to see all my new friends and familiar faces from previous visits. Dad also had an odd grin on his face. I found out later that he had some comment planned about me “helping” to make space in the cat waiting area, if anyone tried to sit there with us.
When the vet tech came out to get me, he did a good job calming Mom and Dad, explaining that sometimes bleeding looks a lot worse than it really is. Well it was bad. Walking me from point A to point B, I lost a lot more blood. As they prepped me for surgery, and I drifted off to sleep, I overheard my Internal Medicine Specialist on the phone with Mom and Dad. She used words like risk of hemorrhaging, possible need for blood transfusion, and that stopping the bleeding was now top priority. I would need a surgical procedure called a carotid artery ligation. It being me, of course it proved to be “trickier than usual,” but a second attempt to localize it worked. The bleeding stopped! The surgery to remove the fungus infection could go ahead.
When the surgeon made the incision at the top of my nasal cavity, near my eyebrow, a piece of fungus came popping out! I later heard them joking that it reminded them of the scene from Space Balls, when the alien popped out singing and dancing. Hmmm, maybe Fungi is a Fun Guy after all? Nope, not at all! It was a difficult surgery because the fungus had started to eat the soft tissue in my nasal cavity, opening an artery, which is why the bleeding had intensified overnight. Talk about perfect timing for this surgery! In addition to that damage, as seen on the CT scan two weeks ago, it had ate away some of the small bones in my nose. However, the good news it had NOT breached a bone to the brain! The fungus was contained to my nasal cavity. Also good news, it was only on my left side. The right nasal cavity was untouched by the fungus. The Internal Medicine Veterinarian along with the surgeon removed what fungus they could without further damaging the delicate tissue. Then they packed my nose with antifungal cream. The antifungal cream would kill it, and as it oozed out would remove fungal plaque.
Needless to say, I looked and felt awful after enduring all that. So the doctor said it would be best if I stayed the night so they could monitor me. Her concerns were making sure my vitals remained strong after loosing so much blood, monitoring my breathing because I couldn’t breathe through my nose with all that gunk up there, and as a favor to Mom and Dad letting me get the worse of the draining done there because it was gross and smelly. But overall I was doing good! When they took me out to go potty, on the way back I politely paused at each of the other kennels, looked at their dog bowls, and then looked up at the vet tech flashing my biggest grin. My subtle hint that I was hungry. A very good sign! But before I could eat, Mom and Dad came for a quick visit, and to drop off my evening eyedrops, and morning medications. Remember I also have thyroid disease and high blood pressure, not to mention my Golden Retriever Pigmentary Uveitis, that must receive ongoing treatment.
I awoke the following morning more alert and happy! I don’t know what they served me for breakfast, but it was delicious! I give it a 5 paws rating, it was that good. I was still draining medicine and fungus, so they cleaned me up as best they could, monitored me to make sure I was alright and the pain medication was working, as I settled in for Mom and Dad to come get me. Everyone taking care of me smiled when I finally walked out wagging my tail, to be reunited with Mom and Dad. I sure gave them quite a scare when I arrived, but was leaving on great terms. Thank you to everyone for taking such great care of me!
Before going home I had one more meeting with my Internal Medicine Specialist Veterinarian and Vet Tech best friend, Mark. They explained that I did indeed have Aspergillosis, and although invasive, surprisingly it was NOT the worst they have seen. In the short term, I will continue draining the medicine and fungus from my nose for days to weeks. I also have two sets of staples in my chest from the carotid artery ligation. Those can be removed by my primary vet in 10 to 14 days. I also have stitches at the top of my head from where they entered my nasal cavity. Those will dissolve in time. What won’t go away though is the small hole in my skull where they entered. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because Aspergillosis sometimes needs more than one treatment to kill it. Which brings me to my longterm care. It will take time for the medicine to work, but we should notice the oozing and dripping subsiding in the days and weeks ahead. BUT if we notice the symptoms returning, including mucous discharge, bleeding, and frequent sneezing, I need to go back immediately for treatment. Because of the damage to my nasal cavity I’m more susceptible to infections and there is the chance of the fungus lingering in there. So if symptoms return she would determine if it is an infection or the Aspergillosis. However, she also said I’m good to go back to enjoying adventures once the staples are removed. She said there’s no way to prevent Aspergillosis. It is naturally all around us, but certain breeds are more susceptible including Golden Retrievers, Collies, Greyhounds, Dachshunds, German Shepherds, and Rottweilers. Also dogs with weakened immune systems are susceptible. But for now for me, the worst is over! Onward to healing!
