Local superhero to have laser eye surgery

I apologize because I haven’t written a blog entry since Spiderman went to the vet on Friday.  The weekend has been a non-stop whirlwind of activity, much of it health-related and all of it exhausting, and I’ve hit a point where it feels as though I’ve got a case of the flu.  I’m sure I don’t—I think I’m feeling the side-effects of four intense chiropractic treatments called “Bio Cranial”—and I hope my body is just flushing toxins and will feel marvelous tomorrow.  Or maybe the next day.  If you’d like to read about my weekend of Bio Cranial mania, please check out the Tired Girls blog, because I’ll eventually write about it there.  Eventually!  I’ve been so busy that I don’t think I’ve even sat down in my computer chair since Friday, but I wanted to let everyone know how Spiderman fared at his first veterinary ophthalmologist exam.

Spiderman is a sweet, sweet boy, but he doesn’t enjoy car rides.  He likes them even less when the trip is about 20 miles away, and it’s 110 degrees outside.  Flippy and I will definitely be packing ear plugs the next time we take him in the car, because the trip itself was a bit unbearable.  Eli was also in the car, and she was well-behaved, but she’s also 100 lbs. and is always blocking the view out the back window, so these trips are never stress-free.  Gah, I’m tired all over again just thinking about it and I want a nap.

Eli had her exam first, and she was fine.  She’s got pannus, and I worried that her condition may have backslid a few months ago when I decided to try giving her eyedrops every other day, instead of once a day.  The vet had suggested I try that routine a year ago, but I didn’t want to mess with a system that was working.  Nevertheless, I messed with it (the Optimmune ointment is pretty pricey, and I thought it could save a lot of money), but Eli had a big pannus flare-up within two weeks.  That was back in April, when we didn’t have our current intense sunlight, either, so I’m glad I caught the relapse quickly and put her back on her once-a-day dosing.  On Friday, the vet assured me that Eli’s eyes looked as good as they did at her appointment last July, so I’m relieved and satisfied.  The one sad thing about the visit was seeing how much strength Eli has lost in her back legs since last year—it’s really noticeable when she gets in and out of the car.  I think I can help her with that by having her go up and down the stairs a couple of times each day, but it’s still sad to see her getting older.  I wish she’d consider going into the pool, but she wants nothing to do with it (and I don’t think Flippy relishes the thought of trying to remove hair from the filters, either).

So, on to Spiderman.  Dr. Brinkmann was impressed with Spiderman’s gargantuan head and eyeballs, even though he’s seen a few similar cases.  From what the vet explained, Spiderman had congenital glaucoma which started when he was a kitten, while he was still flexible and growing.  The disorder isn’t uncommon in young cats, but the way Spiderman’s body compensated was unusual.  Instead of the eyeballs growing out and forward as they got larger and filled with excessive fluid, the orbital bones (and the skull bones in general), stretched and widened to accomodate the large eyes.  Even the eyelids grew larger, so Spiderman doesn’t have dry eye issues which plague many cats with glaucoma.  Spiderman sort of looks like he has a big bobblehead on a small body, but that’s because his head grew in response to specific stimuli that left the rest of his body unaffected.  The slow stretching off all the tissues during important formative stages even means that the retina in at least one of his eyes was able to stretch and remain attached.  That’s the eye where he still has a bit of vision, although the lens is clearly floating around in that eye, and he’s not going to have vision forever.  The vet explained that Spiderman’s “blue” eye was caused when the lens in that eye detached after its anchors were stretched/snapped, and then the free-floating lens rubbed against the inner epithelial layer of the eyeball, permanently damaging it.  There’s only one thin layer of cells there, and they don’t regenerate, so the blue eye truly has lost all ability to function.  The same injury may eventually happen to his “good” eye, or the thin connection to the retina may eventually wear away.  Ultimately, Spiderman will be totally blind, and there’s nothing which can be done to prevent that.  The best thing for him will be to get him into a “forever home” as soon as possible, so he can learn his new surroundings and build confidence with the vision he has left, and then as his remaining vision slowly fades away, he may not even notice.

So, what can be done for Spiderman right now?  His totally blind blue eye is still producing non-draining fluid, and the surface of the eyeball has a lot of edema and is prone to scrapes and infections.  The eye may not feel comfortable because of the swelling, either, although Spiderman doesn’t act like he’s in pain.  The vet is opposed to eye removal except as a last resort, because he feels that organs may serve purposes we don’t completely understand, and that we shouldn’t just remove things if there are other options.  So, his recommendation was a special laser eye surgery for Spiderman’s blue eye.  The surgery will shoot a laser beam through a number of spots on the outside edges of that eye, and the laser will “kill” the mechanism in the eye which produces the fluid which isn’t draining.  In other words, it will stop the glaucoma from progressing.  Over time, the body will absorb some of the excess fluid from the eyeball, relieving pressure, adding comfort, and making the eye less prone to injury and infection.  The shrinkage of the eye probably won’t be hugely noticeable, (the eye won’t shrivel up into a raisin or anything), so Spiderman will maintain his Superhero appearance and continue to fight for truth, justice, and the American way.

That option sounded fine to me, but if we do the same thing to the eye that still has some vision, the laser will definitely leave him blind.  For this eye, the vet suggested a different type of laser procedure, one where he make just a couple of small holes to drain eye fluid, but doesn’t do anything to affect the lens or retina.  That will also give Spiderman more comfort in his healthier eye, and maybe it will even help it stay healthier for longer.

So, Spiderman is going to have laser eye surgery!  The vet charges about the same for the laser procedure as he does for an eye removal, so finances don’t have to play into the decision.  And the vet promised he was basing his decision on what he’d do if it was his cat, and if money was no object.  Best of all, the vet will donate his services for free, so it will reduce the cost of the surgery in half, to less than $500.  Our quote was just a rough, “between $400 and $500, but less than $500”.

I definitely want to go ahead and get this done, obviously, as it will greatly increase Spiderman’s chances of being adopted.  I’ll be able to say that he’s healthy and pain-free and requires no special maintenance for his eye issues, and I’m sure many potential adopters will find that a relief.  The initial eye exam Spiderman had cost $199, so in total, this cat’s medical expenses will run about $700.  We’ve had some fabulous folks donate $350, but I’m pretty much out of breathing room on my credit cards, so I’m going to hold off on the surgery until I raise another $350.  This may be from me working, or selling some stuff on eBay (sadly, I think it’s time for my massive collection of Starbucks bears to leave the nest), from more donations, or even from selling some “Spiderman the cat” collectables (if I can ever get our dye sublimation system functioning).  I’d scheduled the surgery for this coming Wednesday, but I’m going to cancel it today and push it forward to the end of August, and hopefully we’ll be in better financial condition then.  Maybe the vet will offer special financing arrangements if I call and cancel for financial reasons—I should find out tomorrow.

So, that’s all the good news about Spiderman!  He will have a really cutting-edge surgery, he’ll be more comfortable, and he’ll still look cool.  Thanks to everyone who’s been asking about him and who’s sent in donations to help out—I promise they all go straight into the “Wee Paws Veterinary Expense Account”.  If you’d like to know more about Spiderman’s vet and surgeon, you can see him and his great staff at Veterinary Ophthalmology Services.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/30 at 03:55 AM

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  1. Poor Spidy.. but yay for you guys for giving him this chance.  I once had a great dog who went blind at the age of 14.  I was initially devastated but it did not take me long to realize that her blindness was more of an issue for me than it was for her.  She did amazingly well and continued to be ruled by her nose for many more years.

    Posted by Coll  on  08/01  at  11:09 AM

  2. I have to update to say that Spiderman just isn’t doing as well in our household as I’d hoped.  He’s not used to being around strange animals, and a couple of our cats have smacked him around (nothing major, just a slap and a hiss), and he’s now very timid.  At first he was much more adventurous than his brother and loved to wander the house, but now he rarely leaves his room out of fear.  I feel so horrible about this, and we try to give him extra attention, but I hate how the cats pick on him.  A normal amount of posturing is to be expected, but I guess because he’s blind, he constantly sits around and expects the worst.  He’s such a wonderful, amazing cat… I hope he’ll find a home soon.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  09/03  at  07:32 AM
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