u/cberk113

My poor guy made it through having double enucleation in April - though the initial recovery was rough and there were lots of challenges along the way, he adjusted so well to being blind. However, a week or so ago, we found out that the reason why his left eye wasn’t healing properly was because there was surgical packing left behind in the site for FOUR MONTHS. He could have had another surgery to have the leftover fibers removed, but we didn’t want to put him through another procedure and we made the incredibly difficult decision to say goodbye to him….

I was lucky enough to hold Ernie as he fell asleep for the last time on my left shoulder. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but I’m so grateful I was able to be with him in that moment. His polydactyl-ness is one of my favorite things about him, so last weekend I got a tattoo of his little paw on my left shoulder so he could continue to rest there with me.

I miss him so much 💔

My 13-year-old Siamese (Ernie) had a double enucleation in April. He had cysts behind his eyes that were causing pressure and discomfort, and we ultimately decided to go through with the surgery because we were hoping it would give him a couple more good years with us.

He actually adapted to being blind incredibly well. Once he recovered, he learned how to navigate his environment and seemed happy. He wanted to get back outside and explore, would sit with us on the couch, and really seemed to be getting back to himself. He didn’t walk around quite as much as he used to, but overall we felt like we’d made the right decision.

The one thing that never seemed right was his left surgical site. It never completely healed and continued leaking clear/yellowish fluid that sometimes smelled bad. We tried antibiotics, but they never completely cleared it up.

Last Friday, my mom went to clean the area and saw what looked like a piece of mucus hanging from it. When she gently tried to remove it, she realized it wasn’t mucus—it was packing material from his surgery in April.

We immediately took him to the vet, and they were able to remove an entire piece of packing that had apparently been left behind in the socket. We were told there are still fibers left inside that could continue to fester and that fully removing them would require another surgery.

Unfortunately, he’s been doing really poorly since this happened. He’s already been through so much over the last four months, and we’re struggling with the idea of putting our 13-year-old cat through another surgery and another recovery. We’re now facing the possibility of saying goodbye to him, which is absolutely devastating after watching him adjust so well and thinking we were going to have more time with him.

Has anyone experienced anything like this after an enucleation - particularly retained packing or gauze in the socket? Did your cat need another surgery to remove it? How did they do afterward?

We’re trying to make the kindest decision for him and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with something similar 💜