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ATLAS
Atlas is both lucky and unfortunate. Lucky to have been noticed by kind people who alerted us to his condition, unfortunately the trouble he’s in is very serious.
Atlas can’t walk, can’t eat on his own, having stood up he wobbles, falls over — and once down he does not want to get up again. The gentle boy cannot aim properly for his food, cannot even take a piece of meat in his mouth so he seems to have given up and just lies there, hopeless and disheartened. His nose is covered in pus, bloody discharge seeps out of his ear and he constantly shakes his head.
Watch the short video below to fully appreciate Atlas’s distress.
HELP
Atlas’s condition is critical and having realized he won’t make it without help, we rushed him to our vet clinic where he is currently hospitalized under 24-hr observation.
A thorough examination and a series of tests revealed the vet team’s working diagnosis — acute suppurative otitis media with middle-ear effusion and meningitis. This scary sentence means our boy’s middle ear is severely inflamed, there is possible rupture of the eardrum with purulent bloody discharge. The inflammation has reached the brain membrane, causing it to swell and affecting Atlas’s ability to control his body. There could be various reasons for this condition, with the vets’ main suspicion being a foreign body such as a polyp present in his nasal cavity. A nasal polyp grows on the lining of the nasal passages or sinuses, and large ones can cause severe infections that keep recurring until the growth is surgically removed.
Once the fight to stabilize Atlas and clear the inflammation is over, next steps must be scheduling a CT or MRI scan to evaluate the size and position of the polyp, and performing surgery to remove it.
We knew Atlas was in trouble but did not fully comprehend how precarious his condition was until we naively asked the vets “So he is in a bad state but there is no fear for his life, right?”, and the answer was “No, actually he can die at any moment.”
UPDATE | July 2020
An urgent CT scan performed last Friday confirmed that the brain inflammation was caused by a huge polyp which is blocking Atlas’s oral cavity (area 2 in the image below) and has spread to his ear (area 1 in the image below). Both those areas should be pitch black in the scan as black indicates hollow, empty spaces — however since they are filled with polyp tissue here they show as light grey.
Initially we only worried about the brain infection returning unless the polyps is removed.
Now a new concern has been added as the scan shows that the polyp has almost entirely blocked Atlas’s airways and if left undisturbed it will eventually suffocate him.
Atlas’s only hope is a difficult and dangerous surgery, ventral bulotomy and rhinotomy, which involves entering underneath the ear via trepanation and clearing the middle ear, then progressing inwards through the roof of the mouth into the oral cavity and extracting the entire growth. The senior surgeon who will perform the operation has vast experience in removing polyps and is hopeful we can help Atlas.
If you’ve been privileged enough to spend time with cats, you may be able to tell from the photos of Atlas in his foster home below that he is not a happy boy. Despite the inflammation being cleared his posture displays discomfort even when simply resting. He is tense and you can clearly see the stress in his eyes — because he is constantly short of breath.
UPDATE | July 31, 2020
Atlas’s surgery was an absolute success!
The surgical procedure performed is called bulla osteotomy and it involves creating an opening into to the middle ear cavity by making an incision of the rounded part of the skull just behind the ear. The operation then progresses through the roof of the mouth into the nasal cavity. This approach allows the surgical team to remove not only pieces of the polyp but the source of it and lowers the chances of recurrence.
Scroll down to the video and watch the final moments of the main body of the polyp being pulled out after all procedures to release it have been carried out.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW!
The video below shows the final moments of the main polyp body being pulled out. Warning: graphic content!
Our brave, strong boy is slowly recovering and feeling much, much better. He can breathe normally as nothing is obstructing his airways. You may notice the bottom eyelid of his right eye drooping — this is called Horner Syndrome and is caused by disruption of the visual pathways by the polyp and surgery. The condition is temporary and will resolve in time.
Thank you for being with Atlas along this difficult road! Please stay with him till the happy end we are writing together.
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CRITICAL UPDATE | MAY ’21
Atlas has been hospitalized in a life-threatening emergency!
On Friday, May 21 2021, Atlas was admitted to our clinic with a life threatening urinary blockage. A blocked bladder leads to urine building up until it reaches bursting point; the condition is extremely serious and left untreated it can cause kidney damage, heart problems and if it bursts – peritonitis and death.
The night shift team performed a series of X-ray and ultrasound imaging examinations, however no obvious reason for the blockage was found. Such blockages may result from cystitis, crystals in the urine, bladder stones, infections or tumors. With Atlas having been a stray his entire life, the vets’ suspicion is that the blockage was most likely caused by years of low quality dry food he may have been fed by people who helped him survive on the streets.
The vet team immediately relieved the pressure on the bladder by draining it via a urinary catheter; Atlas was given painkillers and he settled in for the night.
The next morning however Atlas’s bladder was once again overflowing and he remained unable to pee on his own. In addition urine had leaked into the abdominal cavity, meaning that damage or rupture along the urinary tract was also present, and had caused the leakage.
The vet team then installed a permanent catheter, meant to stay in place and drain the urine while further investigation was done into the reasons for the persisting blockage, and the consequent leaking. Contrast radiography was performed in an attempt to determine where the leak was, unfortunately that approach did not provide answers either.
For four days now Atlas continues to retain urine and since the leakage into the abdomen has not stopped either, the vet team has informed us that they would like to perform a CT scan as a last approach in an effort to investigate the surrounding tissues and uncover the reasons for his troubles.
The situation is urgent as our boy may need surgery and it would be much better if the surgeon is not going in blind, but has the results of the tomography imaging examination beforehand. Please if you can, donate today so Atlas can have the CT scan he needs as soon as possible.
Please donate to help Atlas get the CT scan he needs urgently.
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Let’s Adopt! Global is an animal rescue charity based in MA, USA. All funds will go towards the animal’s care. Any remaining funds will go to support our other rescues and mission.