Super bug infection! Any help/advice?

[MamaSu]

Hi, been awhile,
So Willy has turned a year old. Was neutered at 9 mos. six to seven weeks later had a blister at the tip of his penis and the shaft was puffy. Long story short; he was on one round of antibiotics after another, after almost three months, surgery, drainage tubes, thought we might have it licked. Now the blister is back and it's become obvious that it was never 'licked'. he lost all his beautiful hair and is now down to just his short fur undercoat. He's happy and plays, eats and drinks well. He has one nasty infection!
I know you guys aren't Vets, but with what a lot of you have been through you might as well be! I'm just looking for some encouragement, maybe some clues if you've seen anything like this. I'm getting scared that they're not going to be able to get a handle on this thing. Thanks for listening. Seems he's had one problem after another :-/. Su

 

[Angela]

What kind of surgery?
Did they take a swab for culture and sensitivities to see if he has been on the appropriate antibiotics?
Maybe a second opinion??

 

[Jeannie]

Maybe something didn't heal properly after the neuter? I'd get a 2nd opinion and an ultra sound to see if anything is wrong. Have they done a CBC/Profile blood work? Culture?

 

[nowhavethreebears]

Just some free association type stuff that popped into my head.

As Jeannie suggested, first thing I would do is get an abdominal ultrasound to see if he has developed an abccess or something post neuter.

Blood and urine cultures if not done already.

Re: the hair loss...Is it just hair loss or is there other stuff showing on the skin? Ulcers, blisters, redness, etc? Hair loss could be due to sensitivity to abx, a skin infection or something unrelated....

What was the second surgery?

 

[wrknnwf]

Boy, I would get another opinion from different vet and right away! Is there a vet school in your region?

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

I agree with a 2nd opinion and a maybe a specialist/vet school. A culture to make sure he's on the correct antibiotics is vital. There can be many bugs that are not susceptible to first or 2nd line drugs.

 

[NewfieMama]

I agree with a 2nd opinion and a maybe a specialist/vet school. A culture to make sure he's on the correct antibiotics is vital. There can be many bugs that are not susceptible to first or 2nd line drugs.

This. Cooper had a serious prostate infection that only responded to one (super $$) antibiotic, and it took a month to clear it up. To determine the problem he had cultures and an ultrasound.

Zuzu had several secondary infections post surgery in the past year. Again cultures were done, and twice she needed two or more medications to get rid of the bugs.

Good luck and I hope you get some answers soon!

 

[MamaSu]

Ok, whew! Thanks for all your input, greatly appreciated. The first surgery was to go in and clean out the pockets of infection and put drains in. The cultures were probably skewed because the emergency vet who saw him put him on antibiotics BEFORE he could be cultured this time the vet cultured everything before he started any meds and I'm waiting the results now. He is home from surgery and doing well, on high doses of antibiotics but don't know if they are the right ones till the cultures come back. I'm just terrified of a superbug that won't respond, but trying not to borrow worry :-/
The hair loss the vet feels is a possible food allergy, but do those really happen with absolutely no itching? He thinks this because he has very minimal hair loss around his eyelids (really minimal) He had this look but not nearly as bad when he was new, I got him the end of Sept, and it DID improve over winter. Grass? No itching tho. The vet did not think it was due to the surgery or antibiotics but I'm thinking you guys have so much experience with this stuff I should ask you thanks! No vet schools here, and the two vets that have worked on this are both baffled. Hopefully the cultures will answer all the problems.....? I'll update when I know, thanks again. I really appreciate the support
Su and Willy

 

[Jeannie]

When my Sara lost coat with out itching and around her eye she had low thyroid. I'd request a thyroid panel be run.

 

[Jeff in Ottawa]

I can't add to the advice already given but it sounds like a really frustrating situation to say the least. Good luck and positive thoughts sent your way.

 

[MamaSu]

Hey Jeannie, thyroid has been my gut feeling all along even tho he hasn't put weight on but the vet said his blood test was normal. But don't you need a specific T3 or free T4 to really check ? Or did Sara's show up in her initial bloodwork? And was she still active?
Thanks, Su

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Have the vet send the blood work to Dr. Dodd's, she is breed specific. You need the full thyroid panel not just a T4.

 

[nowhavethreebears]

Any new updates? Just wondering what the cultures showed for your boy and how he is doing....

 

[MamaSu]

Well, I'm getting a little more than frustrated. Not much time to be on here or contribute but gosh I appreciate your support and info! Willy had the drain tubes taken taken out and still on antibiotics, Clavamox and Zeniquin, and i can see that although the swelling behind (under) his penis is down, it is held at bay by the meds, there is still that telltale blister at the tip, the opening, of his penis. The cultures came back, the tech that called said they were negative, which made no sense to me, they had to be positive for SOMETHING!,I think she was talking about MRSI tho, but we have an appt tomorrow to look at it again. I had a family vacation scheduled for two lovely weeks in Hawaii and instead Willy and I are comforting each other and looking at the pictures the family is sending home :-/ I'm going back through your posts to find an the names of antibiotics you guys have mentioned. Thanks again for your support, I'll update with some good news soon hopefully.