Doc Tales

December 6, 2017 — 

As regular readers of Doc Tales, you know I normally use this space to offer a little levity or inspiration. But this week I sincerely need your help on a serious professional topic.

I recently acquired a pet balloon pig named Puffy. I found Puffy wandering the streets of Wilmington (well, maybe not so much "wandering" as blowing around in the gutter). He was obviously in distress. Knowing I was a veterinarian, some local kids begged me to do what I could to save him.

Puffy was staggering and wandering aimlessly. Upon further examination, I noticed Puffy had no eyes. So, I grabbed my permanent marker and drew him some new eyes (and a nose while I was at it). That cured his propensity for running into stuff and seemed to perk him right up. I decided to take Puffy home with me to recuperate.

The next day, I heard that Puffy's dad was going to be in town working the Wilmington Christmas Parade so I took Puffy down to meet him. His dad happened to be making Puffy's half sister Tortoise while we visited. It was great fun. We walked along the riverfront and watched the parade. Puffy really seemed to enjoy hanging out under the Christmas tree when we got back home that evening.

The following morning, however, I noticed his right hind leg was atrophied and his mood seemed deflated. I assumed he was suffering from a mild case of Leaky Leg Syndrome (LLS) - a common ailment in balloon animals. I treated it with Scotch tape (the real thing, not that cheap generic stuff) and hoped I'd caught it early enough. That seemed to slow the atrophy and buoy his spirits. Unfortunately, two days later he was much worse. The atrophy appeared to be spreading throughout his body and he seemed to be out of breath. It was like the wind had gone out of him. By day 4, he was exhibiting proprioceptive deficits in both hind legs. I'm concerned it's something much more serious than just LLS.

I rushed him down to the local party store where they have all the latest diagnostic and treatment equipment like helium and mylar. They gave him an infusion of helium which seemed to lift his spirits for a short time but now I'm wondering if poking him with the needle to inject the helium didn't do more harm than good. It appeared to accelerate the widespread atrophy. The guy at the party store warned me this might happen since the treatment was experimental and they'd never actually performed a helium transfer on a pre-tied animal balloon before. Puffy seems to be at the end of his string, wasting away. I'm concerned now that he may have a severe case of Airescapealis so I'm considering doing a balloon catheterization but I'm not sure I want to put him through that.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? I would appreciate any suggestions or thoughts you might have (snelson@aasv.org). Click the links above to view some photos showing Puffy's clinical presentation if you are interested. I also have to face the reality that euthanasia might be the most humane course of action at this point. Does anyone have any experience depopping multi-segmented balloon animals?

It may be too late to save Puffy at this point but the AASV Foundation is raising money to support research and efforts to develop future generations of veterinarians to combat these diseases. If you'd like to help, just go to the foundation's online donation page and make your contribution. Note in the comments section that your donation is to support the Pump Up Puffy Fund. You can also join us in San Diego for the annual AASV Foundation Auction to help raise funds. All funds collected will go to support foundation programs. Please give generously and watch for updates on Puffy's condition.