I wanted to update you all!
(In case you missed the original post on Rocky’s cancer diagnosis and eye removal, click here.)
Rocky was in surgery for several hours. The surgeon removed 7″ of his penis (not simply the tissue involved) because he wanted to make sure all of the non-pigmented (pink) skin was eliminated. Pink skin is more conducive to this type of cancer.
DR made sure to create a clear and open path for his urine. I was warned that there would be blood in his urine for at least a week. (And dried blood on his legs because he won’t allow me to touch anything back there…).
They also removed Rocky’s left eye. This was a surprise to me because I was told that there was no eyeball in that sunken socket. But, there was. The eyeball had shrunk to about 10% of the original size, but it was in there… and “very scarred” he said. The surgeon felt that Rocky must have gone through a barbed wire fence and cut his eyeball and also damaged his right eye (but clearly not as traumatic as the left eye).
After the eye removal, they sewed up the socket. It looks very, very swollen and painful. However, the DR said that Rocky will feel much better in a few weeks. In his view, the penis cancer and the remnant of the left eye were constant dull aches for this little guy. So he should be a “new pony” in a few weeks.
Rocky has 6 days to recover in the hospital and then another 2+ weeks to recover at home in a large stall.
This picture below is Rocky in his hospital stall. He is so mad. So, so angry. I visited him and he would not acknowledge me. This was his way of letting me know his feelings. Of course, as I was leaving, he ran up to me… but for the rest of the time, he made it known that he was not happy. Luckily, they have him on pain killers and antibiotics… but I am sure the techs poking and prodding to make sure everything is OK – hurts.
Here he is… after surgery in his hospital stall. All went well but he is not very happy. Poor Guy.
THANK YOU for celebrating my birthday wish to help Rocky!
If any of you have enjoyed the Horse and Man blog or appreciate the Saturday PhoBlogs and would like to help with Rocky’s surgeries… all donations are 100% tax deductible! Many, many thanks!! This was a shock to us and we appreciate any Drops in the Bucket! Prayers work, too!
I was sorry to read about Rocky’s health issues. When I bought a pony with a “bad” eye, my vet recommended removing it, because even thought he couldn’t see out of the eye, it was likely causing quite a lot of pain. The pony was much better off without the eye, which had deteriorated due to moon blindness. I’ve never seen penile cancer, but I must say that it looks highly painful. I hope the pony will soon be well.