Amazing tales of survival, recovery, and medical triumphs

Elvis is our pet Iguana. My son got him 3 years ago as a tiny thing only about 8 inches long. Now, he's approaching 4 feet nose to tip of tail and has a very good girth :)

He's like one of the family. A bit of hard work sometimes but well worth it when he seems to smile at us.

About six months ago he developed an abscess on his face near the jaw line His health was not affected but the abscess continued to grow. We decided Elvis needed to see a Vet. Our local Vet, Dr. Katts [yes that's really her name] has never really treated Iguanas before but did everything she could to make us comfortable with her treatment plans. She put Elvis on antibiotics to try and reduce the abscess

While this did stall the growth somewhat it didn't stop it. Once off the run of antibiotics for some time the growth began to grow again. Back we go to see Dr. Katts. This time she took a sample. After the sample was taken the abscess tripled in size. We needed to do something fast. Dr. Katts had never done surgery on an Iguana which can be quite complicated from what I understand. She did however contact fellow vets who were more knowledgeable on the topic. With the assistance via telephone from cities across Ontario a game plan was plotted for Elvis's surgery.

I somewhat apprehensively agreed to allow Elvis to undergo the surgery. I trusted Dr. Katts but was nervous about it being her first time performing the surgery and putting Elvis 'under'.

I am very happy to report that everything went wonderful. I had Elvis home the end of the day. By next day he was completely back to normal. He has about 10 stitches on the side of the face which he doesn't even seem to notice. He is eating well, in fact, better then prior to surgery. His color is fantastic, he is swimming, playing, climbing and doing everything Iguanas like to do! Three weeks have passed and we look home free.

I can't thank Dr. Katts and the staff enough for caring so much for Elvis. They continue to call me weekly to check on his progress. He will have the stitches removed in two sheds.

My son, who actually owns Elvis was preparing for the worst and now can look forward to a long time to come with his pet thanks to the kind, caring and knowledge vets we entrusted Elvis to.

- Wendy Hogan
Kids' Turn Central

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