cloacal prolapse in conure

[Kiwi]

Hello,
We have a male dusky conure who is 26.5 years old. He has been with us all his life. Two months ago we’ve noticed that his cloaca prolapsed and we took him to AMC right away. He had an X-ray done and they repaired his cloaca and put him on antibiotics. He was fine for a week and it prolapsed again after they removed stitches. We took him to Avian and Exotic Animsls Center and they repaired his cloaca again. And again it prolapsed after a few days. They also did a blood work and a DNA test. The test didn’t show any gross abnormalities. The next step they said would be to take him back to AMC for a CT scan. We opted out of it, not wanting to expose him to a general anesthesia since they said it would be close to impossible to have a successful surgery on a bird of his age. That was a month ago. We are taking care of him, clean him and pushing lightly with a q- tip on his prolapse help him to poop. He eats and drinks and besides having trouble with elimination is doing okay. What do you suggest? What might be the problem with him? It looks like his muscles are not strong enough to push it out.
Thanks a lot!

[Dragonlady2]

Welcome to the forum! Wow, what a dilemma. What are the vets giving as options if you do not do the ct scan?

[Kiwi]

Basically, they suggest going for all kind of testing just to find out, hopefully, what’s wrong with him. And it costs a lot of money, of course! As far as the testament is concerned, they are saying that 90% chance that he will not survive the surgery, anyway!

[Kiwi]

Basically, they suggest going for all kind of testing just to find out, hopefully, what’s wrong with him. And it costs a lot of money, of course! As far as the treatment is concerned, they are saying that 90% chance that he will not survive the surgery, anyway!

[Dragonlady2]

Do they have an opinion regarding not doing anything? Is the bird in pain? Prognosis?

[Kiwi]

Only what I wrote already, cT test, another $800 and not much hope for cure

[Kiwi]

Surgery on such small elderly parrot most of the time is unsuccessful. I am just trying to do what I can and hope that owners with similar problems can give me some suggestions

[Dragonlady2]

What I meant was....if you do nothing regarding more testing, can your bird survive without pain or discomfort?

[Kiwi]

That’s exactly my question! Doctors don’t say anything, they say that the bird has to be tested first for them to give any prognosis. But the testing will not insure cure...
My question was to the people who experienced similar problems...

[Quakerella]

I wish I could help, never encountered this. I hope someone else can give some suggestions.

[LesliesBabies]

I had a Lovebird with the same and the clinic suggested same. Keep in mind this was a decade ago. I had never heard of such a thing.
He survived the CT which seemed to only complicate matters and stress us all more than anything including the cloacal prolapse itself. He did not survive the surgery.
Physical pain did not seem to be a problem but, he was obviously uncomfortable by his behavioral changes.
I'll be blunt like the AV was. You can expect this routine for the next several years. Are you AND the bird willing to live this way? Can you afford the specialty foods and drugs? This will come up, again. Does your bird totally trust you? Unfortunately, this becomes a technical question as much as or more than an emotional one. The AV took my responses and divided or doubled them.

[LesliesBabies]

Several decades ago, my older female lovie was consistently eggbound. I chose to take her off Lupron. She laid resulting in vent prolapse which is the same thing. She was placed on strong antibiotics and a cloacal gel.
She survived the XRAYS, scan and stitches but not the eventual surgery.
Discuss alternatives to surgery with your AV! More importantly, get a second opinion elsewhere. The cost will be high, but hopefully not prohibitive.
I'm sorry you're dealing with this, too. Please consider the effects on the bird as well. Good luck and best wishes to you all.

[LesliesBabies]

My " he" was a female named George. This happened 17 years ago. Avian medicine has improved much since then!
You, no doubt, will have options unavailable to me back then.
I had three basic options:
1. Surgery which few birds that age and size survived;
2. Euthanasia;
3. Continuation of the same in- home treatment.