Upcoming surgery

Tomorrow morning, Maia goes in for surgery.

She keeps getting huge cysts on her elbows. She had one removed from each elbow a few years ago - 2003 and 2004, I think. My vet worried they were hygromas, growths that involve the joint capsule and are very difficult to surgically remove. Each time, it was a cyst that didn't involve the joint itself. Whew.

Unfortunately, they come back all these years later. Maia had another one removed from her right elbow last fall, same place as before. Now there's a second one on her left elbow.

They grow fast. What appears as a normal callous that has been there for months suddenly grows and fills with fluid, often rupturing and oozing as this one did a week ago. One theory is that they're caused by sleeping on hard surfaces. Yes, Maia prefers to sleep on the floor, avoiding any beds or soft surfaces. But Meadow's the same way, and doesn't get these. I think Maia has some genetic quirk that allows these cysts to form.


Mostly, they don't bother her. Until they suddenly swell and burst; then they worry her. There's no predicting when that will happen.

Maia quickly recovered from each of the previous three surgeries, so even though she's now ten, I'm confident she'll do well this time, too. Her blood work last week showed she's in great overall health.

In fact, the hardest part of the whole process is keeping her from chewing out sutures, or licking the shaved area where they insert the IV line in her other foreleg. Sadly, she'll have to wear the Cone of Shame (Elizabethan collar) for a few days. Since I no longer work from home, I can't constantly monitor her as I was able to do before. She will not be a happy camper. But it'll be worth it.