"George"
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Georgetown, SC
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07/20/2012
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juvenile
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23.93 kg (53 lb.)
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The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources transported a critically injured loggerhead to our Sea Turtle Hospital on the evening of July 20th, 2012. This 53-pound loggerhead was the victim of a boat strike to the head which sheared off a large portion of the nares and fractured the upper and lower jaws, the top of the skull, and the margin of the shell on the left side. In addition, this juvenile we've named George is suffering from a dislocated radius in the wrist region of the left front flipper. The attached x-ray shows the various bone fractures, and also shows the tube we inserted into the trachea to allow George to breathe when s/he arrived at our hospital.
George arrived struggling to breathe due to the injury to the jaws and nares. Fluid and blood clots were clogging her airway, and shortly after s/he arrived we noticed she was no longer breathing. Close to death due to pulmonary edema and the resulting build-up of fluid in the lungs, our veterinarian immediately inserted a trachea tube. For several hours, we helped drain copious amounts of foam and fluid from George's lungs (see picture). Our vet's quick reaction to this unique situation saved this loggerhead's life. George was started on two injectable antibiotics and her exposed wounds were flushed and treated with topical antibiotics. Prognosis is very guarded.
29 July 2012: Amazingly, George is still with us. She spent two days sedated and dry-docked on foam in our surgery suite before being moved to a tank of filtered water. The water has helped clear the passageways in her nose, and she is capable of lifting her head well out of the water to breathe. Although we were worried about neurological damage resulting from the g-force associated with the boat strike, a problem we've often seen in turtles hit by boats in the head, George quickly learned to navigate the boundaries of her tank in both directions and now typically rests on the bottom, keeping her sensitive nose away from the walls. This loggerhead has a very long recovery process ahead of her.
13 August 2012: Our vet surgically inserted a feeding tube into George's esophagus on the 2nd to permit twice weekly tube-feeding. We are still seeing a fair amount of crab shell hash in her intestines via x-ray (it's prey eaten pre-boat strike), which means her GI tract is basically shut down and food is not moving through it properly. However, we do expect this issue to resolve itself over the next couple of weeks as George continues to recover. On a positive note, granulation tissue has formed over her damaged nares, and George is breathing well.
28 August 2012: Check out the comparison picture - George's nose has begun to heal! He is responding well to tube-feeding, and has passed most of the crab shell hash from his GI tract. We still have many concerns about the long-term viability of this turtle, however. Only time will tell if he has permanent neurological damage, if his jaw will heal well enough to allow him to eat hard-shelled prey, and if the dislocated bone in his front flipper will heal properly.
3 September 2012: Thanks to the staff at Charleston Veterinary Referral Center in West Ashley, George was one of three turtles to receive a complimentary CT scan last Wednesday. This scan will greatly assist our vet in visualizing and treating the fractured upper and lower jaw.
7 September 2012: Sadly, George passed away today. Necropsy results are pending. Thanks to all who came to visit George in our hospital.
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Photo thanks to Barbara Bergwerf
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