Blue Ridge Wildlife Center Patient of the Week: Osprey

This handsome Osprey came to us after being found down with a hole in his neck and bleeding from a wound at his hind end. On exam, the hole was, in fact, a hole right into his esophagus.

This is called a crop rupture and is not an uncommon occurrence to birds that have trauma following a big meal.

The crop is a distension of the lower esophagus in birds that stores food before being digested.

When forceful trauma occurs, such as a vehicle collision or puncture into that area, the full crop can rupture, creating a hole.

This injury creates its own unique set of challenges for stabilization and patient care.

We are limited to using wound dressings that will not harm the gastrointestinal tract or risk becoming ingested.

We also cannot administer oral medications, nor can we offer food for them to eat.

This Osprey was immediately started on injectable fluids, vitamin supplements, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and strong pain medications.

Manuka honey was placed within and around the crop rupture until the patient was stable.

Once stabilized, our veterinary team to took this patient to surgery.

A feeding tube was placed in order to attend to his nutritional needs while recovering (you can imagine how painful it would be to eat after a throat surgery!).

The wound was fully cleaned and then the esophagus itself had to be sutured closed, followed by another set of stitches to close the skin wound.

His other wounds were cleaned and appropriate bandages were placed. Luckily, he recovered well from surgery!

This critical patient has a guarded prognosis, but our team is doing their best to manage his injuries and provide proper care as he heals from this trauma.

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