Eric has recovered well following lifesaving specialist brain surgery at Wear Referrals in County Durham.
Eric's 'feline Fine' After Expert Wear Team Remove Brain Tumour
2 months ago 
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A 14-year-old tabby cat called Eric is acting like “a kitten again” after having lifesaving brain surgery at a top County Durham animal hospital.
Eric’s remarkable recovery has come after Fabio Stabile, head of neurology at Linnaeus-owned Wear Referrals in Bradbury, and neurology specialist Ana Maria Coelho, operated to successfully remove a large brain tumour.
Eric’s delighted owner Michelle Lee from Stockton-on-Tees said she was hugely grateful to Fabio and the Wear Referrals team for saving her precious pet’s life.
Michelle said: “I know I wouldn’t have Eric with me today without the great work by Fabio and the team at Wear Referrals.
“The whole team at Wear gave Eric so much care and attention and he is doing really well now.
“He actually thinks he is a kitten again and is enjoying running around after his little cat brother!”
Videos and photographs show just how well Eric has recovered since his surgery but Michelle admitted she feared the worst when she first learned he had been diagnosed with a brain tumour.
She added: “About six months ago, Eric started circling around. At first, I didn’t think it was a problem but it got progressively worse, to the point where he was circling so repetitively he was making himself dizzy.
“When I was told it was because of a brain tumour I was in complete shock and very upset at the thought of losing him.
“I was so concerned. I knew Eric was very poorly and I knew that, due to the seriousness of the diagnosis, he might not make it through the operation.
“However, Fabio was very supportive throughout and he was there to answer any questions, which was very reassuring.
“I was confident he would take care of Eric medically but I was also confident Fabio and his team would provide Eric with the comfort and reassurance he needed when I couldn’t be with him during his operation and recovery.”
Fabio, an RCVS and EBVS® European specialist in neurology, is delighted with the success of the surgery and the transformation in Eric’s quality of life but said it was a challenging case.
He explained: “An MRI scan showed Eric had a brain tumour, most likely meningioma, a tumour of the wrapping sheath of the brain.
“It was an extremely large tumour which was also extended ventrally so it would be a challenging surgery because of the significant size of the tumour and its deep location.
“Surgery went well. We successfully performed a partial rostrotentorial craniectomy and debulking of the brain tumour, during which the tumour was removed entirely.
“The result has been terrific. Eric has recovered perfectly, he hasn’t had any more epileptic seizures and he is back to being a happy, normal cat – something he’s not been for a very long time!”
Wear specialises in providing expert multidisciplinary care, including anaesthesia, cardiology, diagnostic imaging, intensive care, internal medicine, neurology, out-of-hours emergency and critical care, oncology, orthopaedics and soft tissue.
For more information of Wear Referrals, visit https://www.wear-referrals.co.uk or search for them on social media.
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