Reptile & Amphibian Forums

NBC4 (San Diego, California) 04 October 06 Paralyzed Lizard Breaks Medical Ground
Video and Photos at URL below
San Diego: A paralyzed lizard got some help from a powerful medical tool, which may have been used for the first time this week on a reptile from this area.
Argie is a 5-foot-long monitor lizard suffering from paralysis in his front legs, and on Wednesday, he underwent an MRI. The procedure was done at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Sorrento Valley.
Argie, who is about 10 years old, belongs to a local company that uses animals in education programs. The animal suddenly lost the use of his legs last week.
The monitor lizard's owner and vet wanted to get a good look at his spinal cord to see if surgery would help, so they scheduled the MRI. The procedure normally costs about $2,000, but the hospital donated the costs.
The staff at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital said performing the procedure for Argie was a great learning experience for them.
MRIs have become relatively common for dogs and cats, but they are quite rare for lizards.
"This type of technology is just starting to be used in reptiles," said veterinarian Thomas Beyer. "It has been done in, maybe, a handful of cases around the world, but there's not really a better way to visualize the spinal cord in reptiles."
Hospital officials said the MRI did not find anything that was obviously causing Argie's paralysis, so they plan on putting Argie on medication for a week, and if that does not help, they may try surgery.
Paralyzed Lizard Breaks Medical Ground

I heard he passed away after coming out of anesthesia. He had fluid around his heart and his spine was autofusing for some reason. that's too bad.