Orthopedic Surgeon Saves Patient from Rare Cat Bite Infection

What began as a small cat bite nearly cost a 76-year-old Bakersfield woman her life — and might have gone unnoticed if not for the sharp eye and decisive action of an Adventist Health orthopedic surgeon who recognized the danger before it was too late.

When Nadia Watson arrived at Adventist Health Bakersfield with a swollen and painful knee, weeks after she was bitten by a stray cat, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Timothy Galan, quickly connected the bite to a rapidly spreading infection attacking her knee replacement and surrounding tissue. His swift diagnosis and surgical intervention uncovered a rare but deadly infection that had progressed to necrotizing fasciitis — a flesh-eating disease that can be fatal without immediate treatment.

As she did every morning, Watson had been feeding stray cats outside her Bakersfield home when one became startled and bit her just below her right knee — the same knee where she had undergone a total knee replacement 18 years earlier. She cleaned the wound with an alcohol wipe and didn’t think twice about it until weeks later, when her leg became red, swollen, and impossible to bend.

“I was on call in the Emergency Department when Nadia was brought in by her daughter,” said Dr. Galan. “When I examined her leg, I noticed a bite mark below her knee and asked about it. She said, ‘That’s from the cat that bit me. You don’t think it’s from the cat, do you?’”

Dr. Galan did — and that recognition proved critical.

“Most people don’t realize that bacteria called Pasteurella multocida, commonly found in the mouths of cats and dogs, can cause severe infections,” he said.

During her initial ED visit on August 12, 2025, Dr. Galan drained Watson’s knee and started antibiotics. When she returned two days later for follow-up, the infection had worsened. Thick fluid was draining from her leg. Dr. Galan immediately sent her back to the hospital and took her to the operating room that night.

“I had to remove the metal and cement from her knee replacement and clean the joint,” he said. “As I was closing the wound, I saw that her skin and soft tissue were dying. She had necrotizing fasciitis.”

The infection had attached itself to the metal implant, spread through her tissue, and was advancing at a terrifying speed.

“I told Nadia and her daughter that we might have to amputate her leg to save her life,” said Dr. Galan. “The bacteria was moving nearly an inch a minute. If we didn’t act immediately, it could have spread to her abdomen, and she would have died.”

That call came in the middle of the night.

“Dr. Galan told me, ‘I have no choice but to remove your mom’s leg,’” said Watson’s daughter, Fran Richards. “I said, ‘OK.’”

Earlier, Dr. Galan had laid out three options: clean and close the leg, remove the knee replacement and insert a spacer, or amputate.

“He asked my mom, ‘If it comes down to your leg or your life, which would you choose?’” Richards said. “My mom said her life.”

Following the amputation, Watson’s condition remained critical. She began bleeding heavily and was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, requiring multiple blood transfusions as her care team worked around the clock.

“We took her back to surgery repeatedly to control the bleeding and remove infected tissue,” said Dr. Galan. “At one point, no other hospitals would accept her because she wasn’t stable enough.”

Dr. Galan assembled a multidisciplinary team, including plastic surgery and infectious disease specialists. Fellow surgeons even gave up operating room time to help stabilize Watson.

“I don’t think Dr. Galan slept,” Richards said. “He built an entire team to save my mom, and that’s what kept her alive.”

After weeks of persistent follow-up, the team secured a transfer to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where Watson underwent additional surgery, a skin graft, and rehabilitation.

When Dr. Galan visited her in November, the outcome was remarkable.

“She doesn’t have a leg and is in a wheelchair, but the wound healed beautifully,” he said. “She survived.”

Watson credits that survival to Dr. Galan’s vigilance and determination.

“I firmly believe Dr. Galan saved my life,” she said. “Any doctor can be skilled, but he cared. He fought for me.”

“I wasn’t ready to die,” Watson said. “I want to see my granddaughters grow up. I want more time with my family.”

“Dr. Galan said my mom was a fighter,” Richards added. “But he fought just as hard for her— and that made all the difference.”

Advancing care, right here at home

Adventist Health is looking forward to more magical stories like this as we expand our orthopedic and other specialty services at the Advanced Care Pavilion in Bakersfield, which will open in the summer of 2026. Stay tuned to learn more.