Amputation: 7of july

[vicky costa]

hi everyone ~ thanks for taking the time to read this and for any suggestions you can offer. i am the proud owner of 2 beautiful sweet and wonderful pyrenees/st.bernard sisters that we adopted from the l&c humane society 3 years ago as pups. (couldnt choose, so took them both!!!) this past friday, bella apparentley chewed thru the wood fence (freaked by continuing fireworks) and her sister lucce (loochay) was hit by a car. we took her to the vet and she has a broken left foot (just above the joint) but Dr. Steve is afraid that there was also nerve damage and that if this is the case , he feels it best to amputate the leg. i'm having a hard time with this as its the front leg and i understand 70% of the body weight is placed on the front legs.(she's sure having a hard time dragging that cast around, as it it longer with the foot extended.) has anyone had similar instances, or do you ahve any suggestions as to a brace, peg,cart.....we live in the mountains and theres not alot of flat land and we have many steps both inside and out. i'm praying it will heal and she will regain full use, but i need to be well informed before the cast comes off... just in case. thank you all for any ideas (nothing is too crazy!!!) vicky (we also have 5 cats, our last rescue is a 9 year old chinchilla persian nobody wanted because she only has 3 legs. she gets along just fine.)

[critters]

As you know, tripods usually do well, BUT nerves DO heal as well. It may take weeks or months, but your baby could well be good as new eventually. In the meantime, a splint can hold things in the position of function and allow normal, or near-normal, mobility. This isn't typically done, so it's not unusual to get some heat from the vets if you decide to try it.


http://www.handicappedpets.com/splints/

[Cindidoxiemom]

I agree 100% with Critters....take a deep breath and give her time to heal. I have a paralyzed dachshund who is regaining movement in his back legs after 8 months...so time ..time ..time.
Cindi

[LisainCAN]

I am not a vet and just sharing my personal experience, but I would not be so quick to amputate.

I have a German Shepherd named Emma whose front right leg was broken in 5 places by a puppy miller when she was only a few days old. Unfortuantely, it was allowed to set like that and through a long chain of events I adopted her at 5 months of age. At that point, her paw was twisted 180 degrees around and her radius and ulna were bowed to a nearly 90 degree angle. It looked and was bad.

We ignored those who told us either to euthanize (as if) or to amputate. We figured that her life was not in danger from her leg, so why not try to fix it? That is exactly what we did. We brought her to a private animal hospital.

It took three surgeons about 5 hours to rotate the bones into place after rebreaking them so that they could put a plate and screws. She had a cast for months after and tolerated cast changes, frequent re-xraying, and a bone infection.

When she had healed, her leg was a little crooked and a little shorter, but fully functional. In fact, the first surgery had gone so well that it was decided that a second one, to lengthen the leg, was not really needed.

Now, three years later, Emma digs holes and runs like the wind with my three other dogs. She does have osteoarthritis though in her elbow which I control with Cartrophen but seeing her run and play all these years has been worth it for us, and for her I think. Eventually, if she is in too much pain, we will amputate her leg, but we will never regret the investment. Of course, it was quite costly and we were able to raise a lot of the money, but again, every penny was worth it.

Now, if only we can get her dysplasia taken care of too!

Lisa and Emma.

Here is Emma before her surgery. The leg was actually much worse and she had it in a relatively good position when the photo was taken.

[Cindy Westerdale]

Hi Vicki, Please,don't make a rush decision to amputate. Valo was hit by a car May 28,2006. The vet said he had nerve damage, probably a total nerve avulsion. His right front leg was paralyzed and his foot was knuckled under. I couldn't make a decision like that with my emotions so raw, so I waited. Another vet said to amputate also. Then my chiroparactor suggested that I take him to his vet for acupuncture. He's had 4 txs and has feeling in his paw and leg now. He uses it some when he runs. Still kinda hops when he walks , but she said that she wouldn't amputate it now. Even if he gets no better. We will be getting a splint soon. You can always take it off , but you can't ever put it back on! Nerve injuries can take months to heal.So be patient,diligent with range of motion,and give her lots of love.
Our love and prayers are with you all,
Richard,Cindy,Charlie,Joshua,Jon, and(of course) Valo

[Rita]

Had I known of all your positive experiences with NOT amputating, I wouldn't have been so quick to let my vet take off Jake's leg many years ago.

[Cindy Westerdale]

Hi Rita, Don't feel bad about your decision of years ago. As with human medicine, there are discoveries made every day that push options forward. I'm sure you made the best decision, with the information available then, that you could. I'll bet that Jake has gotten along just fine as a tripod. How empty your life would have been without him! Your life experience with Jake, and all you've encountered and endured, will be of grreat comfort and support to all who must travel down that road. God Bless!!!!

Cindy and Valo