Has anyone ever removed dogs cast/splint

[madison]

My daughter has a 2 year old Tea Cup poodle. We are unsure how but 5 weeks ago she broke her front leg just directly between "knee and ankle" It was a clean break not a fracture with no skin break. She took the dog to an emergency vet where she was treated with a cast that looks more like a wrapped splint. She is doing fine, does not seem in any discomfort.

The problem is the cost to have it removed. My daughter has already spent close to $430 to have the cast put on and one follow up visit for for just a check-up with no xray. She is looking at another $300 bill for follow up visit and really does not have the money.

The Vet would like to sedate the dog, take another xray and remove the cast/splint. My daughter and I feel like at 5 weeks a young dog's bone would surely have heeled fine and there would be very minimal risk in carefully removing cast/splint and carefully reintroduce Madison back to normal walking. She is very manageable and trusting of us.

We have had all kinds of pets all ours lives and are comfortable and confident in caring and treating them. We just have never removed a splint/cast .

Has anyone ever had a similar experience? I would appreciate any advise on whether you feel 5 weeks is long enough and any advise on removing the splint cast.

[Bobbie]

I think the X-ray may be important but could be done without sedation unless your dog goes wild at the vet. I think you could talk to the vet about the financial issue and see if he will do it without sedation- explain you can't afford it. Even with sedation I think $300 is pretty high for that, too, so you might call around and see if you can find someone who doesn't charge as much.

I don't think I'd remove it myself- if the bone is NOT healed, you would now be looking at new surgery to reset it, put on a new cast, and the same cost later to remove the new cast.

[Friend2Dogs]

Several yrs. ago ,my pup broke his leg, he was stepped on. The taking off of the cast was included in the price of setting and casting, I did not have to pay extra to remove. Same with when my son broke his leg, it was all included.

[jazzybaby]

I agree with Bobbie, that if it was me and my dog I would not remove the cast myself. Sometimes it can take longer for the bone to heal and that is why an x-ray should be done. I use to work in a vets office and they would sometime have to recast the leg just to make sure everything healed, because if it has not healed and remove it and something goes wrong you could be looking at even more money. I would talk to the vet about the financial issue, i have never heard of the cast removal being extra. Good luck

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

I agree with all of the above. When it came to my own cast, I removed it ~ well part of it. It was casted too high and I couldn't even go to the bathroom. Hip to toes. Idiots sent me home like that. My son and my AmbrrNanaDog?? NO WAY!

I removed my own because it was casted all wrong. Another that was casted wrong, a hanging cast, I had them recast before I left the hospital.

When it comes to breaks, unless they are your own, err on the side of caution.

When it comes to removing casts, I know how.

[hannahbanana]

hey!! i am in the same situation! my dog broke her toes and i have had to bring her in every week to get a new cast put on! we are on our sixth and final week now! and after spending over $1000 i can not afford to spend another $300 to have her cast removed and new X-rays! did you end up taking the cast off on your own or did you bring her into the vet? i would love to hear any suggestions

[amandaurisa]

I just brought my border collie home today from a splint removal after 5 weeks without sedation or xrays. My total cost for the initial xrays 2 splint placements (redone at 3,weeks), sedation for initial closed reduction (realignment of both bones right above her ankle)and all the weekly followup visits as well as splint removal was $180. I live in OK and I will tell you people travel a long distance to use my vet for their experience and fees. They recommended a plate done by a specialist because of where the was, but I could not afford the $4000 cost for the surgery in Dallas. They could tell by fell and look whether or not bones were healed well enough. My vet believes in minimum necessary. To remove it, all they did was take bandage scissors and cut vertically down the length of the cast. It sounds like your dogs break is much more stable than mine, but I would still want a professional to look at it even if I refused sedation and xrays.

[critters]

amandaurisa!