TRIPAWDS: Home to 22974 Members and 2152 Blogs.
HOME » NEWS » BLOGS » FORUMS » CHAT » YOUR PRIVACY » RANDOM BLOG

Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.

JUMP TO FORUMS

Join The Tripawds Community

Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:

Instant post approval.

Private messages to members.

Subscribe to favorite topics.

Live Chat and much more!

Please consider registering
Guest
Search
Forum Scope


Match



Forum Options



Minimum search word length is 3 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters
Register Lost password?
sp_Feed sp_PrintTopic sp_TopicIcon-c
Day 5 Post Op and HUGE bruise, Pic attached.
sp_NewTopic Add Topic

Member Since:
7 November 2016
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
1
14 November 2016 - 7:27 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

Hello everyone!

First of all, I am so grateful for this community. Everyone is amazing! Just to give some background: Bailey my 18 month old black lab/chow/shepherd mix was diagnosed with a grade four patella luxation. She has had it since we got her in July of 2015 when she was just 6 six weeks. She is the sweet, happiest and most playful pup in the world! Anyway, we took her to many (MANY) doctors throughout her life as she got older and we realized her would walk on that leg less and less kind of like limping about 80% of the time. It was really sad and every doctor told us that amputation was the best option. Her femur was bent, her knee cap has never been in placement and . It took us a long time to accept this decision but it really want the best for Bailey. A good side is that she doesn't really have to leran how to walk on three legs since she was been limping for quite a while 🙂 She is eating, peeing, pooping all normally now.

Anyway, shes 5-6 days post opp and her bruising is terrible! It is so sad. We are doing ice therapy and she is on Rimadyl  (50mg) every 12 hours, gabapentin (300 mg every six horus), and tramadol (1 1/4 pill of 100mg every 6 hours). My questions are below:

Has anyone else experienced bruising like this? (pictured)

http://baileysj...../img_5099/

http://baileysj...../img_5096/

It seems she has hit a wall-she was happy a couple days after surgery and now day 5/6 and she is very lethargic/sad/laying around?

Livermore, CA




Member Since:
18 October 2009
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
2
14 November 2016 - 8:23 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_EditHistory sp_QuotePost

Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.

That is some spectacular bruising!  Have you shown the pics to your vet?  The incision looks good and there doesn't seem to be a lot of swelling.  My feeling is that Bailey is an over-achiever at bruise color! 

It is not unusual for a pup to 'crash' in the 3 to 5 day range after surgery, we see it often.  Even though she has been limping on that leg most of her life her gait is still different and her balance is different without the leg. And she just went through a major surgery!  For most the first 2 to 3 weeks are full of ups and downs.  We often see here that the youngsters tend to bounce back quicker.

She is probably not sad, just drugged and tired from getting around on three and her body is recovering.  Rest and laying around is what she needs most right now, only short leashed potty breaks until the stitches come out. 

You might look though The Required Reading List for links to info on amputation and recovery. 

I'd love to see some pictures of the other end of Bailey!

Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls

p.s. I moved your post here to Beyond Cancer since Bailey's amp is not due to cancer (yay!)

Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.

1999 to 2010

 

              Maggie's Story                  Amputation and Chemo

Michigan
Member Since:
2 April 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
3
14 November 2016 - 8:38 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

Yep, great color!  One thing about bruising is that it tends to go to the lowest point.  So, as Bailey was laying down, the bruising was seeping lower into her belly area.  Eventually her body will reabsorb all that extra blood that's under the skin, it just will take some time.

And the crash does sound pretty normal, too.  The anesthesia from the surgery is all out of her system now.  And laying around is pretty much all she's supposed to do right now anyways.  Sleep and potty breaks are about it for the first couple of weeks.  Rest is healing smiley

Donna

Donna, Glenn & Murphy 

Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17  
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs

Donna.png

Los Angeles, CA
Member Since:
13 June 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
4
14 November 2016 - 8:54 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

It does sound normal to me. One thing I did was snap a photo of Shelby's amp spot daily to watch for changes in bruising. We did ice (with a towel between the wound and the ice pack) so I don't know if Bailey will tolerate that. But the crash is definitely normal. 

I would agree with Karen ... the books are really helpful as to what to expect moving forward and through this time too!!! HUGS! 

Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.

October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014

Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife

Member Since:
23 June 2016
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
5
19 November 2016 - 4:22 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

Novak's bruising was pretty much like that, going up to the belly everywhere, it was not that purple, but pigmentation is different so. Icing help a lot and between day 3 to day 5, it was very different. Better to check with the vet, always, to make sure.

London, UK


Member Since:
15 December 2015
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
6
21 November 2016 - 12:02 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

Ditto the others. Both the bruising and the 5 day post op crash sound very normal. I'm just seeing this now, but it's a while since you posted. How is Bailey doing? Does she seem happier?

Meg, Clare and Elsie Pie xxx

Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, 23 November 2023, adopted 12 January 2024.

Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...

The Amazing Adventures of Ruby Tuesday 

My Life as a Megastar

Forum Timezone: America/Denver
Most Users Ever Online: 946
Currently Online: benny55
Guest(s) 268
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 1268
Members: 17740
Moderators: 6
Admins: 3
Forum Stats:
Groups: 4
Forums: 24
Topics: 18610
Posts: 256811
Administrators: admin, jerry, Tripawds
Tripawds is brought to you by Tripawds.
HOME » NEWS » BLOGS » FORUMS » CHAT » YOUR PRIVACY » RANDOM BLOG