megstamum said
I'm afraid I just don't know enough to be able to interpret. Purely based on my own experience (my Meg suffered an explosive fracture of her elbow), one thing that strikes me is that as this fracture does not involve a joint, I would have thought the prognosis would be better both in terms of ease of repair and long term complications such as arthritis (but I am absolutely NOT an expert). The other thing is that as the break is below the elbow, based again on my limited understanding, I would think a prothesis MIGHT be an option (you need two working joints, you've got them) and if you do decide to go the amputation route then this is something that needs to be decided before surgery, as it affects how they amputate. If you possibly can, I would try and see a board certified orthopaedic surgeon, but I realise this may not be an option.

Good luck with it all. Keep posting. You have come to the best place for advice and support, and we really do understand what a terribly stressful and upsetting time this is.

Big hug,

Meg, Clare and Elsie Pie xxx  

Thanks for the warm welcome, for clarification I personally did not see an orthopedic surgeon but asked my vet to consult one by sending xrays, etc.  After that conversation they shared with me was $5,000 minimum to start surgery approach and no guarantees, of success, mentioning plates, rods, pins, etc.  I asked about prosthetics and they said yes it's an emerging field but not well established yet, especially here in GA.  Probably a couple years they'll be able to print out a new leg from a 3d printer *sigh*

jerry said
As you know we aren't vets so there's only so much we can interpret. I tend to agree with Clare's insight, that a clean break like this would be easier to fix. But yeah, it's not cheap and unfortunately we've seen many folks spend lots of money to save the leg, only to have to resort to amputation later on when the fix didn't take. It's a gamble and if the cost is in your budget, then many people would say it's worth the chance. But so much of the situation lies in the hands of the surgeon who's doing it, so unless you know for certain that your surgeon is awesome, it's chancey.

When it comes to amputation, the most current thinking is to save as much of the leg as possible so that a prosthesis is an option later on down the road. In fact tomorrow's News blog post is all about prosthetics . These devices are new and definitely a time and money commitment, but when they work they are amazing and awesome and restore a dog to almost 100% on four legs. When they are poorly made they are a disaster. And if a prosthesis doesn't work out, or the remaining stump doesn't heal properly, sometimes an "amputation correction" will be done via a second surgery to remove the extra bone. 

Amputation will get rid of the pain, and it will guarantee that you don't have these extra issues to deal with. What it will do however is bring certain factors into her life that wouldn't have been there before, such as extra weight on one front leg, and a compromised gait and stance that will eventually make her more prone to arthritis at an earlier age. The vast majority of people we've surveyed here still say that amputation was worth it. 

As you can see there are no guarantees or easy answers. Follow your gut instinct and you can't go wrong.  

Thanks for that advice, I spent 3 hours chatting with a UK vet friend last night and she likened our vet care to that of a 3rd world country before it was all over and had me wishing I had the money to hop a plane.  

I wish I lived in an area with more resources, I wish I had more financial resources .  But my gut is telling me now that the poor dog has been walking with jello leg for 4 days now without any kind of support and it's time to do something and not drag things out any longer chasing other options.  UK friend outraged that she didn't have any kind of bandage or wrap, didn't help my confidence much. They're going to do the full amputation -I asked about prosthetics and it's just still too new I guess to have made it into rural GA as a viable option. We do have University of GA, it's about 2 hours away, would it be bad to postpone another day and see what I could find out from them I wonder?

Also over course of last couple days had 2 orthopedic surgeons look at x-rays(not the dog), and neither were encouraging, whether they were lazy or pessimistic or giving me a well qualified medical opinion I won't know, but feeling kind of in the corner now, no one outside of this board, the bus driver where I work or the UK vet has given me hope or encouragement to try something else in a chorus line of amputate amputate amputate.  I also stopped at another vet on way home from work yesterday to show them the pictures, yet another "well you could pursue surgery, spend a lot of money, no guarantees, extending the pain for her, amputation probably your best choice",  

I'm supposed to drop her off at the vet in 2 hours unless I do a quick call in to work, drive past the vets office and drive where.... the only other orthopedic doctor within 2 hours that we didn't talk to because he is out of office?  If I ask the vet for another day to consult a 3rd surgeon, then we have how many more days of her limping around on 3 legs waiting for a rescheduled surgery *sigh*.  I guess I'm settling, do I think this is the best move, maybe not - but do I have better moves available, not that I can see.  *sigh*, heavy heart but if anyone here where I live had so much as given me a straw to grasp onto I would have.  I guess my main reservation is I keep hearing "oh they do great on 3 legs", from the doctors, which makes me wonder ok are we just grabbing that option because it's most conventional and "they do great", or is it because it's really the best one.

But it's harder than I thought as I lay here with her curled up next to me, still wondering if I should jump for something else and not play it safe for a change.  

Anyway thanks for the advice all

Thanks Tina, Meg and Charliebear, wish I had an extra day and might take a day to brave the weather to make the trip to UGA, but already dropped her off this morning and praying I'm making the right decision.  If not then she will be a casualty of small town dog with owner with limited finances, times like this I hate being a social worker and living in rural area,most of the time I love it.  

Anyway pushing the panic aside now that she is probably already in surgery and working on changing to a positive mindset, long term complication risks aside know she will be happier not lugging around the jelly leg.  I appreciate the validation that there is no clear right answer that will present itself, and that's what I wanted - I caught a glimpse of it last night but from a country away so just putting my trust into the competency of the vet I have here and taking solace that even if the surgery would have worked and the leg would have been saved, which I'll never know, it's not significantly harming her to take the amputation route.  And now going to start engaging in some retail therapy to prep for her homecoming.  

So glad we found this board 🙂  Have a good day all, and anyone in SE US stay safe.

Joy & Ginger