Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives

My girl is a young in spirit 13ish Heinz 57 beagle/basenji/husky-ish mix, 27 lbs, with bad tumors on her front left leg. Soft tissue sarcoma was the initial diagnosis, but her biopsy came back atypical and they think it may be a combo of cancers -- maybe STS + mast cell -- or just a rare presentation (still TBD).

In spite of lung mets I'm reconsidering amputation because her tumors are 'weeping' and she has to stay bandaged and get them changed frequently. She needs to be sedated for the re-bandaging process, and she still has some pain in her leg even with the good meds. She did short-cycle radiation and did well under general anesthesia for her age, and her most recent blood work was very good. 

I've read Jerry's wonderful required reading list and combed through this forum and a lot of threads and some blogs, and I'm curious about your experience with the following: (feel free to respond to any or all as you wish)

1. Obviously every dog and situation is different, but how long did you feel that you needed someone at home during the day with your older dog post op? How long was it before you felt okay about leaving your Tripawd alone for multiple hours? How long did you take off work?

2. Did any of you drop your dog off in the a.m. and take your dog home the same night as the surgery? (There is a an excellent low-cost surgery-only clinic two hours away we're considering, but they don't keep dogs overnight.)

3. Anyone have a dog who had been on high doses of Tramadol already pre-op? Lexie's been fine on her Tramadol but I've heard that it can have some weird side effects post-op...wondering if already having been on the Tram is a good thing.

4. Anyone have a dog with loose skin pre-amp? (Lexie has lost some weight due to radiation and oral chemo which the vet says is normal, but I'm wondering if that might affect her recovery/outcome. Since she also has pancreatitis I can't give her high-fat food, but I'm starting to do 3 meals daily.)

5. Now that you've been through it, is there anything that you wish you had known in hindsight? Or done differently either preparing for the surgery, questions you wished you had asked your doc about, things you wish you had done in prep for post-op recovery period, rehab, etc.?  

6. Was there anything in particular you did to help with post-op recovery and the transition to Tripawd life that you were especially happy about? (In addition to coming here and learning so much and getting so much great support! ) 

Btw, if anyone wants to see some pics of Lexie, they're viewable via this <a href="