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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.

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another leg down
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Member Since:
13 March 2009
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13 March 2009 - 7:15 pm
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Hello!

My dog had a front leg amputated one week ago due to osteosarcoma and after browsing the forums here a few times I decided to register. I've found a lot of great tips, such as the Ruffwear harness recommendation–thank you!

He is recovering nicely, but developed a fair amount of edema–not at all unexpected, given the amount of dead space and disrupted lymphatics left after a surgery like this! So I reviewed my notes from orthopedics class (I'm a veterinary student).  We were taught that one of the best ways to manage post-surgical edema is massage–starting at the outermost area of edema and moving away, then gradually starting the massage closer to the surgical site every day as the edema diminishes. I can't say for sure that it is due to the 3 or 4 daily massages I've been giving him, but the edema is going away fairly quickly. (Disclaimer: I am not yet a licensed DVM, do not attempt any treatments without consulting your veterinarian!)

I did a quick Google to see if I could find any more info on the subject and found this article, which basically says that a study in humans found massage to be as good as morphine for relieving pain and anxiety after surgery: http://www.busi.....eek.com/li.....e+medicine

It's hard not to feel helpless at a time like this–whether or not it reduces edema, my dog definitely enjoys these massages and it lets me feel like I'm doing something for him.

So, thanks for everything, and give the article a read if you have time!

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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13 March 2009 - 8:26 pm
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Thanks for joining the discussion, and many thanks for the massage tips! I know Jerry loved the massages we gave him. When we took him to get accupunture for ACL pain, the practioner told us to use castor oil when we massaged his knee. I envisioned something totally different though, when reading the article you linked to about the "mayo massage program" ... Winker

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