Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi All, Today my 5 year old male Golden Retriever Johnny had his right forelimb amputated. After nearly 6 months from the onset of very mild and very intermittent lameness, severe muscle atrophy and after testing positive for and recovering from: lyme, mega esophagus which led to aspiration pneumonia, myastenia gravis and hypothyroidism Johnny was finally well enough to undergo anesthesia for an MRI. Diagnosis: Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor in the brachial plexus - specifically an approx 3.5 cm tumor on nerve shooting up towards T1 and C7 of the spine. Upon the 4th opinion I received last Friday I decided to go ahead with full amputation of his right front leg. That amputation occurred this morning and I was able to quick peek in on him around 1 pm today. I hope to have him home within a day or two. The MRI findings were correct, the tumor was 3.5 - 4 cm. The surgeon feels he kept away from it, removed 3 cm beyond the tumor and is hopeful for "clear margins". Entire leg and scapula were amputated. I'm praying that pathology comes back with "clear margins" definitively. If not, I will if Johnny is well enough at that time opt for radiation treatment. Is there anyone who has any input or knowledge of NST's? I understand that if I didn't amputate the odds of clean margins were slim to none. What I didn't know until last Friday is that although they are called "slow growing tumors" slow doesn't mean years.... it means within a year. Being that it's likely he has had this for at least 6 months I was told that it could reach his spine within 3 months - 6 months at best. Allowing that would have meant pain, paralysis, no quality of life and ultimately faced with a decision to put him to peace. It was a very difficult decision because I had to rely only on the surgeons and days upon days of research I attempted to do to tell me because through everything in the last 6 months you would have never known there was anything that severely wrong with Johnny. We worked hard to get him through all of the other ailments and diagnosis' and noticed only very minor lameness and not very often. Tonight I'm thankful that my Johnny is able to become a part of the Tripawd Community.
Dee
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I'm sorry to hear about everything Johnny has been through, what a warrior!
We do have some members here with NST experience, you will hear from them shortly I'm sure. If you are looking for general information on what to expect from amputation and recovery you can look through the Required Reading List. We also have several ebooks available to download from the Tripawds Library .
Please let us know if you have any questions, there is lots of experience and support to draw from here.
I hope you get clean margins in the path report!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
And ya' know what? Johnny STILL has no idea anything is "severely; wrong with him, so don't tell him otherwise, okay?
Except for the painful leg, Johnny IS feeling good! A "diagnosis" means nothing to him! He sure doesn't care about statistics, or days on a calendar! Everyday there are dogs blowing statistics out of the water and now you jave given Johnny the chance to do the same!
The most important thing any of us can ever do on this journey is master the art of living in tbe present with no worries about our tomorrows...just like Johnny! We call that BEING MORE DOG!!
For now, just keep things chunked down. Getting to this point is stressful, emotionally and physically exhausting, full of fear and uncertainty and full of a whole lot of crying!! Surgery is done now and Johnny is high as a kite! So try snd catch up on some sleep now! While Johnny's painful leg is gone, it may be a couple of weeks before you can really see the sparkle come back full time. Recovery is no picnic! It is MAJOR SURGERY and it hurts! Getting the pain managed with the proper doses can be a bit trial and error sometimes too.
It took me three weeks before I coukd finally say I did this FOR my Happy Hannah and not TO her! And once her sparkle came back we made every more SPECTACULAR than the one before!!
And btw, Karen, whose response is above, was owned by Stubborn Pug Mzggie. "Statistics" only gave Maggie several months. Stubborn Pug Mzggie didn't listen! She got another FOUR YEARS of oving and spoiling and truck rides!! 🙂
Stay connected!! You are not alone! We understand like no others can!
Love and hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Pofi's mom is a great source of information. She will likely chime in as soon as she sees your thread topic. Johnny is clearly a fighter, best wishes for clean margins.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
And so Angel Pofi and Lisa have rounded up another new friend! Lisa and Angel Pofi SAVED me and CharlieBear by not only sharing their journey and knowledge but by leading us here in the first place ( long story). Lisa literally talked with me for 3 1/2 hours last Sunday as my WonderPyr, CharlieBear, may very well have a NST. It is a fairly rare tumor to have but your Johnny doesn't know that! He does not care one whit! CharlieBear is working through a diagnosis and, he, too does not care one whit! The important thing is to Be More Dog , recover well, and contact Lisa because she and Angel Pofi SAVE us with their generous spirits and immense knowledge. I will keep in touch as, again, likely the Bear may have one. (Other than the MRI and exam, did your vets do an EMG?) Hugs and PyrPaws to you both:)
Hi, I have a busy work day today starting very early, but as others have indicated, we went through this - NST in the brachial plexus. Unfortunately for us, the misdiagnosis persisted a very long time - a full year between first clear symptoms and amputation. So the slow growing tumor was baseball sized and had destroyed a lymph node and wrapped around a rib and way, way too close to his spine. The pathology let us know odds were it would return. So I think our circumstance and outcome are different from yours and that is lucky.
I was initially prepared to pursue radiation therapy, but we did not in the end. At the moment I grieve that decision, but also still feel it was right for my boy - he was eleven and a half. He had 9 procedures with general anesthesia in a year as it was - radiation would have meant many, many more in short succession.
We had nearly 6 wonderful months with either no pain or far less pain. He did amazingly as a tripawd. Unfortunately, it came back with a vengeance at 5 and a half months after we suspended Palladia, an oral chemo. It was already lurking there despite a clear CT a few weeks earlier (still don't understand), and it invaded his spine while we were letting an incision heal from a benign growth removal. We lost him on October 27.
I pray you have the good margins we did not. Pofi's tumor was also Grade three - poorly encapusulated and we did not have clean margins in all areas tested.
Let me know what you would like to know. Sending very, very best thoughts for your Johnny - make CERTAIN he comes home with Gabapentin for pain control - was he taking it already prior to surgery?
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
benny55 said
And ya' know what? Johnny STILL has no idea anything is "severely; wrong with him, so don't tell him otherwise, okay?Except for the painful leg, Johnny IS feeling good! A "diagnosis" means nothing to him! He sure doesn't care about statistics, or days on a calendar! Everyday there are dogs blowing statistics out of the water and now you jave given Johnny the chance to do the same!
The most important thing any of us can ever do on this journey is master the art of living in tbe present with no worries about our tomorrows...just like Johnny! We call that BEING MORE DOG!!
For now, just keep things chunked down. Getting to this point is stressful, emotionally and physically exhausting, full of fear and uncertainty and full of a whole lot of crying!! Surgery is done now and Johnny is high as a kite! So try snd catch up on some sleep now! While Johnny's painful leg is gone, it may be a couple of weeks before you can really see the sparkle come back full time. Recovery is no picnic! It is MAJOR SURGERY and it hurts! Getting the pain managed with the proper doses can be a bit trial and error sometimes too.
It took me three weeks before I coukd finally say I did this FOR my Happy Hannah and not TO her! And once her sparkle came back we made every more SPECTACULAR than the one before!!
And btw, Karen, whose response is above, was owned by Stubborn Pug Mzggie. "Statistics" only gave Maggie several months. Stubborn Pug Mzggie didn't listen! She got another FOUR YEARS of oving and spoiling and truck rides!! 🙂
Stay connected!! You are not alone! We understand like no others can!
Love and hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Thank you soooooo much everyone who has responded. I'm still learning this forum and how to respond to everyone. 30 hours after amputation Johnny got to come home.... doc really wasn't sure until he saw how Johnny perked right up when we went to visit him. He walked (hopped) nearly 50 yards to the door. The minute we got home he peed about a gallon - one reason they sent him home - he was just too stubborn to do anything for them! He's always been that way though so they understood. See he's a farm boy and does not like to leave the property. His sister had to accompany him to many doctor visits including when he got neutered! I actually had to contain him to a gated area when we got home since he was right back to his antics. He is alert but shortly after given the tramadol he sleeps a lot! His incision is good, only minimal swelling and I'm making sure he gets his cold presses every few hours. He perked right up at dinner time and as usual backed himself into his bailey chair (for the mega eso and myasthenia gravis) and enjoyed his normal 13 oz. of limited ingredient wet food! I'd love to post his pic but not sure how to yet!
Thanks again everyone for your support!!!!!
hester said
Hi, I have a busy work day today starting very early, but as others have indicated, we went through this - NST in the brachial plexus. Unfortunately for us, the misdiagnosis persisted a very long time - a full year between first clear symptoms and amputation. So the slow growing tumor was baseball sized and had destroyed a lymph node and wrapped around a rib and way, way too close to his spine. The pathology let us know odds were it would return. So I think our circumstance and outcome are different from yours and that is lucky.I was initially prepared to pursue radiation therapy, but we did not in the end. At the moment I grieve that decision, but also still feel it was right for my boy - he was eleven and a half. He had 9 procedures with general anesthesia in a year as it was - radiation would have meant many, many more in short succession.
We had nearly 6 wonderful months with either no pain or far less pain. He did amazingly as a tripawd. Unfortunately, it came back with a vengeance at 5 and a half months after we suspended Palladia, an oral chemo. It was already lurking there despite a clear CT a few weeks earlier (still don't understand), and it invaded his spine while we were letting an incision heal from a benign growth removal. We lost him on October 27.
I pray you have the good margins we did not. Pofi's tumor was also Grade three - poorly encapusulated and we did not have clean margins in all areas tested.
Let me know what you would like to know. Sending very, very best thoughts for your Johnny - make CERTAIN he comes home with Gabapentin for pain control - was he taking it already prior to surgery?
hester said
Hi, I have a busy work day today starting very early, but as others have indicated, we went through this - NST in the brachial plexus. Unfortunately for us, the misdiagnosis persisted a very long time - a full year between first clear symptoms and amputation. So the slow growing tumor was baseball sized and had destroyed a lymph node and wrapped around a rib and way, way too close to his spine. The pathology let us know odds were it would return. So I think our circumstance and outcome are different from yours and that is lucky.I was initially prepared to pursue radiation therapy, but we did not in the end. At the moment I grieve that decision, but also still feel it was right for my boy - he was eleven and a half. He had 9 procedures with general anesthesia in a year as it was - radiation would have meant many, many more in short succession.
We had nearly 6 wonderful months with either no pain or far less pain. He did amazingly as a tripawd. Unfortunately, it came back with a vengeance at 5 and a half months after we suspended Palladia, an oral chemo. It was already lurking there despite a clear CT a few weeks earlier (still don't understand), and it invaded his spine while we were letting an incision heal from a benign growth removal. We lost him on October 27.
I pray you have the good margins we did not. Pofi's tumor was also Grade three - poorly encapusulated and we did not have clean margins in all areas tested.
Let me know what you would like to know. Sending very, very best thoughts for your Johnny - make CERTAIN he comes home with Gabapentin for pain control - was he taking it already prior to surgery?
hester said
Hi, I have a busy work day today starting very early, but as others have indicated, we went through this - NST in the brachial plexus. Unfortunately for us, the misdiagnosis persisted a very long time - a full year between first clear symptoms and amputation. So the slow growing tumor was baseball sized and had destroyed a lymph node and wrapped around a rib and way, way too close to his spine. The pathology let us know odds were it would return. So I think our circumstance and outcome are different from yours and that is lucky.I was initially prepared to pursue radiation therapy, but we did not in the end. At the moment I grieve that decision, but also still feel it was right for my boy - he was eleven and a half. He had 9 procedures with general anesthesia in a year as it was - radiation would have meant many, many more in short succession.
We had nearly 6 wonderful months with either no pain or far less pain. He did amazingly as a tripawd. Unfortunately, it came back with a vengeance at 5 and a half months after we suspended Palladia, an oral chemo. It was already lurking there despite a clear CT a few weeks earlier (still don't understand), and it invaded his spine while we were letting an incision heal from a benign growth removal. We lost him on October 27.
I pray you have the good margins we did not. Pofi's tumor was also Grade three - poorly encapusulated and we did not have clean margins in all areas tested.
Let me know what you would like to know. Sending very, very best thoughts for your Johnny - make CERTAIN he comes home with Gabapentin for pain control - was he taking it already prior to surgery?
Oh my I'm so sorry to hear the loss of your Pofi! I absolutely understand that you wouldn't want to put an older pup through radiation though. You did what was right for him. I'm happy you got those six great months following with him. Ironically, October 27th is the day I had Johnny's blood work done and another set of chest xrays to see if he was okay enough to undergo anesthesia for the determining MRI the next day October 28th. Yes he was on gab prior to surgery and continues as we're home. Prior to the NST diagnosis he had battled lyme, mega esophagus which led to aspiration pneumonia, myastenia gravis and hypothyroid. He still has all of those but is completely regulated on his meds and special feeding chair. Thank you for your kind words and support! 
charliebear said
And so Angel Pofi and Lisa have rounded up another new friend! Lisa and Angel Pofi SAVED me and CharlieBear by not only sharing their journey and knowledge but by leading us here in the first place ( long story). Lisa literally talked with me for 3 1/2 hours last Sunday as my WonderPyr, CharlieBear, may very well have a NST. It is a fairly rare tumor to have but your Johnny doesn't know that! He does not care one whit! CharlieBear is working through a diagnosis and, he, too does not care one whit! The important thing is to Be More Dog , recover well, and contact Lisa because she and Angel Pofi SAVE us with their generous spirits and immense knowledge. I will keep in touch as, again, likely the Bear may have one. (Other than the MRI and exam, did your vets do an EMG?) Hugs and PyrPaws to you both:)
omg i'm so overwhelmed by the support, true caring and knowledge i've gained through joining this just yesterday. your baby charliebear is adorable and way too young (if that's a current pic). yes during the mri they did do an emg. the reason i didn't choose to use them for the surgery is because the surgeon seemed very cut and dry stating.... "in 72% of cases it reoccurs and the prognosis is poor - 1 year" I was not okay with this answer so I had two other radiologists read the mri, met with multiple surgeons and finally met with one from VRC in Malvern Pa that just felt right. he coupled my consult appt with the radiation oncologist so i could get the whole story.... whole outlook..... my options if amputation doesn't bring clear margins.... so i went with him! today johnny is home just 30 hours after amputation. the beauty of animals and their resiliency. not sure where you are located but i would love to see if johnny's surgeon could recommend a surgeon in your area. ps i've always secretly wanted a great pyr but don't tell my goldens, labies, pitties and chi that!
otisandtess said
Pofi's mom is a great source of information. She will likely chime in as soon as she sees your thread topic. Johnny is clearly a fighter, best wishes for clean margins.
Thank you for your kind words. Your pups are together and as my son says "they didn't die Mommy... they just moved to Heaven, duh". Wish I had more of his way of thinking. Wishing you peace!
WELCOME HOME FARM BOY JOHNNY!!!! Sounds like you are handling the first 30 hrs like a Champ!!
Now there may be a vit of a crash in a day or two as all of the hospital pain meds get out of his system. Just potty breaks and rest for now.
He's eating and peeing and that's good news!! 🙂 🙂 He may not poop for a few days. Let us know when he does! We celebrate anything around here!!
You're doing a great job!!!
Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Wowee zowee! Congrats on coming through with flying paws! He sounds like a very smart boy who manages quite well, thank you very much! CharlieBear is a farm dog as well and hates to leave his ponies, etc. so good that Johnny got to come home ( the Bear won't pee in a run either...)As wonderful as Johnny is recovering, one thing I would suggest is that he may be a bit high on his meds at this point: 50 yards is maybe too long right out of the gate. Slow down, Johnny, you got years ahead of you to race around again! PyrPaws and happy hugs to all of you,
And, CharlieBear would love to move to any state with SNOW! He finds it terribly embarrassing to live in Georgia...thank you for your offer. You are a fantastic advocate for your Johnny!!! Getting second and third opinions and having everyone in the room together is critical: there are some gruff surgeons and it is tough when that is what you have in front of you. Luckily, we are at UGA Vet School ( one reason we CAN'T leave Georgia!) CharlieBear thanks you for recognizing his youthful appearance ( that picture was taken at his groomers who always manages to make him look like one gigantic puppy). He is now 8 and has survived an infiltrative lipoma ( also a rare localized cancer) but now we are likely seeing a NST. Oddly, his EMG came back completely normal as did his CT and MRI : EXCEPT for his infiltrative lipoma growing back. We are soooooooooo happy to hear that Johnny is home and that he is right back to doing all things Johnny! We will keep in touch! Woofles all around ( one thing Pyrs do is bark all night so Da Bear sends his loud nighttime woofles to Johnny!)
So glad he is home and peeing! Charliebear is right however. Right now, short leashed potty breaks are best. And lots of sleep! He has a lot of hospital meds in his system for the next day or so, but those will wear off. Hopping on 3 legs is hard work. He has to use a lot of muscles in very different ways. Once his staples come out, about day 10, you can give him more freedom.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
I am so delighted Johnny is home and doing so well! Looking forward to hearing about his progress. As others have said, do try to keep him from overdoing things!
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
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