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Greetings to all, can't tell you how much we appreciate your sharing so much - we have learned a lot already from reading several of your posts.
Our 10 yr old Lab boy, Cooper, was diagnosed with (likely) osteosarcoma (proximal rt humerus). He started limping, out of the blue, on September 21. Following a full set of x-rays, blood work, etc, and consults with an Oncologist and Surgeon, we decided on amputation (to be followed by chemo). Cooper's front right leg (and scapula) was removed last Wednesday, October 26. He spent two nights in hospital, and was sent home on 10/28(Friday afternoon) with stitches and staples (no compression bandages), and Vicodin 10-325 tablets(1 every12 hrs) for pain. We put a t-shirt on him before he left the hospital to protect his incisions, and have changed it daily. It's looking good, and we think that his surgeon, Dr Wolff, did a pretty great job - very minimal bruising, great post-op care in ICU. (We are awaiting histopathology report, even though they did rule out fungal infection prior to amputation).
Our guy is not overweight, just under 35 kg/80 lbs, so we thought he would do well post-op, and he did quickly start to get the hang of re-balancing on his front left leg when he needed to go out and urinate. He was hopping in and out of the house pretty well. He had bowel movements starting the 4th day after surgery.
But.....On Monday evening, he cried when I tried to adjust his t-shirt around his left shoulder, and I discovered that he was having significant pain in and around his scapula. I believe that this is from overuse, maybe a sprain or tendon pull, and I am very upset having to watch him struggle. We had a backend harness that the vet hospital gave us at discharge, and advised that we could help him walk/hop with this. But due to the size and location of his incision, we did not think it would be a good idea to try and use a front harness right away.
The Vicodin is very good at pain control, but has also made him want to drink more water and need to pee more often, thus more trips out to go, more stress on his left front leg. Also, his bowel movements had stopped - he hasn't BM'd since late Sunday evening.
So yesterday I called the surgeon and asked about a med change, and they switched Cooper over to Tramadol (this morning), so we're hoping it will control his pain but reduce his need to urinate so often, and allow him to resume elimination. We also started using a soft under-chest front harness last night, and are now almost literally carrying him outside to relieve himself. (It's about 20 to 30 yards out to the backyard - one small step down). The absolute worst thing about this is hearing him cry out when the stress on his left leg causes a stab of pain.
So if anyone has any helpful suggestions or can point us to a previous forum discussion of another large pup who had this experience, we would be grateful. Thanks to everyone just for being here, and hope that all our pups (and kitties!) do better every day.
Regards, hoppalong
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I'm sorry cancer has brought you here, but glad that Cooper made it though surgery and is (was) doing well.
I'm assuming since you talked with the vet that they also believe it is an overuse injury? Or it could be a tweak in the leg, shoulder or neck.
I would bet that some massage would do some good, here is a link to some blog posts on massage.
All pain meds can cause constipation, but in my personal experience tramadol is not as bad as vicodin. You might try adding some plain pumpkin or a bit of olive oil to his food.
Other members will have some good suggestions for you too.
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
Maggie's Story Amputation and Chemo
Find me now on Tripawds Circle
thanks for your kind words Karen - they aren't assuming it's overuse, but we are treating as such for now. Earlier this evening when I spoke with the hospital intern, she mentioned the possibility of "bilateral" osteosarcoma lesions (I saw the x-rays, including totally clear left humerus). But intern said that sometimes newer lesions are not easily visible in radiographs, so of course, now I am back on the emotional rollercoaster, hoping that I have not put my dearest pup through this major surgery, only to learn that he also has cancer in his left leg!
On an improvement note, the bathroom issue resolved this evening. Yay for smaller victories. And yes, we do serve good canned pumpkin as a regular condiment with every meal!
Hope all your kiddos are doing well, and thanks again for your concern.
Hoppalong & Cooper
Yeah for poop! 
(we love that icon lol)
You have to take what an intern says with a grain of salt - she doesn't have the experience to back it up. So unless it comes from the attending ... and I'm not trying to bash residents, I swear, I work with residents & I love them! But an intern is in their 1st year of their residency after med school. One of the things we try to do here (not always successfully) is we try to "Be More Dog ." Which means we live in the moment and not worry about tomorrow or about things we don't know about. So, for now, treat it like we talked about - assume it's muscle/vertebral strain or tweaked from his new gait. Massage, heat, ice, rest, etc. See what happens.
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
Aww...sorry Cooper is having to deal with this extra hurdle during recovery. This is why we call the recovery so full of ups and downs for abput two to three weeks. Ugh!
Front leggers usually, not always, have a bit harder time handling mobility at first because so much weight is in the remaining front leg. Thus, that remaining leg is wuite susceptible to overuse injuries, as well as neck area. It does sound like maybe Cooper was feeling a bit TOO good the first several days. A lot of dogs are just too miserable to do much of anything. And then Cooper had to make a lot of pee trips on top of that, possibly adding to the overuse.
You've gotten good input from Karen.
Hopefully switching over to Tramadol will hopefully he@p wjth the pain more. Additionally, the added pumlkin (all natural) may help wjth the constipationconstipat. The link to massage...gentle massage...may help too.
When you GENTLY massage his leg, his shoulder, his neck, does he tense up? Does he act as though it hurts when touched? And yi yourur sure the pain js comi g from his remaining leg/shoukder area and NOT the incision are? Phantom pain can cause sudden yelping and comes and goes quickly. It's because the nerves are still firing off signals to a leg that's no longer there. GABAPENTIN is the best pain med for that.
Is he on Rimadyl or a similar anti-inflammatory?
If you have ANY concerns beyond overuse, do not hesitate to make a trip to the Vet. You just want to make sure there isn't a dislocated shoulder, or knee or ligament issue, etc., which is NOT likely, but just for reassurance.
Please keep us in the loop and update when you can. Cooper sounds like quite a determined and strong boy! And his avatar picture is very handsome! We woukd love to see more!!
Hugs to all!
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!
As usual, the length of time it takes to typo, you've gotten some great advice AND we have HAPPY POOP DANCE FOR COOPER!! 🙂
I ABSOLUTELY concur with Donna, take what the Intern or Tech said with a grain of salt!!!! This intern is waaaay off base! And I don't mean that disrespectfully at all!! It's just that I, like many others here, were taken to the edge of the cliff soooo many times when speaking with an Intern, usually always on a weekend or at night when the Surgeon or Onco wasn't available!! I'm certainly no vet, but from what I've seen here, it's very rare that osteo goes from leg to leg.
Hang in there!! With some good meds, strict rest and as little walking to potty as possible, Cooper will get over this hurdle. Oh...just one other thought. No way the sling or harness coukd interfere with the surgery area, shoulder area, etc?
Lots of 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!
oh gosh poor baby! I'm so sorry to hear about this and I'm sure you are very stressed.
I put a heating pad under Chance's blanket and also give him nightly massages. I also increased the pain meds frequency (at doctors orders) to every 6 hours for the Tramadol and every 8 for the gabapentin, staggering when I gave them. That seemed to help.
Don't be too worried! If this is any kind of phantom pain , our surgeon said acupuncture was great for that. For now keep your baby resting quiet and keep the pain meds and hugs and kisses flowing!
thanks again Donna for your wise feedback.
You are right about that intern because I think she was most interested in having us haul him back into the hospital so that they could look at him. And this makes sense, of course, to determine with more confidence what's going on, but right now, I feel like rest and the medication change, massage, ice, etc., are the best thing for the next couple of days at least.
The thing that really threw me was that another intern (intern A), just the previous day, had actually told us (when I inquired) not to put him back on Rimadyl(Carprofen) due to concerns with that drug(?), but just to transition him to the Tramadol yesterday morning. Then Yesterday's intern (intern B)had to call intern A to confab about whether or not to add the Rimadyl. So then (and they were both speaking with the surgeon during all of this), intern B came back on the phone with the "final decision" to go ahead and add Rimadyl after all. Ayyyy! I really do appreciate that this is a teaching facility, and truly the best resource for cancer care in our area, but during Cooper's surgical experience, communication has been a bit trying. So I just remind myself to be patient, not let the stress get to me, and keep in mind that I will the Hospital's help and best support going forward. I have to say though, that I'm looking forward to transitioning his care from the Surgical team to the Oncology group! Less than two weeks now - Nov 15.
ON the positive side, Cooper slept really well and comfortably, less panting, no whining, so it seems that the Rimadyl/Tramadol combination is going to help him, at least for the short term, which is all we can ask. We carried him out in the slings again this morning, and then he hopped along on his own a couple of yards to find his spot. A good sign, I think. He ate a full breakfast, took his meds, and is now sleeping comfortably here by my chair as I type. He has one eye open, watching his cats play-fight down the hall.
Your insights and calm assurance is so helpful during all of this, and we're hanging in.
regards, hoppalong
Thanks also, to Sally, chanceypants and all. I see that we are in very good and compassionate company on this journey.
Cooper says "hey"! and we'll try and post some other photos when we have a few extra minutes. Honestly, I don't know how folks with full time jobs (I'm retired) and kids can do this?!
And even though we are having a hard time watching Cooper go through all of this, we are not doubting our decision to go ahead with surgery and chemo. Every day he has long stretches of contentment and comfortable happiness: watching through the front door- fallen leaves rolling across the front porch, our mailman Ray whistling as he comes down the block, neighbors walking his buddy-dogs. And then there are the cuddles and extra massages. Living in the moment, he has no concern at all about what may or may not come tomorrow. That's our job.
regards, hoppalong
My Otis was also on Rimadyl and Tramadol. Some dogs are also given Gabapentin for phantom pain . Glad the change in mess is helping Cooper!
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.
Tha ks for taking the time to update further. Soooo glad the pain meds seem to help! Sounds like rest a d some good pain management are doing the trick.
From what yiu described, you apARE seei gg some improvement a d yiu *RE seei g some sparkle come back as he enjoys some of his regular routine. And it's still very early!
It did take me abojt three weeks before I was able to say I did this FOR my Happy Hannah and not TO her
Hang in there, you are doing great!! Continue to make everyday the best day ever, with no worries about tomorrow!
Hugs and love!
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!
Sounds like some positive hops forward.
This is not a journey for the faint of heart! The two to three week of recovery is usually full of ups and downs. The stress and lack of sleep starts taking a toll on us- congrats on trying to stay patient!
Hopefully Cooper is on the healing path now.
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
Maggie's Story Amputation and Chemo
Find me now on Tripawds Circle
Hello again all, hope everyone is doing as well as possible this morning. Cooper's incisions (inverted Y on his right shoulder and side) continue to heal nicely, no signs of inflammation or infection. We're grateful for this, because as he heals, he is of course better able to tolerate our use of the front sling under his chest supporting his weight, taking pressure off his left shoulder. One improvement at a time.
Another good thing - Cooper's oncologist sent us an email late yesterday stating that bilateral (front leg) tumors are extremely rare, and that she is confident that Cooper's left shoulder discomfort is a muscle pull, bursitis, or strain of some sort. A relief to hear from an actual certified cancer expert on this, to be sure. She also said that if he is still experiencing left-side pain by the time his stitches come out, they will take some additional x-rays just to be sure, prior to starting chemo.
We additionally heard yesterday that his bone biopsy results were positive for osteosarcoma, grade II. The surgeon had also sent some lymph nodes in for testing, and those all came back negative. So these results are probably the best we could hope for, and it is actually something of a bittersweet relief to have final confirmation.
All positive for yesterday, and we're hoping for a good day again today. More massages, ice packs, healthy treats, and cuddling on tap.
positive wishes for everyone,
hoppalong and Cooper
Oh good! Glad that you were able to get some reassurance from the oncologist. I didn't think it was very common, but you know, we're not really the experts. Sorry for the diagnosis, but good that it wasn't in the lymph nodes (although Murphy's node was positive, and he's still hopping around!). Recovery is definitely a roller coaster of emotions - many of us had those thoughts of what did I do?! But not too long from now you will see that it was worth it.
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
More massages, ice packs, healthy treats, and cuddling on tap.
Sounds just the ticket!
My Meg, also a front right amp, a muscle behind her left shoulder blade. We treated with lots of rest, Metacam and also laser and acupuncture, which worked really well for her. She's tearing around like a wild thing now!
All best to you and Cooper.
Meg and Clare (and Elsie Pie) xxx
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted 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 Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
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