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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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Who should do the surgery
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Member Since:
27 May 2016
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31 May 2016 - 3:44 am
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We haven't decided yet if we are doing the amputation, but an important factor is weighing on me. Do we go with our regular vet or the orthopedic specialist for the surgery?  We have only seen the orthopedic one other time. I don't feel that she will have any tie to Shea then another leg amputation. But she's the specialist. Our regular vet who has seen our pups since their first vet appt. knows and care about them. I'm confident in his surgical skills. But Shea would stay overnight by herself. It makes me nervous that no one is there monitoring her. But he said it's actually better because she won't have anything stimulating her and will allow her just to sleep. The orthopedic is in an emergency hospital and people are there 24hrs a day. Any thoughts would be helpful. 



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21 May 2016
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31 May 2016 - 5:20 am
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Well, that is a very, very tricky one ... 

If I were you (and not knowing Shea or any of the vets personally my points are worth what they are worth ... ) I would go for the most qualified surgeon. Not only because she is a qualified orthopaedic surgeon but also because Shea would stay in an emergency hospital being looked after 24h a day.

Let's not forget this is major surgery after all and although after the op our babies are heavily medicated I would still personally not be comfortable that she would be on her own the whole night. 

I would look at this situation with my head and not my heart, I am sorry to say. The fact the orthopaedic surgeon does not have an emotional tie with Shea and has only seen her once doesn't really count as we are talking of performing an operation, it is all technical, not emotional. I would make sure (as best as I could) she is a good orthopaedic surgeon and would want to know how many of these operations she has performed.

Eurydice was seen by a vet at a veterinary hospital after 4 other vets misdiagnosed her, he was the one that found out she had osteosacorma and still he referred us to another hospital because although he has done many amputations he didn't feel he was the best surgeon to operate my girl. Of course, it is totally different as Shea is a much smaller dog, but still ...

I hope I haven't managed to confuse you even more, it is a very tough decision but I am sure you will choose what is best for your gorgeous girl.

Sending you lots and lots of kisses and a huge cuddle to Shea heart

Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-) 

Michigan
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31 May 2016 - 7:06 am
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Aside from the monitoring afterwards (which I agree, I think I'd be more comfortable knowing someone was there watching all night), there are many complications that can arise during the surgery itself.  So unless your regular vet has performed this surgery multiple times, I would think that the orthopedic specialist would be the better option.  There are many nerves & blood vessels in the area, plus extra lymph nodes may need to be checked out.

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

Donna.png

On The Road


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31 May 2016 - 8:28 am
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There are many general practice vets who can do amputations just fine but the questions to ask are

You can also find some insight in these articles:

Considerations When Price Shopping for Veterinary Care

How to Choose a Veterinarian for Amputation Surgery

Even if your vet was qualified, the way he explained how leaving her alone at night will keep her calm, well that makes me nervous. This is major surgery and monitoring is critical. Would you want to be left alone all night after amputation surgery? Odds are she will just sleep but you never know. Unfortunately we've seen more than one dog not make it through the night when nobody was around. We won't know the exact reasons why they didn't, but wonder if it could have been prevented by having 24/7 staff.

Here is an article to read and consider:

NJ Veterinarians Must Disclose Absence of Overnight Supervision

Your family practice vet will be great for follow up care and you might not get that level of care from a specialist (they tend to be sooooo busy). There's no reason why they can't work together to help your pup heal.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet



Member Since:
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31 May 2016 - 9:01 am
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Just wanted to add that my vet took my cat to his house for an overnight stay so he could monitor her. I was insanely jealous and felt very possessive. I had a visit with her before he took her home and after seeing what she was like I was grateful she'd be under his care. I think she had a great time cuddling with his children on a heated bathroom floor. Also his wife is a vet.

I agree that your vet will be great with followup care.

Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona

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31 May 2016 - 9:55 am
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Believe it or not we did not even meet the surgeon who performed our dogs amputation prior to surgery.  We meet with the radiation oncologist and as part of that they had the surgeon look at our dog while they were back doing chest x-rays, etc. to determine what type of surgery would be best.  The vet where we had his surgery done is also an emergency hospital 24/7 and specialist.  That said our surgeon was board certified and I was confident that he would do a good job.  I should note we did have previous experience with this hospital and had always received outstanding care with our other two dogs.  I personally wouldn't feel comfortable having my dog left unattended overnight following surgery since you just don't know what can go wrong.  As Jerry suggested we then used our regular vet for the follow up care and they worked with our specialist so everyone knew what was going on.  

Minneapolis, MN
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31 May 2016 - 10:56 am
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I visited my dog recently post surgery in the ICU and I can tell you how grateful I was he was there and under their 24 hour watchful care.  My own vets had done surgeries for him before, even a full toe amputation, but the post surgical care on this more significant surgery was, by needs, more robust.  Everyone I know who has had dogs with amputation recommends at least one night in hospital care.

My very skilled vets also recommended the specialist due to his Soft Tissue Sarcoma needing a more practiced hand.  Perahps that is less the case with Osteo as it is not connective tissue, but it still, I would want my dog monitored for the first 12 hours or more post surgery.

Best wishes!

Lisa and Pofi

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.

Blog: Pofi, Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor Amputation

Livermore, CA




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31 May 2016 - 11:30 am
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I did not have to make this decision, my vet made it for me.  Linda has been our primary vet for years, she saw Maggie from the time she was about 1.5 years old and treated Tani her entire 15 years.  She has performed several surgeries on my pugs over the years, but one of the things I love most about her is that she will tell me when there is a procedure that she is not comfortable performing and that was true with Maggie's amputation.

That being said I do believe it is important to be comfortable with the vet providing whatever care.  I met with the surgeon before Maggie's amp, and in another case (twice actually) met with the surgeon who did my quad pug Obie's knee surgeries.  I am the type that wants to understand what will happen and I always have questions.  I am not comfortable with vets (or human docs) who won't take the time to answer your questions.

If you decide that you want your vet to do the surgery then I would look into either bringing Shea home the day of surgery (very tough, but it has been done) or transferring her after surgery to a place that will provide 24 hour monitoring.  I would not leave one of my dogs unattended overnight after any surgery, let alone one as major as amputation.

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

Member Since:
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31 May 2016 - 2:08 pm
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I have to go with the majority here - I would not feel comfortable leaving a dog who has just gone through major surgery unattended at night.   If there were any complications, I would want my dog with someone who does this a lot, and who has access to all of the resources needed to combat them.   While it is wonderful that your vet has a personal relationship with Shea, I think this decision has to turn more on experience and medical resources.

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.

Virginia







Member Since:
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31 May 2016 - 4:22 pm
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You asked.....and the Tripawd Nation responded! Lots of valid points in these well thought out reponses.

Just gonna add a little...hmmm...twist, okay? There are certain individual circumstances that prevent some dogs from having the surgery done in a 24-hr speciality hospital. Certainly finances factor in, as well as geographic accessibility to a speciality clinic with an accredited Orthopedic Surgeon. Please don't feel badly if these issues prevent you from going the more expensive route. You clearly love your Shea dearly and would move mountains to do what's best for her. Sometimes there are mountains that just cannot be moved.

It's your decision based on your circumstances, including your comfort level with whichever path you take. There are NO guarantees either way when surgery is involved. It is, however, about doing whatever you can to make the risks as minimal as ppssible.

If your main concern is just about not having a connection to the Surgeon (and not finances or distance challenges), perhaps you can set up another consultation with the Orthopedic Surgeon for aa bit more reassurance. Since you are concerned about Shea's issues with her other legs anyway, it certainly wouldn't hurt at all to have a follow up face ro face before proceeding with her.

Alllll that said........my 2¢....if feasible for you, have Shea stay where there is 24 hr careway-cool

Take some deep breaths...this is stressful time and these decisions are not easy! You are doing an excellent job of doing your rresearch!

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((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!

Minneapolis, MN
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31 May 2016 - 7:09 pm
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benny55 said
You asked.....and the Tripawd Nation responded! Lots of valid points in these well thought out reponses.

Just gonna add a little...hmmm...twist, okay? There are certain individual circumstances that prevent some dogs from having the surgery done in a 24-hr speciality hospital. Certainly finances factor in, as well as geographic accessibility to a speciality clinic with an accredited Orthopedic Surgeon. Please don't feel badly if these issues prevent you from going the more expensive route. You clearly love your Shea dearly and would move mountains to do what's best for her. Sometimes there are mountains that just cannot be moved.

It's your decision based on your circumstances, including your comfort level with whichever path you take. There are NO guarantees either way when surgery is involved. It is, however, about doing whatever you can to make the risks as minimal as ppssible.

If your main concern is just about not having a connection to the Surgeon (and not finances or distance challenges), perhaps you can set up another consultation with the Orthopedic Surgeon for aa bit more reassurance. Since you are concerned about Shea's issues with her other legs anyway, it certainly wouldn't hurt at all to have a follow up face ro face before proceeding with her.

Alllll that said........my 2¢....if feasible for you, have Shea stay where there is 24 hr careway-cool

Take some deep breaths...this is stressful time and these decisions are not easy! You are doing an excellent job of doing your rresearch!

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!  

Very, very sound points to consider.  No judgement here - I have had friends who had their own vet perform and even brought their dog home that night.  Everything was fine in the long run, but those first few nights and days were very, very tough on them and she advised me against that, so I shared.  But, your dog could stay at the vet's practice and they certainly are going to sleep much of the night after surgery.

My dog does not have osteo and the nerve sheath tumor surgery in the location it was in relies on more advanced imaging, (MRI).  One of my vets had performed this type of amputation early in his career twice with out the aid of imaging and on a "presumptive" diagnosis.  The other surgeon in our practice flat out said he considered it a more specialized surgery.  So your doctor's comfort level is key to all of this, too.  

All good thoughts for you and Shea whatever the course.

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.

Blog: Pofi, Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor Amputation

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