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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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Amputation area not healing
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Member Since:
7 July 2017
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7 July 2017 - 9:28 pm
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Has anyone had any experience with their amputees area not healing? 

My cat had his front leg amputated 10 days ago. Went in yesterday for a checkup & bandage change. Vet was concerned and debride the area and when she went to take the stitches out everything popped open. She said it hadn't healed at all. She cleaned up the area and put staples in this time. We don't know if it was a reaction to the stitches or if it's his immune system from being FIV positive. I'm very concerned that the staples are not going to work. Has anybody ever experienced this with an animal? And what steps were taken? 

Where ever my car goes


Member Since:
6 July 2017
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8 July 2017 - 1:41 pm
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Hi,

While not exactly the same thing, around 10 days after his amputation, Tuxedo had a part of his incision pop open.  It had gotten infected, which now that I think back on it, not all that surprising as he refused to follow any of the vets instructions despite my best intentions.  As I mentioned, the area opened up around the same time as your kitty.  For Tuxedo, the area was debrided and a significant amount of decayed tissue was removed.  Despite being "healed" now he has what looks like a fist punch in fresh bread dough on his side.  It took a bit over 3 weeks to get to this point following the debriding.  During that time, 3 times a week, he went into the vet, was put under anesthesia, had the area cleaned and rebandaged using what they called wet to dry bandages (when applied the bandages were very wet), and treated with a cool laser to promote healing.  Because of the location, the bandages were stitched in place.  Small loops were stitched on his skin surrounding the area and the bandages used were held in place by what kind of resembled shoe laces going through the loops.  I remember thinking that the bandages were huge, not just in size, but well over 1" thick.

At that time I was very worried about my baby and it not healing.  I did way more Google searching than I probably should have done.  But one thing I did find during all of that searching was that sometimes for some pets, the incisions just take a very long while to heal.  Obviously, my medical knowledge is limited, but from the articles I found it seemed to me that there was no common reason why, just that it happens on occasions.

I hope that the staples do the trick for your baby!  It might also be worth checking out cool laser treatments to promote healing.  It truly works wonders and all things considered, it is not that expensive either, running around $50 per treatment.  Here is an article about it.  http://www.vete.....-Scarring/



Member Since:
27 July 2014
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8 July 2017 - 4:04 pm
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I haven't had this experience but there were some cats here who had incisions take longer to heal due to various reasons, such as:

  • older cat and overall health
  • cat too active before stitches were out
  • an infection

Is your cat on anything to boost his immune system? What did the vet have to say about the incision not healing? You can get another opinion from a vet by posting on http://tripawds.....ask-a-vet/ Perhaps you can provide the vet with details such as the age, health, and reason for the amputation.

I hope things improve for you, and, unlike Tuxedo above, your cat follows the vet's instructions.smiley

Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona

Michigan


Member Since:
11 July 2016
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8 July 2017 - 4:05 pm
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Hello & Welcome,

We don't have any experience to share, we just wanted to welcome you and send some healing wishes your way! We are sorry to hear your kitty is having problems! What was the reason for the amputation injury or disease?

Our cat Purrkins lost his left front arm from cancer / Soft Tissue Sarcoma.

Did the Vet have any insight on why this was happening and not healing? FIV or otherwise?

We are also hoping the and staples work! How long do they plan on leaving those in?

Keep us posted please! 
Hugs!
Holly & Purrkinsheart

Michigan
Member Since:
2 April 2013
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8 July 2017 - 9:51 pm
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Hopefully the vet did a culture from the area because infection is often the reason for not healing.  Did she start him on any antibiotics?  How often is she suggesting to recheck the incision?

It seems that she would want to clean it & re-dress it daily - or have you do it.  You don't want it to fester under the dressing.  The staples will allow drainage to happen, so any infection that's inside will come out, which is a good thing, so don't be surprised. 

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

Michigan


Member Since:
11 July 2016
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9 July 2017 - 7:50 am
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Thank you NURSE Donna!! You need to have that somewhere!! It does mean a lot!

heart

Michigan
Member Since:
2 April 2013
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9 July 2017 - 7:53 am
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Thanks smiley

How did Purrkins' appointment go?

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

Michigan


Member Since:
11 July 2016
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9 July 2017 - 7:56 am
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All Clear!!🎉🎉Thank you for asking !! 

heart

http://tripawds.....-tomorrow/

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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9 July 2017 - 10:31 am
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Hey there @tiffstep & kitty, welcome, and thank you Tripawds Nation for stopping by to offer your input,, you rock 🙂

As you can tell Donna is a human nurse and I echo her suggestions. Try not to panic, wound issues do happen and they're usually not an ongoing issue as long as the vet catches it in time and treats it. Sounds like yours is on top of things.

For more wound closure problems, a Forums Search reveals tons of results so as you can see, you're not alone.

Keep us posted. I hope everything is getting better.

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

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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9 July 2017 - 5:37 pm
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Great input from NURSE DONNA and our KITTY BRIGADE!!

Just want to send healing energy and extra cheers for a quick recovery from all this crap!!! 🙂

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!

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