Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives

… her with the stairs, slings, etc. it's still a lot of effort on her part and energy  is zapped very quickly will adjusting to three.

Oh, and incision  looks good?  No excessive  warmth or oozing?  Excessive bruising?  Certainly  an infection may have set in as we DO see that happen occasionally

…the dose to see how he does; maybe consider 100 mg three times daily. I would expect a puppy to bounce back quickly so maybe have your vet check the incision for infection/swelling/local pain.

Dr Pam

…to help with that. The site looks good and thanks to daily cleaning and manuka honey on the area that he removed the sutures himself, he has no infection. I have used medi-honey before with human patients and liked the results, but the vet mentioned manuka honey specifically. I did some peer…

…hindleg amputee, did you find that they started keeping their tail towards the amputation side? At first it seemed that Colt was just protecting the incision site, as he would curl his tail over on top of it, but I'm beginning to think it may be related to helping him balance, as his way of carrying it has

…one of the donuts, rather than the cone, to keep him from licking. So much more comfy!  Also…it’s easy to be almost ‘traumatized’ by seeing the incision, and also the horrible bruising and “sagging” around the incision that comes as it heals.  It’s ugly, but as long as there is no infection, it is

…

ETHOS is saving lives in the MIMIC study!

To remove lung metastasis in osteosarcoma Tripawd dogs, the MIMIC surgical technique makes tiny incisions in the chest wall. The surgeon take out lung mets with the assistance of a magnified video camera. There's minimal pain, risk of morbidity, and a…

…else was wrong.

She began to explain to us that the X-Rays were showing them that Whiskey likely had bone cancer or a possible bone infection. Every single vet in the clinic was completely taken aback by that. None of them would have thought to suggest she might have bone cancer. She was…

…options with us. It was there we pretty much decided we would go ahead with the amputation first and then the biopsy. We didn’t want the cancer / infection in her body any longer than it needed to be.

Whiskey after losing her leg.

Her amputation surgery was done on December 7, 2021. She…

…Cadillac Ranch, Los Ojos, NM (where my mom and grandmother live for a quick surprise pop in), Wahweap Bay, UT and Horseshoe Bend, AZ.

The incisions from thorascopy are minimial.

Do you have pet insurance that covered any costs? What were the out-of-pocket costs to be in the MIMIC study…

…. She was actually released from the hospital a day early. The hardest part about this surgery was just keeping her still long enough for her incisions to properly heal. Whiskey came out of the hospital ready to go at 100%. 

What were your greatest concerns about doing the MIMIC treatment

…for people and pets. Overuse of antibiotics can lead to major problems, like antibiotic resistance and MRSA, a potentially deadly bacterial skin infection. To keep antibiotics effective, many forward-thinking physicians and veterinarians are now cautious about prescribing antibiotics. Nowhere is this…

…antibiotics at home after amputation surgery is not necessary. It states that “In most cases, unless there is noticeable pyoderma surrounding the incision site, antibiotics are not necessary postoperatively.”

Not giving antibiotics after a pet’s amputation surgery came as a shock to us. We…

…wondered: don’t major procedures run the risk of infection? Is Dr. Jones and his team saying that pets don’t need antibiotics when they come home? Here’s what he told us:

Why Pets Usually Don’t…

…settings. This allows for bacteria to develop resistance to these antibiotics. In the absence of any other ongoing disease process or documented infection pre-operatively in the patient, there is no good medical reason to prescribe antibiotics for an amputation.

 Dr. Stephen Jones, MVB,

…is doing good! He has a small infection on part of his incision which we are treating with topical antibiotics and the vet doesn't seem too concerned. He's getting around really well but we have been using a

…develops, it is prone to getting infected due to the fact that the wound comes into direct contact with the ground. As you might imagine, treating infections with a femoral stump can be very challenging.”

Yes, a Partial Leg Amputation Can Have Challenges Over Time
We found this to be true in managing…

…provides a predictable outcome and reduces the likelihood of pressure sore development, thereby improving postoperative recovery and at-home incision management as compared with the midfemoral technique." 

Dr. Jones explains:

While a full hind-limb amputation (disarticulation at the…

…male genitalia in intact male dogs, and allowing some use of the stump) of a mid-shaft amputation.

What About Caring for a Full Leg Amputation Incision?

Is the incision for a full-leg amputation in a dog or cat harder to manage than a partial leg amputation incision? Dr. Jones says it is not,…

… and kindly shared his perspective:

“The incisional care is essentially the exact same. Most of the time, our pets will not want to lie on that side for a few weeks, until the incision has fully…

…lie on that site in the early post-operative period, I’d be more concerned with a midfemoral given that the femoral stump may put pressure on the incision and this can cause problems. Luckily however, that is not typically an issue.”

We hope you found this information helpful. Share it with your

…:  We had Sheldon's one week post-op visit to check the healing progress on his elbow surgery last week.  Most of the incision is healing nicely, however there is one small area where the incision still hasn't fully closed due to a small infection.

The culture results…

…at treating.  The vet told us to stop the Clavamox and prescribed Baytril instead.  She's pretty confident the Baytril will knock back this infection and the rest of the  healing can continue.  This just means we'll leave the sutures in for a few weeks longer (original plan was to have the…

…on keeping his second chemo treatment on the 13th.

So overall pretty good progress, just a little slower than i was expecting.  Given that the incision is in a challenging location where there is a lot of movement and pressure, I'll take the slow and steady progress over further complications.  Most

…little bleeding, only what i would call a small hole where i could even see his elbow bone!

We got it in time as there was no real signs of an infection developing.  My vet was able to arrange the clinic to have it surgically cleaned, debrided, and sutured up yesterday and he's now resting to start…

…needed to keep him calm and rested so that his elbow can heal properly. We just now have to restrict his activity for the next 2 weeks and keep the incision clean and protected.  I change the dressing once a day and also have a padded dog elbow brace/protector on it for added padding.  Also I've got a…

…this minor setback will be even more straighforward to take of.    Fingers crossed!!!  Next week he'll have a post-op visit to check the incision and then the sutures get removed the week after.

This will delay his second chemo session, which was originally scheduled for Mar 30, out to April

…has had a pretty rocky road since I last posted- he finally seems stable now after struggling with a bad infection in his incision and then bad reactions to the antibiotics. He's had a lot of phantom limb pain (which finally seems to be improving) and he seems to have…

…he's been, and over about 3 weeks I haven't seen any change at all, even when he's hardly moving around. It developed while he was sick with his infection and again, hardly moving and no slips or anything that set it off, I just started noticing he was struggling to balance. The vet can't get a…

…do people make their dogs wear the T-shirt? Crush still wears them, I don't think he cares but I'm wondering if it's time to take it off... His incision is mostly well healed now but the lower area where the infection was still hasn't grown much hair back and it's still kinda scabby. He's still

…continue to see little improvements. 

I hope it's not bleeding today? She must have licked the shirt for some time. Good; there is no sign of infection! 

These were our aftercare instructions.

After Care Instructions – note (The hospital iced the incision for three days while Purrkins was in…

…ICU)

The incision should be kept dry & free of debris until it is fully healed. You may put a t-shirt on him to prevent exposure and discourage licking. Please,…

… Monitor Purrkins incision daily for any sign of infection which includes redness, increased temperature or any white or yellow discharge. If any of these signs are seen, please have him rechecked.

Wound…

…Care Instructions – 

Please apply a warm compress to Purrkins incision 2-3 times a day for the next 3-5 days or until seroma
resolves. Heat a moistened clean washcloth in the microwave. Place in a sealed ziplock bag…

…& apply to Purrkins incision for 10 minutes at a time.

Purrkins loved his warm compresses. 

Brilliant on the app. I did the same it gives you peace of mind and a little

…to give treat in that two to three week window.  Sometimes  it has to be delayed a bit longer due to other challenges that my face a new tripawd (incision  infections, etc)

One deciding factor was that IF she did have bad side effects she  could stop anytime with no residual issues.  She sailed

…this rough recovery and onto better days ahead!!!

I'm so sorry you have had to deal with all these hurdles.  It does sound  like the original incision  and the follow up you got (before the ER visit), could have been better and more thorough and I'll leave it at that.  Although the surgery was…

…done  by an Orthopedic Surgeon, more attention needed to be paid to the drainage,  the opening and the infection!  Geez!  No wonder you were worried and exhausted and overwhelmed.   And to do it by yourself while caring for other seniors....you clearly …

…  It's not easy trying to express a bladder and van actually  cause harm if not done right.  

Important ...did the Surgeon  do a culture of the infection and send it off?  That can best determine  the antibiotic  needed, as well as eliminate  MRSA
.  So have them give you an answer on that, okay??
…

…call!  You would like an answer on the urination  situation.  

Evie, and you, have both been through a lot!!  This is MAJOR surgery....then infection... then another surgery..and probably  not proper pain management
.....so recovery  will take longer.

You are doing an exce job!  Stay

…this rough recovery and onto better days ahead!!!

I'm so sorry you have had to deal with all these hurdles.  It does sound  like the original incision  and the follow up you got (before the ER visit), could have been better and more thorough and I'll leave it at that.  Although the surgery was…

…done  by an Orthopedic Surgeon, more attention needed to be paid to the drainage,  the opening and the infection!  Geez!  No wonder you were worried and exhausted and overwhelmed.   And to do it by yourself while caring for other seniors....you clearly …

…  It's not easy trying to express a bladder and van actually  cause harm if not done right.  

Important ...did the Surgeon  do a culture of the infection and send it off?  That can best determine  the antibiotic  needed, as well as eliminate  MRSA
.  So have them give you an answer on that, okay??
…

…call!  You would like an answer on the urination  situation.  

Evie, and you, have both been through a lot!!  This is MAJOR surgery....then infection... then another surgery..and probably  not proper pain management
.....so recovery  will take longer.

You are doing an exce job!  Stay

…pull her up, she will not use her front leg.  I have been able to get her to stand for a few seconds maybe four times. She pancakes a lot.  Her incision then drains fluid. I haven't seen any loss of stitches but the beginning of the sutures and the end of the sutures look different from the other…

… as in there seems to be closure of dead space with these along the length of the suture. The end and beginning look like "nipples."  There is no infection I can see. 

I'm not sure where to go from here... if i help her up, she resists and goes down on the end of the sutures which then generates

… could not find anything wrong near bladder. They also xrayed her chest. They sent her back to ortho surgeon who had done amputation to suture incision that had broken for over an inch in length. It was a deep opening.  Doctor had to anthetize, open her completely back up, clean out infection and

…pull her up, she will not use her front leg.  I have been able to get her to stand for a few seconds maybe four times. She pancakes a lot.  Her incision then drains fluid. I haven't seen any loss of stitches but the beginning of the sutures and the end of the sutures look different from the other…

… as in there seems to be closure of dead space with these along the length of the suture. The end and beginning look like "nipples."  There is no infection I can see. 

I'm not sure where to go from here... if i help her up, she resists and goes down on the end of the sutures which then generates

…the pain before surgery, which prevents wind-up pain post op that is much harder to control.

Laser therapy can be very helpful to heal incisions, I'd go for it. Bruising is normal. What the laser does is help the tissues to heal and mend. It also helps prevent scar tissue build-up.

As…

…for keeping incision clean, all you need to do is occasionally dab a warm washcloth if you see that it's dirty. Otherwise it's OK to just leave it alone. Watch for…

…signs of infection (stinky discharge and fluid that's more bloody than watery), and swelling (which could be a seroma
, something totally normal).

Hang in there,

…to be in less pain than before the surgery, and that is still the case, but I’m starting to worry about her lethargy and lack of appetite.  The incision doesn’t look/smell infected to me, but it is still draining quite a bit.  The drainage seems to have slowed down today, compared to the last couple…

…crappy and sleeps all the time and I can hardly get her to eat anything.  Maybe it is just a different type of pain.

I suspect a urinary tract infection, but could be wrong about that.  If so, that could be contributing to her discomfort.  I will take a urine sample in tomorrow.

Her meds are the

… almost all dogs are sent home with a 7 -10 day supply of antibiotics.  That doesn't appear to ge the case for your sweet. And again, FWIW, the infection  was going to rear it's ugly head sooner or later, regardless  of heat or no heat, ice or no ice.  Had the Vet put him on antibiotics,  that may..…

…that he needs and the tools necessary to get this handled quickly.

We are all here for you and goving  you a standing ovation for recognizing  the incision  was not acting like it should and getting him into the ER.

Extra (((((((((Hugs)))))))))

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and

…about this complication. I would NOT beat yourself up though. The heat helps dissipate fluid and swelling, but it wouldn’t have stopped any sort of infection in its tracks. Antibiotics are what he needs, and that’s what you got him! Mac is lucky to have you, and it sounds like you were super attentive…

…and caught this infection right at the beginning. If you’re not already, take photos of the incision everyday. Atticus had intense bruising and swelling, so those pictures were my north star when I noticed something that had me worried. 

When…

…you’re ready to do heat packs: I just microwaved a wet washcloth and put it in a gallon ziplock bag. It was light and easy to mold across his incision. I always put it against my stomach for a minute to make sure it wasn’t too hot. I was doing heat from day 3 on (Atticus never tolerated cold),…

…reduced.

To answer your other question, rehab has been SO helpful. Although our surgeon declared Atticus fully “healed,” his muscles at the incision site were so angry. Our case might have been particularly bad because they cut away so much muscle, but he had a lot of spasming and adhesions in…

…other exercises. The first month we are going twice a week, then we will probably go once a month. Beyond the work they are doing in calming his incision area down and keeping him fit, I find it really reassuring to have another set of hands and eyes on him. It’s really tough knowing at some point his

…a crash or a day where everything seems grey and dark.  We promise  you the sun will come out and push the darkness  away.

I think kne reason an incision  takes some getting used to for some is because  the Surgeon shaves so much fur!  To me, that was more shock than the incision  itself. 

Glad the…

…Vet has a handle on the infection. Hopefully  that a antibiotic will knock it out!😎

((((((((((((,((Hugs)))))))))))))

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and

…and she is in really good hands.

Sounds  like they are watching her very closely and are on top of any pote hurdles that may show up.  Possoble incision  infection s to show up every now and then, as well as unexpected  bruising g.  Again, she's in good hands and they are clearly prepared to deal

…he had his first bowel movement last night. We were quite excited but as they say, it is the little things! This morning we sent some photos of the incision point to the ER vet clinic. Firstly, just to keep them updated but also because we’ve seen a rather dark red spot form just to the side of the incision. We believe it may just be a bruise (possibly from trying to sit and a couple small tumbles) but we want to be extra cautious and alert, as Monday…

…. Without seeing any of Koda’s paperwork from the ER vet clinic, he stated that it was his belief we were dealing with a highly necrotic bacterial infection. The ER vet clinic is running a culture to see if we can gain any further clarity on what happened but has left their diagnosis as most likely a…

…the culture result….contact the CDC!!? I about laughed at him but realized what he was doing as our call concluded; his timeline of the bacterial infection theory was painted as having degraded the leg Sunday night and Monday of this past week. In essence…he was implying the event occurred AFTER we had

…Halona's Mom,

Welcome! Your future posts won't require moderation so post away. 

Did the vet double check the seroma
for infection? Test the fluid? Just making sure. Seromas usually clear up after a few days. How does the incision area look? 

As for the bandage? Which leg…

…? If it's the rear, it's pretty hard to cover that area. But interestingly enough, Lily's mom just mentioned how she's using breast pads for Lily's incision, which we had never heard of. Apparently they have adhesive on them to help them stay in place. Let us know if you give them a try.

A front leg

…12 hours, 300mg of gabapentin every 12 hours, and .6cc of buprenex every 12 hours.  She’s also on 200mg of simplicef every 12 hours to prevent infection.  She weighs 62 pounds.  

Her history is a rough one.  

I fostered back in 2013.  She was found on the side of the road after being hit by a…

…with a fatty tumor, but to be proactive, we opted to have that removed the same day as her amp.

So she is missing her left forelimb and has an incision on her right rear limb.  

We’ve been reading through the site here as well in the Facebook group.  Everyone and all of the reading material has

…need to wait for approval so post away. I hope you have good news about her by now!

Your intuition is spot-on, you aren't alone in this post-op infection ordeal. I'm so sorry it happened. What a great idea with the breast pads! Did they stay on?

The good news is that they caught it right away and

…chance you can get another vet to look at the area when it's recently drained? That way you can ask to have it cultured for MRSA
or another type of infection.

To stop the swelling, there's really not much you can do at this point, as you've noticed. So I think the best thing is to get a culture done on…

…the fluid to make sure it's not an incision infection. 

…that gets her sparkle back? Have you tried bribing her with super yummy foods? Scrambled eggs? Stinky cheese?

One more question: Is her incision OK? Did your vet look at it? Sometimes an internal infection might be the cause of feeling so crappy.