Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi, we just had the right hind limb amputated from our 1.5 year old pit bull cross yesterday.
We amputated because she broke her femur after falling down stairs. it took two days to get surgery scheduled and she developed a lot of edema.
When we saw her today, i was a little surprised that the vet had left half the femur, so she has a significant stump. (I guess i was expecting him to take it off at the joint.)
My concern is that there was still a lot of edema in the stump and I am concerned about the skin retracting when the edema goes away.
I'm worried about her being left with a whole lot of flabby skin that could impede her, rather than a tightly covered stump that will allow her to resume her quality of life.
She comes home tomorrow, and of course i'm going to address this with the vet. But can anyone speak to this matter? Any personal experiences? Is there anything we can do post-operatively to encourage the skin to retract nicely?
Thanks so much, this has been a tough few days for us!
MissBliss
Thanks for joining, we just missed you in the chat.
Hopefully Pam (tazziedog) will address your veterinary concerns. But we've never heard of any dogs having flabby skin at the surgery site after the amputation heals. Jerry had a rather large fluid filled post-op seroma but the skin tightened up just fine.
You'll find lots of more recovery advice and tips in Jerry's Required Reading List. Best wishes for a complete speedy recovery for .... is your pup's name Miss Bliss or is that you?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
admin said:
Thanks for joining, we just missed you in the chat.
Hopefully Pam (tazziedog) will address your veterinary concerns. But we've never heard of any dogs having flabby skin at the surgery site after the amputation heals. Jerry had a rather large fluid filled post-op seroma but the skin tightened up just fine.
You'll find lots of more recovery advice and tips in Jerry's Required Reading List. Best wishes for a complete speedy recovery for .... is your pup's name Miss Bliss or is that you?
Thanks! The vet said the same thing. She is coming home this afternoon! Wahhoo, we missed her so much! Her name is Shy. Miss Bliss is me. =)
Yeay! Great news!!!!!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Sorry for the delay in reply but it is common to take the leg at mid-femur if cancer is not a concern. The swelling should resolve soon!
Pam
Hi all, Shy is home and acting like her old self! Apparently she didn't get the amputation memo! lol
The swelling has come come down nicely with the help of a drain, which comes out this afternoon.
The skin has come down with the swelling too. We can see her lovely little muscles in her stump-leg again.
She lost a fair amount of weight during her ordeal, but she's working on getting it back. Can't wait to let her run and play with her best-doggie friend Lollies. We're just happy to still have her.
MissBliss
We're hoppy too, what great news!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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