Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I am at my wit's end (I guess my wit was short to begin with 
) Bongo (front leg amp with problematic hind legs) developed a pressure sore on his elbow which turned into a moon crater which got infected because he was living outside (he is an LGD) and kept ripping his bandages off. Well - we moved him inside and in addition to keeping up with dressings and cleansing - we started laser treatment. It is healing but it is tough to keep a bandage on and pressure off. I just ordered an egg crate bed to try and keep pressure off - web search came up with multiple recommendations for this. If it works - my living room will be covered in egg crate mats. Not only is this wound taking forever to heal but he developed another one on his hip where he rarely lays. This one is not as bad but problematic. Vet stitched it up yesterday but no guarantee stitches will hold.
My other amputee (rear) developed a pressure sore on his face and one of his front legs. Not real bad but keeping these sores dressed and relieving pressure is such a problem. What gives here? Now my vet is suspicious of the Palladia - Bongo started on Palladia as part of a metronomic protocol but we stopped it on July 7th - my reason for stopping was he developed additional weakness in hind legs. Vets reason for stopping it was the development of the pressure sore - which did not exist prior to starting Palladia. Bailey is still on Palladia. Vet talked to Pfizer for an hour yesterday - they say there are no similar reports in database for Palladia - it must now be reported to FDA just in case.
I know that pressure sores are a HUGE issue with tripawds - especially large heavy dogs. But there must be some kind of padding or wrap or something that could be used to relieve the pressure. I've searched and searched and came up empty. Donuts are not recommended and I suspect a child's water wings would be equally problematic (causing friction).
Help!
Sharon Kinsey
I'm sorry you are having so much trouble with pressure sores. I don't have any direct experience but they are discussed here often. Check this Link to an earlier discussion. The second post from Jerry has a couple of links that may help. I couple of ideas until Dr. Pam stops by.
Hope you find some relief for Bongo.
Karen and the pugapalooza
I have had to treat these from time to time and by far the best solution is a Dog Legges wrap. They make one especially for tripawd amputees and the wrap crosses over the back/chest so it is difficult to remove. I would recommenhd Adaptic dressings (I think they are made by Johnson and Johnson) to help the wounds heal. The hip pressure sores are more difficult to prevent but easier to treat. The special bed is ideal. I can't explain a pressure sore on the face!
Pam
We are in the same boat with the pressure sore issue. Not fun. Logan is a front leg amp, Great Pyrenees, so his pressure sore developed in the first week after surgery when he was not very mobile. It's been eight weeks now and we'll find out tomorrow how the healing is progressing. We had Charron from this board send us her elbow pad that she made for her dog, Gayle (thanks again Charron). After repeated trips to the vet for dressing changes, they recommended we get a prosthetic device made (we live close to Toronto, so we went there - http://www.pawsability.ca for photos). It was costly but I think worth every penny, we've only had it for 10 days and our vet says she can see a great improvement already. It suspends the elbow from coming in contact, his weight is redistributed, and we use a light dressing over the wound. We are going to our vet college tomorrow morning where the surgery was done to see if the healing is far enough along that they can maybe finally stitch it. We have put off starting chemo while dealing with this, so his chemo has been delayed by 8 weeks. Along the way, for the first time ever, he developed hot spots in both ears at the same time. Poor Logan was so miserable, so many things happening at once. I just wanted to put my two cents in and let you know you're not alone with this pressure sore dilemma. Who would have thought the amputation would be the easy part....
That is a great idea - at least for the one that developed on his elbow - but there is no way we can go to Canada as is required for the fitting. Did you see the elbow protector she has? Did you consider that? The laser treatments are helping immensely - huge difference in healing rate. Thank you for the info. Beautiful Pyr - I have 2 pure pyrs - one is a guard dog and the other a rescue. Bongo is an Anatolian/Pyr mix.
Here is a post from Elgin, a large Dogue de Bordeaux who successfully fought off his hygroma with a laser therapy treatment at his vet’s office:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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