Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello! Luna my 11.5yr old senior had her amputation surger last Thursday on her back left limb. On Saturday night I noticed some swelling of her right back leg . We took her to the vet and they told me thatās very uncommon at least in the years they have been doing amputations they havenāt really seen cases of the contra lateral limb being swollen. It suck bc this makes it uncomfortable for her to hop around and put weight on it. Was wondering if this is something that any body from the tripped community has encountered before and if so any tips. I have been icing it.
Thank you in advance
Hi to you and Luna! I'm so glad you decided to post here. Has the icing helped at all? Gentle massage may also help it move around and reabsorb.
Is she showing any signs of discomfort when you touch the area? And has your vet actually seen her in person yet?
So we have seen this and that's because we do see a lot more Tripawd recoveries here than some vet practices, just because that is the nature of our community. It's not terribly unusual but not very common either.
As I mentioned in our Helpline chat, we have seen this before and usually it will dissipate over a week or so. That body fluid usually drains or reabsorbs into the body.
Sometimes too much activity right away can cause fluid build up. How much is she doing right now? She shouldn't be doing anything other than going on leash outside to potty, until stitches are out. Try to keep her movement to a minimum.
Hi! Yes itās gotten a bit better thank God! The Vet did see her and said that itās not very common and they donāt see it much so that got me a bit worried. But Iāve been icing it, then warm compressions then rubbed a little bit of castor oil and I think that helped her a lot this morning. she really hasnāt had a bowel movement since Saturday night which was super tiny, the doctor said that doesnāt worry her too much that some dogs take a little more time. Besides that her walks are short leashed. I feel much better knowing itās happened before to others š and that this too shall pass
Oh good, things are picking up!
I just found this post from someone who had the same situation happen to their new Tripawd. But it's a little different because their dog's lymph nodes were swollen. Still, here's what our Fairy Vet Mother Dr. Pam had to say:
Leg swelling in just one leg could be due to overuse (using different muscles since the amputation) but the lymph node is rarely enlarged from that.Ā It is possible that she has an infection but then she should have a fever, reduced appetite, and a hot leg.Ā Bone cancer of the leg is also possible but uncommon this soon after surgery.Ā Some dogs with lung mets get leg edema but often in more than one leg.
Here's another topic with posts similar to yours:
https://tripawd.....front-leg/
And I forgot to dig around here for the word "edema", which came up with many similar situations:
https://tripawd.....;include=2
I hope this helps you feel better, and that she is on the road to recovery. Keep us posted.
Glad to hear the swelling is going down..Ā Even if just a "little bit", that's a victory to celebrate!!!!
Let us kn0w when she has a bowelĀ 
movement.Ā We love to celebrate
You can try a little bit of pumpkin (can pure pumpkin....nothing added)Ā for fiber.Ā It's not unusual for dogs not to. Ā for several days after amputation.Ā Ā
HugsĀ
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!
UPDATE! We had a bowel
movement today!!!! Woohoo!! So so happy . As for the leg itās a tremendous difference! She walked a little bit more today than the other days and her back leg didnāt really swell. Is it common for vets not to send antibiotics post amputation? Mine sent me home with carprofen and gabapentin. We are now on antibiotics bc of the leg swelling.
just curious bc I know antibiotics are usually ordered post surgeriesĀ
WOOHOO!!! Did you dance a little hoppy dance? Bet the neighbors got a kick out of that!
Right now veterinarians are leaning toward an antibiotic injection during surgery and not giving them afterward. See this article for more.
Why Pets Usually Donāt Need Antibiotics After Amputation Surgery
World-wide, bacteria are developing resistance to antibiotics at an alarming rate. Judicious use of antibiotics is a very important role that veterinarians (and physicians) can play to help with reduce or slow this down.
For far too long antibiotics have been unnecessarily prescribed when they were not needed- in a range of different 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.
Ā Dr. Stephen Jones, MVB, MS, DACVS-SA, DECVSĀ (Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgery ā Small Animal and Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgery).
YAAAY FOR.Ā Ā DOING HOPPY. Ā Ā DANCE!!!
YAAAAY FOR SWELLING GETTING BETTER!!!
Love celebratingĀ these victories with you!
Ā Is it common for vets not to send antibiotics post amputation
"Usually" most Vets stillĀ send dogs home with a course of antibioticsĀ after this surgery.Ā HOWEVER, that said and if I recall correctly, it's becoming more of a trend NOT to do a round of antibiotics anymore.Ā Ā Jerry will have to confirm and findĀ the data postedĀ somewhere on the siteĀ to back that up.
Thanks for the good pupdate!
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!
Hahaha....and as I'm going slow as a snail typing, I see Jerry was already posting the clarifiication on the antibiotic question.šš
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!
Yess!! I was soo happy practically jumping hahah. That made me so happy. And yes the swelling and even the surgery site is healing amazing. I am so proud of her, sheās still trying to figure out the best way to use her back leg I think. But today was a longer walk than usual to see if she found the perfect grassy area that suits her needs (sheās very picky) LOL and when we got back home her leg was just a bit puffy but nothing compared to the last two days. Itās amazing ! So happy thank you guys for being awesome. And yes makes sense with the antibiotics, I do think thatās helping her a lot with the leg or maybe itās unrelated but weāre definitely making progress now!
We are absolutely thrilled at the progress sweet Luna is making! You are doing such a good job of monitoring her and taking good care of her.
As you already know, continue to keep her potty breaks short unleashed. That's it, dogs seem to have their special place they like to potty and they're determined to get there!
FWIW, it showed you as a "guest" on this post rather than a member.Jerry willfogire that out....right Jerry?š¤£šš
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!
I'm so happy for you and Lunda!
I think Sally meant to say to keep her walks leashed, right Sally?
Not sure why you were posting as a guest but if you are having trouble logging in just let me know!Ā
Ā Ā Ā
Ā I think Sally meant to say to keep her walks leashed, right Sally?
Ā
GEEZ!! š±Ā Ā YIKES š±.Ā LEASHED!!!Ā
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!
Hi! Me againš so now her front right paw is swelling!? her back leg is doing amazing no swelling or nothing. But now I noticed her front rt paw is swollen/ just the paw though. I want to think maybe something bit her? Iām so confused weāre a week and two days in post surgery. Hopefully this is ānormalā from all the weight shifting and stuffš„ŗ
Hey there! OK so she's making progress for sure. I'm wondering if maybe the fluid from the leg went down to the paw. That would make the most sense since when fluid doesn't re-absorb it has to travel somewhere. And at less than two weeks out this wouldn't be unusual at all.
Do you see any signs of a bite on that leg? Is she licking the paw? If not I would continue following your vet's advice and hopefully it will dissolve once and for all. But if she is showing pain signals I would definitely give them a call on Monday. Photos would help them a lot too.
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