Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi Everyone
I am kind of freaking out. My appointment for Friday with the surgeon was canceled and delayed until the 25th.
I have waited 2 weeks to get this appointment and am very very concerned now. The vet is very sick and they "hope" he will be back next week.
I just worry that the cancer is spreading and Vaughn will be in more pain as each day goes by but my only option is to see another surgeon. I guess the other surgeon is good but not as good as the one I have the appointment with.
My question - would you wait to see the excellent surgeon or try to get in with the other one sooner? I might make an appointment just in case the first surgeon doesn't get better. I do feel bad for him too!!
The receptionist told me that they can do the surgery the day of my consultation which surprised me but if that is true then Vaughn could possibly have his surgery next Friday which isn't too much of a wait.
In the meantime I am giving Vaughn an anti cancer herb from the holistic vet and will do some more of the Ozone therapy.
Thanks for your input.
Pam and Vaughn 
Well that's a frustrating situation! I would probably keep the appointment with the excellent surgeon on the 25th, but be actively looking for other options. I'm not sure where you are located, but I hope you have multiple good options nearby. I would strongly prefer to have my dog operated on by the most highly qualified person available. Knowing your preferred surgeon is going through his own health issues at the moment, I think it would be smart to look for another option. Best case scenario, you get in with your preferred option next week. Worst case scenario, you have a plan in place if the first choice surgeon continues to be unavailable.
Oh Pam I'm sorry about that! Ugh! It's good there are other options for you. I'm in favor of @mischief's suggestions too.
Can you share links to both surgeons' websites? I'd love to check 'em out and offer some insight if it helps at all.
I'll be the odd man out. I personally would choose the good surgeon and get it done quicker over the great one later for a few reasons
1. what if the great surgeon isn't better, or is kind of better and pushing through/playing catch-up
2. Will he still be able to stay overnight and have fantastic care regardless of his surgeon?
3. It's a huge surgery to us, but my understanding is it's a relatively simple surgery to vets, nothing crazy concise or specialized and if the good surgeon still has great help, will it really make a difference?
I might be coming from a different perspective, I've never chosen any of my specific surgeons, only the facility, and if the facility is excellent I tend to trust that they will employ excellence so even if he's not THE BEST, he should be very capable.
Outside of that, I agree with mischief that I would look for a different clinic entirely over waiting.
Lastly, I'm super confused how they can do the surgery the same day of the consultation? so will you bring him in fasted and everything just in case?
Whitney has a good point about it being odd to offer surgery same day as the consult. Following on that thought, how many other postponed appointments are they making this offer to? It seems unlikely they can do that for everyone.
Thank you everyone for your replies.
So I have done lots of checking around today and the other surgeon has a very good reputation. In fact my neighbor used him instead of my preferred surgeon and she was very pleased with the outcome. I talked to another friend who knows someone who used him and they were pleased too. My only concern is that my preferred surgeon is very greyhound savvy and I don't know how savvy the other surgeon is. I will be calling the "standby" office tomorrow and getting on the schedule just in case.
I agree I was surprised when the receptionist told me that the doctor (Kirsch) leaves time in his schedule to do the surgery the same day as the consult. They have around the clock staff to monitor the animals. Being a med tech myself, I know they probably have a lab on site so they can do the blood work right there and not have to send it out. The receptionist told me that all the elective surgeries are getting pushed to September so that us with cancer dogs can get in first.
I made an appointment for friday for another Ozone treatment.
Rene here are the links to the surgeons. John Kirsch is the preferred one. everyone in this town wants to get in with him.
https://www.coa.....rgery.com/
Here is the second surgeon. Dr. Rose but I also heard wonderful things about his partner Peress
https://www.coa.....rgery.com/
I kind of think that Dr. Kirsch has been around longer and more people know of him.
Did either surgeon talk to you about starting aminocaproic acid ahead of surgery since your dog is a Greyhound?
Pam
This is in response to the Vet expert. I have not had an appointment yet with either surgeon. I just looked up Aminocaproic acid. That is a good question since I know greyhounds can have bleeding issues. I will for sure discuss with them when I have an appointment. Thanks
Hi Pam, sorry that this is all adding to the stress you already feel. When my Cairn Tucker tore his CCL last January, one of the options we had for a surgeon was one who was right down the road from us...they also would've done the surgery the same day as the consult, provided everything checked out and we were ready to proceed. We chose to have the surgery done at the same place Nitro had his amp, mostly because we could get in there sooner, but also because they were the specialists at a referral vet (and were also quite a bit more expensive than the clinic down the road). I guess this info doesn't really help, other than the similarity of doing the surgery the same day as the initial consult.
I think its wise to have a "back-up" plan, to cover all your bases. Good luck!
Paula and Warrior Angel Nitro
Nitro 11 1/2 yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms. Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"
"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior
I just made appointment with back up surgeons and it is not until next Weds and they could do the surgery on Thursday. So that is only a day sooner.
I also called the preferred surgeons office to see if there was any change and I asked about the blood work. It turns out when I initially made the appointment they were supposed to check the records that my regular vets office had sent and it was supposed to include bloodwork. They did not tell me that until I just asked today. So I am getting that done tomorrow when we go for the Ozone treatment.
Vaughn is happy but limping somewhat and he actually still bounces around before we take a walk which I do my best to not let him do! The tumor is getting bigger and the other side of his arm is swelling up. It makes me so nervous that we have to wait. I told the back up surgeon office this today too. I will have the holistic vet look at it tomorrow when we go for Ozone therapy.
I am so upset this is turning out the way it is. My only option is to have my regular vet do the surgery which he offered to do but I don't want it done by him.
Thanks Pam and Vaughn
Sounds like you've processed everything with logic, with thought and with research. You now have a solid plan forward.
You've got this!!!
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!
Dr. Pam, thank you for recommending the aminocaproic acid!
Pam, Hh=ere's more info about amniocaproic acid, and Greys experiences in general:
https://tripawd.....;include=1
As you can see, Grey-savvy vets like Dr. Pam are super important in a situation like this. Too bad she is in Washington and you can't use her for Vaughn's surgery!
Looks like this is the link for Dr. Rose? Both vets are boarded and have great backgrounds, I would feel good about going with either one. It appears that Dr. Rose's clinic has a bigger team on-board. Since neither are AAHA-accredited (which is always the dealbreaker for me personally), I would say that it's probably OK to go with whoever can get Vaughn in first.
Try not to panic, these things happen. At least you have options as far as who you use. Many people don't, so you're in good hands no matter which way you go .
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