Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone. I'm new to these boards and the Tripawds community but wow, have they been a God send!
My almost 9 year old German Shepherd\Border Collie, Tasha, is going in for a bone biopsy tomorrow to determine what cancer she has after a limp in her front leg led to the discovery. The x-rays show what they believe is cancer above her wrist. I feel like I have a million questions and my regular vet hasn't answered any of them. She is going to a Tufts for the biopsy and ultimate Oncology where I am hoping they can address my questions. I have been scouring the internet as well as these boards gathering information.
I am wondering if anyone did the limb sparing surgery and if so, how it turned out? Maybe I am being niave but I would love for her to be able to keep her leg if possible. If amputation is the only answer then I am prepared to go that route along with chemo. Whatever it takes! I just feel like my regular vet wants to amputate her leg then perform a biopsy afterwards. She had x-rays and no visible mets in her lungs so far. I think that we should biopsy first before we just take her leg off...it's not like you can put it back on!
Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated!
Tasha was a German ShepherdBorder Collie mix who was diagnosed with OSA at age 8. On December 29, 2011 she had her front right leg amputated and received 4 rounds of chemo. Sadly and suddenly Tasha became sick and we discovered she had liver cancer that had spread to her lung. After almost 19 months, Tasha earned her wings on July 17, 2013. No regrets and never forgotten.
Hi there, welcome! We're so glad you joined us. Ask all of the questions you need to ask. We're not vets but we can share our experience and point you to places you can research. If your own vet isn't answering them, and this is definitely cancer, you may want to find a new vet. I'm gload to hear she's going to Tufts, you'll be in great hands there.
Your vet probably wants to amputate first, then biopsy later, because typically if prelim tests strongly indicate a bone cancer, it's best to go this route to spare the dog the pain of a bone biopsy (they are very painful, I hope the doc told you that?). A pre-op bone biopsy is always done if a pawrent is uncertain about amputation, considering limb-sparing, or if it's not clear that it's actually bone cancer in that leg.
You aren't naive for considering limb sparing, there's not a single person here who didn't want to save their dog's leg. If you want to investigate limb sparing, Tufts is the place to start. I'm not sure if they perform them there, but they will be able to give you more specifics. Generally, what we have seen is
Limb sparing is ideal for dogs with tumors of the wrist joint (distal radius). But it is expensive, I'm guessing starting at $5k (someone correct me if I'm wrong) and going up from there depending on post-op complications. And, it's also not perfect. A few Tripawds have joined this community because their limb sparing surgery didn't take, and the docs went and amputated the leg after several months of trying to save it. So, if the surgery fails, you would be looking at an additional cost of amputating the leg after all that.
This article on the Land of Pure Gold Foundation's website has some good information about limb sparing.
Thanks again for joining us, we're so glad you're here. Whatever you decide to do, we're here to help OK? Keep us posted about how the visit goes tomorrow.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi, Tasha is gorgeouss! We think our Abby is shepherd/collie mix as well.
We did a bone biopsy, but Abby was so young (only 15 months) that our vet thought it might not be bone cancer (it turned out it was). What I've learned since is that in most cases a bone biopsy isn't necessary as the bone cancer generally has a very distinctive look on the xray. However - I can totally understand it being scary to contemplate the amp without a definite diagnosis! We weren't in that situation - we already knew it was cancer.
Our onc. talked to us about the option to do limb spare for Abby. He was not really keen on the idea for 3 reasons - (1) he said many dogs end up having infection or other complications afterward; (2) Abby was only 15 mo and VERY energetic and the limb spare recovery time was ~2 months v. amp ~2 weeks (he said we would have to crate her for 2 months and I just couldn't see doing that to such a hyper dog - if your dog is older/more mellow, that might not be a problem); and(3) he said we might end up in the end having to amp anyway. It was scary to do to the amp, but that's what we decided to do. She has done very well. We are almost 14 months post-amp and have no regrets. I never once wished we had done the limb spare instead.
Having said all that - you know your dog best and know what she can handle. There are no wrong decisions. You just gotta go with your gut cuz there's no guarantee that one way is better than another.
Hang in there - come here and ask lots of questions! We're here to help!
All the best to you and Tasha,
Jackie, Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
scary times, for sure. when we found the lump on gayle's right wrist, we initially had a needle biopsy, which indicated cancerous spindle cells. our vet did surgery to explore the tumor and get a biopsy section. i was by gayle's side during the surgery - there was no was the tumor could be removed, as it was intwined with the vessels, nerves, tendons, etc. it was small, but invasive. we opted for amputation of her leg, including scapula. gayle was 10 at the time, and weighed about 70 lbs.
we followed with five rounds of chemo. gayle did very well, and was with us for almost 22 months after that, losing her battle to a second cancer (oral melanoma), not to her initial soft tissue sarcoma. get all of the facts, and trust your heart.
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
I'm so sorry to hear about Tasha. I don't have any experience except being here for a long time and reading of others. But "jerry" pretty much covered everything in her post.
Wishing you all the best.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Thanks so much everyone for all the great advice and knowledge. The Oncologist at Tufts wouldn't see Tasha until she had a bone biopsy done. I had the choice to do the biopsy with my regular vet or at Tufts. I decided just to go straight to Tufts since they have all the resources and specialists there.
It seems like amputation is probably the best option but it's still such a hard pill to swallow. I worry about her (and I) adjusting. But from everything I have read most dogs seem to adjust well. I feel horrible that she is in this pain and will do anything I can for her. I hope to have more answers tomorrow. I'll keep everyone updated and I am sure that I will have a million more questions here as we make this journey.
Thanks again!
Tasha was a German ShepherdBorder Collie mix who was diagnosed with OSA at age 8. On December 29, 2011 she had her front right leg amputated and received 4 rounds of chemo. Sadly and suddenly Tasha became sick and we discovered she had liver cancer that had spread to her lung. After almost 19 months, Tasha earned her wings on July 17, 2013. No regrets and never forgotten.
Hi Tasha's mom, I'd be glad to share with you our experience with Limb Sparing surgery on our 2 year old Lab Misty. She was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma from an xray at our vets office. Within 4 days we had the confirming biopsy results of Osteosarcoma and amputation was highly recommended. But we went to UC Davis Vet Hospital for a second and third opinion and they told us that Misty was a good candidate for limb sparing surgery. That is what we wanted to hear. We did not in any way want her to lose her leg at such a young age. With that surgery also comes radiation for 4 weeks to kill any cancer cells, but only after a 2 week recuperation period from the surgery. So now that puts us at 6 weeks post limb sparing surgery and allot of time spent traveling to and from the hospital. After 4 chemo treatments the cancer grew back on the tissue just adjacent to the removed bone tumor. The radiation didn't slow down or stop the cancer at all. What I'm saying is that at the time I don't think I would have done anything different for Misty, but now knowing the realities of bone cancer we probably wouldn't have done the limb sparing surgery and just opted for the amputation if that was presented to us now. It would have avoided 4 weeks of radiation treatments and it would have taken the original tumor site out of her body. Who knows maybe the mets wouldn't have spread so fast if we had done it that way. We will never know, but know that we did what ever we could for our precious girl.
Misty's blog: http://misty.tripawds.com
Sister to Millie, 9 yr old choc. lab
Sister to Lola, 6 yr old choc. lab
Sister to Toby, 7 yr old rottie mix (officially my sons dog, but I'm still his mama!)
Sweetness to Fiona and Bill
Yes, limb-sparing sounds appealing to all of us because who isn't frightened at the idea of amputation when they first hear or picture it? If a dog doesn't have cancer, it makes sense to perhaps take a route that will involve a longer healing time. If an aggressive cancer is involved like OSA, I wouldn't want to devote more time to medical treatment. I'd want my dog to have as much time out of the clinic to enjoy whatever time he or she has ahead. And that is something we just don't know when starting down this road. It could be 1 month, 10 months or it could be the full life span.
I would guess she will get more of that quality time more quickly on three legs than on a bionic leg that requires more down-time to work well.
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