Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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Firstly, I just want to say this site is incredible!! Thank you to all of you!
Our Lylee Girl (12 year Shepherd mix) is really going through a tough time at the moment. We have had 5 visits to the vet in the last 2 weeks trying to get to the cause of her lameness in her right front leg. She had a previous fracture of the humerus last year, two bone biopsies were negative for cancer. The bone healed well after two grueling surgeries and a very long rehab period but got back to her fab. beach walks and long hikes.
Increasing lameness in the last few weeks sent us on a new journey. First 2 visits to her regular vet and lots of x rays showing nothing conclusive. But the pain was increasing so we went to an orthopedic surgeon, last Monday, who also initially didn't see anything worrisome. So she said come back for repeat x rays in 4-6 weeks. But her pain was getting unbearable, 2 days after seeing the surgeon we were maxing out carprofen (75mg once a day), tramadol (150mg every 6 hours) at the highest doses for her weight (85 lbs) and it didn't seem to touch the pain plus there was now swelling on the leg. So we called the surgeon, who is part of a large specialist group and emergency hospital, and said we have to see you right away! The surgeon was in surgery with 2 major procedures that afternoon (Wed) but said come and see an emergency vet. We did and had a fentanyl patch applied (100 mcg) and set an appointment for the next day.
So on Thursday she repeated the x-rays and the radiologist with the hospital read them and unfortunately there was an area on the humerus above all the hardware from the fracture repair that is very supicious and looks like a tumour :((
The surgeon said it definitely was a new diagnosis, not connected in anyway to the fracture; bones don't heal when cancer is present and her's did (so she could subsequently charge around the beach, etc for the last 9/10 months 🙂 Her lungs look very good when x-rayed.
They also aspirated some fluid from the swelling, this has been sent off to the lab and if it comes back positive for cancer then we will be scheduling amputation ASAP!! If the results are inconclusive then a bone biopsy will be the next step.
When we brought her home last night her pain still seemed really bad. So, so distressing. I had some acepromazine left over from her surgeries last year and gave her 25mg also suggested by emergency vet. Well this actually helped her anxiety and response to pain but oh my gosh 24 hrs later she is still very sedated, again consulted with vet and staff and have held off on tramadol and just the fen. patch and carprofen.
Now we wait. Ugh - the waiting!
Thank you again for this precious website 
http://lyleegir.....ipawds.com
Oh the waiting is definitely the hardest part.
Given your girl is in so much pain, would you consider amputation even without a diagnosis?
Here is why I ask: we spent a lot of time and money trying to find out if Tate had cancer or not. The aspiration was inconclusive, the surgical biopsy was inconclusive, we sent it to another lab, we got a second opinion, we ran more tests. His pain was well-controlled, not nearly what Lylee is going through. We were so scared of amputation.
We finally decided to move forward because the bone was definitely compromised and he would be more restricted with a compromised bone that with three legs. Always the risk of pathological fracture.
They biopsied the amputated leg and confirmed it was cancer but I wish we had just done it in the first place.
Okay, that is our situation and not your situation and you have to make the decision. I just wanted to throw that out there as food for thought. Whatever you decide is, by definition, right. Because only you know your dog and we know you love her to pieces. Whatever you do, we are here for you!
http://tate.tripawds.com/
August 16, 2006 to November 28, 2011
TATE ~ Forever in our hearts.
Okay, so we finally got hold of the surgeon today and the test results were in from the aspirate they did from the swelling- they were negative for any malignancy. "Giant multi -nucleated cells including osteoclasts and osteoblasts" were seen, apparently they got down to the bone for the aspirate. So our next step is to do the bone biopsy. There is an outside chance that this is an infection from maybe the implants that were used to repair the fracture last year even though the bone lesion seen is above the break and hardware, so we have started Clavamox which can also be a prophylactic when she has surgery.
Her pain seems much reduced! Yay!! Still have the fentanyl patch on, Carprofen and Tramadol. Eating well and enjoying all her fav treats 🙂
I applied a carpal sling/splint which means she is tripawd - using her bad leg when the pain is masked by narcotics just increases the pain when is wears off and could further damage the leg too and cause more pain. She actually lived for 6 weeks last year with this sling on as a tripawd to get her leg to heal properly from the fracture. So she has some experience doing the 3-leg thing - she is sooo game! What a girl!
I can understand just removing the leg when the pain is so bad even before one has a definitive diagnosis. So the fact the pain is much better managed now is brilliant. May it continue this way until we figure out what is causing it.
Thank you again for this site and all the info and wonderful support!!
http://lyleegir.....ipawds.com
That's fantastic news!
I was going to chime in what tatespeeps was saying but that is fantastic that it's an infection (yay for infections!)!
Let us know how it turns out!
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.
Always a good sign when they are enjoying the treats! She looks like a sweetie. Glad she handles the sling well.
Send good wishes that it will just be an infection!
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!
Lylee& Family, thanks for joining us here (with deepest apologies that you even had to!). We're sorry about all that you've been through, what a year. Yikes!
Glad you have the pain under control and a plan of action too. Sounds like you have a good medical team on your side. By any chance is it Dr. Kay's group out of Rohnert Park, VCA? Great clinic, if so (we're big fans of Dr. Kay).
It's scary when you don't have a definitive answer and have to go through the bone biopsy process. Be prepared that it is a very painful procedure so be sure to get all of the pain meds you think you'll need. Be sure to let us know what happens next OK? We're keeping our paws crossed that it's something that can be controlled without amputation.
Good luck!! And you're welcome, we're glad you found the site so useful, you made our day 🙂
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome to the family. I will throw my three paws worth in. Gus was limping for about a week before we took him in. we took him in and didn't do any x-rays at that time, which was my choice, vet suggested it but when he told me an x-ray won't show muscle problems I said why spend the money, dumbest decision I made, 2 weeks later did an x-ray and saw a suspicious spot, sent x-rays to Columbus, they felt cancer, so we did a bone biopsy, came back negative but the overwhelming evidence said amputate, which is what we did. But, he was in extreme pain after that biopsy, so be ready for that. Our vet took 4 small samples, so I'm not sure what to tell you since most of the time I suggest to not waste the money and go straight for the amputation, but that is when the evidence gives you a strong probability there is cancer present. It's great your not dealing with cancer, I just hope nobody is missing something, which with all the test you have ran I would think if there was a problem it would have been found at some point in time. Good luck, Paws Up, Spirit Gus and Dan
My buddy Gus had a left front amputation on April 7, 2010 and lived a great life until July 26,2010
Thank you for all your thoughts on this. It is so good to have others to be with us on this path.
So Lylee is feeling great today! Amazing after all the pain. It was so awful to see your baby in horrible pain and not be able to take it away immediately! I know that wrapping her leg so she cannot put any weight on it has really help alleviate the pain. She is quite confident on 3 legs (being a tripawd for 6 weeks last year) so she isn't stressed by the change, she is actually much happier!
Yes! The vet Clinic we are using is VCA Animal Care Center in Rohnert Park, the orthopedic surgeon is Lisa Alexander. She has been very generous with her time as we are the sort of pawrents to ask oodles of questions!
It's really good to know that bone biopsies are very painful - I so do not want to put her through any more pain that necessary.The fact they could come back negative is worrisome. All the pain for what?! The vet was actually somewhat surprised that the aspirate came back negative. She and the radiologist seem pretty certain the lesion they saw on the film was a sarcoma (the 'horse'), so the infection is an outside chance (and that's the 'unicorn') We are a little mystified that the fluid filled swelling has almost all gone this evening. Do swellings from cancer go away like this? I have all the xrays and the lab test that I want to post online hopefully on her new tripawd blog - i would love feedback as I'm sure many of you have seen sarcomas and how they present in different ways.
Thank you again for all the support!!!
Lylee and her Pawrents, Jo & Ron
http://lyleegir.....ipawds.com
We postponed the bone biopsy that was scheduled for today and pushed it back until tomorrow. We spoke to the surgeon again and she explained the findings again. It seems this is the next best step because of the implants we need to rule out an infection.
I started her blog! I know family and friends will want to follow her progress. Thank you again for having such a strong supportive community and excellent info!
http://lyleegir.....ipawds.com
Welcome! It's great to read that the pain is lessening for Lylee. Please keep us posted on what you find out. Sending you lots of golden hugs!
Cathy
lyleegirl said:
I started her blog!
Thanks for sharing Lylee's story! Remember to include a link to Lylee's Blog in your forum posts so members know where they can read it. Or, complete your Profile (see button at top right) to put the link in your signature that will appear beneath all your posts. Adding your blog URL as your "Website" in your general profile info will also place a link above all your posts.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hello everyone,
Lylee had a bone biopsy on Tuesday. The surgeon was really good about pain control and gave her lots of pain meds plus a local block @ the actual site. She seems pretty comfortable, we kept up her meds up and so she seems relatively in not too much pain.
Lyla got to post her own story to her blog 🙂
Fingers crossed for a good result!
Jo,
Lylee's mum.
http://lyleegir.....ipawds.com
yes indeed, paws crossed for good info from that biopsy.
charon & 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
Hoping for good results and no cancer!
Diagnosed with OSA: 5/2/2011 Ampuversary: 5/11/2011 OSA returned in hip: 8/26/2011
Chili Dawg crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 8/30/2011 & is now pain free. He was my heart dog, and I miss him every day.
All paws crossed hear for Lyla. Thanks for the update.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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