Hi Anna,

I don't know of any dogs who did limb sparing surgery but I do know of a cat. I'm not sure if its the same type of surgery, but Joey the garden cat, a little celebrity cat in Arkansas had osteosarcoma and had limb sparing surgery. I've copied a link to some info about it here. Do keep in mind OSA is much less aggressive in cats than it is in dogs, but I wanted to give you some info on limb sparing since I did know one situation where it has worked out :). I know whatever decision you make will be with Tyson's best interests in mind because you love your boy!!!

Here's the link:
http://www.azzo.....ment-plan/

Hi - we actually had a pretty straightforward decision to make.  Two weeks ago our greyhound Eva was in quite severe pain from suspected bone cancer - although she was still eating and enjoying cuddles she was in too much pain to have any quality of life.  I had spent about five days reading up on bone cancer before we managed to get her x-rays, and was really worried that we wouldn't be able to do anything.  Our normal vet was really discouraging about amputation, so we took her for a second opinion, and this vet, an orthopedic surgeon, thought amputation was a viable option.  He kept her in for a lung x-ray - I was so happy when he called to say her lungs were clear and he went on and did the amputation.  The choice was amputate or put to sleep, so I didn't really worry about the risks of the surgery - yes, all surgery carries some risk, but if the alternative is worse you have to take that risk.  We're now two weeks post-amp - that's two weeks we wouldn't have had otherwise.  No idea how much longer we've got with her, but nobody knows how long they've got, so we're just trying to enjoy life as it comes.

I understand how important Tyson is to you, and know that you want to do the best for him.  You need to think about what will be least painful and stressful for him - there are lots of accounts on here of dogs who have had amputations which should give you an idea of what amputation, at least, will involve.  Whether amputation is the best option depends very much on the individual dog - some dogs will not be suitable for mental or physical reasons, but I think you need to start from the viewpoint that amputation itself is not a big bad scary thing - for the right dog it's a viable, positive option. For another dog, it won't be a suitable option because of some particular thing to do with that dog's situation, not because amputation itself is in principle a bad thing.

I don't know anything about limb sparing, but you shouldn't feel bad if you need to think about costs - Tyson doesn't want your family to go bankrupt and have to eat beans on toast (or whatever you eat in the States) for the rest of your lives.

You have to look honestly at how Tyson might cope with the different options you've got, and how you as a family can support him, but don't torture yourself with what ifs that you can't control.

It's a horrible position to be in, but you will do what is best for Tyson.  And as everybody else will probably be along to say, he's not worried about any of this - he's probably just wondering when he's getting his next treat, if he's like every lab I've ever known!

Hi Anna.  My boy Max was diagnosed with osteosarcoma way back in November 2008.  At the time, the only two options we considered were limb sparing surgery or amputation.  I was against amputation because I couldn't imagine taking away one of his legs.  However, our oncologist told us the limb sparing surgery had an extremely long recovery time (months!).  Also, at the time, the only place "close" to us that did that surgery was in Colorado (we are in California).  So, limb sparing surgery went out the window, and the only thing I concentrated on was amputation.  

Now that my mind was set on amputation, we were told Max may not be a candidate because he had hip dysplasia in both hips (nothing major, every once in a while it would affect him for a day or two, mostly when it was cold).  So, I freaked out again, thinking now my boy had no chance at all.  We had a sit down with the surgeon.  He looked at the x-rays of Max's back legs and told us he thought Max could handle it, and if Max was his dog he'd go through with the amputation surgery.  That was all we needed to hear.  Max had his left front leg amputated the next morning.  

Max took a bit longer to recover than some of the stories you've probably already read here on Tripawds.  Max really wasn't back to his "normal" self until about 4 1/2 weeks after surgery.  I think it was a combination of major surgery, and coming off all the meds he was on.  But once we got over that hill, there was no stopping him.  I still consider the amputation of Max's leg to be one of the best decisions I have ever made in my entire life (and I'm almost twice your age!).  Max had too much life in him for us to give up on him.  We ended up doing chemo, and Max lived a total of 14 months after diagnosis/surgery.  Best 14 months I've ever had!!

You are going to read so many different stories here on Tripawds.  All you can do is get all the knowledge available to you, and make the best decision for your boy.  Whichever decision you make will be based on your absolute love for your boy, so it will be the right decision.