Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

Treatment for Ginger, 11 years old.  Fibrosarcoma in rear leg on a Labrador mix.

Suburbs of Los Angeles in 2019.

Private practice.

Discovered when it was already very large so urgency was important (if it had grown significantly larger, the surgeon would have had difficulty getting a successful surgery with sufficient margins).  Identified as grade II in the initial biopsy but upgraded to grade 3 post-amputation.  So, our interest in getting it attended to quickly turned out to be important.

We spent very little time waiting for test results or doctor’s appointments (I was making the next appointment based on assumptions of what we would want to do moving forward even before we got the test results at each stage so I could minimize the wait time for appointments).

We had an excellent recovery – no complications – couldn’t have hoped for anything better.

Note that Ginger had no lameness prior to the surgery (didn’t appear to have any pain – was using her limb normally).  The doctor said that dogs who have pain in their limb prior to the surgery sometimes adapt more easily because they have gotten used to not putting much pressure on that leg or not even using it.  But, Ginger didn’t appear to have any difficulty in that regard even though she effectively had to adapt from 4 legs to 3 literally in one day. 

Rough Costs for diagnosis and treatment of fibrosarcoma. ($5800)

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$500 fine needle aspiration and initial x-rays

$700 biopsy

$800 surgical consultation and additional x-rays

$400 abdominal ultrasound (to confirm no other health issues that might influence long term prognosis or ability to tolerate the surgery)

$3100 surgery and related expenses (medication, hospitalization, etc.)

$300 miscellaneous (ramp plus other miscellaneous things that we bought to be prepared for her recovery – not counting time off work)

Timeline

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8/30 Discovery and fine needle aspiration plus initial x-rays. (needle aspiration was inconclusive)

9/4 biopsy

9/11 surgical consultation

9/16 ultrasound (couldn't be done on 9/11 because this was a small practice, and the doctor who performs the ultrasounds was on vacation until 9/16, but the earliest surgery opening was 9/19 anyway so we scheduled the surgery even before we had the ultrasound results).  Note that getting an ultrasound in Los Angeles was more difficult than I expected.  We couldn't find anyone that would simply do an ultrasound that had been ordered by another doctor and give us the results.  Everywhere we called required that we schedule a consultation and allow that doctor to determine whether they wanted an ultrasound (essentially getting a second opinion).  The practice we went to had a doctor in house who would do an ultrasound even though she wasn't our primary doctor, but she happened to be on vacation.  We didn't want to put Ginger through more exams and visits to another doctor just to get an ultrasound that we weren't guaranteed they would provide anyway.  So, we waited for this doctor to get back from vacation.

9/19 surgery

9/20 home from surgery about 25 hours after the surgery ended – walked to the car (sedan) and hopped in/out but was carried into the house (we have a few steps)

evening of 9/20 walking in/out of the house to pee (up/down two steps)

9/22 redness deepened and spread across the abdomen

9/22 a short walk

9/23 first post-surgery bowel movement

9/23 walked about 200 yards

9/24 most of the redness is nearly gone or significantly diminished

9/28 walked around the block (typical residential neighborhood block – about 10 minutes – she seems to be walking faster than before the surgery, in general – maybe that’s due to how she’s learning to balance – and she really didn’t stop to sniff like she usually does)

9/29 reduced pain medication by half

10/2 walked around the block for the second time – about 15 minutes (stopped more often to smell the flowers and is starting to walk at a more normal pace)

Two weeks post-surgery 10/3:

10/3 digging in the dirt!  (I mention this because it takes a lot of balance for her to be able to stand on two legs and dig with the third, so I consider it a major milestone)

10/3 stopped pain medication

10/3 walked about 3/4 mile (up a relatively steep hill for part of the walk) – this is her normal nighttime route (she led the way – this is where she wanted to walk) – I think she was a little tired by the time we got back but was not in any distress

10/3 sutures removed

Julia and Ginger

Griffin (10-year old goldendoodle) was initially diagnosed with osteosarcoma via x-ray on March 17, 2020.  OSA diagnosis was confirmed via biopsy on March 20, 2020.  Amputation surgery occurred on April 2, 2020.  First round of chemo administered on April 17, 2020.

Amputation Costs

• What city/state/country/date did your Tripawd have the amputation? New York, NY
• Total cost of surgery? $4,240 (1 night stay, inclusive of all meds and testing, including biopsy of amputated limb & lymph nodes)
• Private practice or teaching hospital? The Animal Medical Center (hospital)

Chemotherapy Costs

• What kind of cancer does your dog have? Osteosarcoma
• What size is your dog? 60lbs post-surgery (68lbs pre-surgery)
• Type of chemo given? Carboplatin
• # of sessions? 6 scheduled (every 4 weeks) [1 session completed at this time was well-tolerated and CBC blood tests show no signs why all 6 rounds will not be completed]
• Total cost of treatments? $10,200 (estimated based on estimate of $1,700/round with $900 for Carboplatin & $800 additional costs for catheterization, exam, tests, etc.)
• Private practice or teaching hospital? The Animal Medical Center (hospital)

Additional Costs

• Abdominal ultrasound - $450 (before starting chemo & then every 6-12 months)
• Chest x-rays - $300 (usually with diagnosis & then every 3-4 months)
• CBC blood test - $65 at local vet w/ no exam or $250 at AMC w/ exam (weeks 1 and 2 after first round of chem; might need additional if tests reveal too low white/red blood cell or platelet count)