Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My sweet Charlie had grown a large red/purple spot about a 1/2 inch under his staples. His incision site looks great. I've been reading all the forum here and Charlie hadn't been back to his normal self at all. I get him up to eat. He eats a little. I get him up to potty and he goes. Then he lays back down. We are on Tramadol twice a day from the four x's a day bc we thought he was lethargic due to that. Today I noticed the red/purple spot got hard and something like a blood vessel popped up on it. I called the surgeon and she asked me to send a picture of it to her. I did. She said that since we have an appt tomorrow around 2, then we could wait to take a look but if it seemed to get worse, to call back.
We went outside and he came back in and got a drink of water. He walked back to his bed and he was shaking. I felt like he was in pain so I was going to go ahead and give him a Tramadol (which would've been 3 x's today), but I didn't want him in pain. I came back in to give him the med and all of the sudden that red/purple thing busted. Blood went everywhere. I grabbed blankets and everything I could to stop the bleed. I put him in the car and rushed to the vet.
Turns out it was an infected abscess. They drained and flushed it out, but the abscess will ooze for a couple of days. Charlie was put on antibiotics (calvamox 125 mg tabs 2 x's daily). We still go back tomorrow to remove staples, get a laser treatment at the site, and physical therapy.
Has this happened to anyone else? What should I ask the dr. tomorrow? I'm just sick over this.
Oh poor baby. No wonder Charlie hasn't been feeling well! Many people have experienced seroma after amputation, but I haven't seen very many infections like Charlie's abscess. It's good news that it's been drained and he's on antibiotics - I hope it heals quickly and that he starts feeling perkier now that it's drained.
Ok, I am going to sound my broken record again! Please, while you are there tomorrow, get them to culture some of the discharge to make sure Clavimox will take care of it. I wasted precious time waiting and then weeks more, trying to talk the vet into culturing for MRSA . Guess what......yep. MRSA is treatable, best when caught early. Please don't let me scare you, just have learned that it pays to be proactive. Hope he soon feels better. Lori, Ty & Gang
TY GUY, Best Black Lab ever! Diagnosed and had amp in January, 2014. Kicked MRSA's butt. Earned his angel wings on April 16, 2014. Run Free my boy and don't forget a shoe. Ty is a proud member of the " April Angels". Ty sent us Daryl, a Tripawd rescue in Sept. of 2016. Daryl is 5 +or -. We are also Pawrents to Chandler, a Border Collie mix who is 15 and 1/2, Lucy, a Corgi who is 7, 2 minis, 2 horses, and a feisty cat named Zoe. Zoe had a non skeletal Osteosarcoma removed in July 2015. No Chemo, she was at least 16. She is going strong although she is now completely blind. She is now close to 20 and her hobbies are eating and sleeping in front of her personal heater.
I'm so sorry Charlie hit a bump in the road in his recovery. How scary for you to have to deal with. Hopefully the antibiotics will clear it right up and Charlie can go on to an uneventful rest of his recovery. I'm curious if he was sent home with antibiotics? Most dogs come home with antibiotics in addition to their pain meds. Our boy developed a seroma so we were put on a different antibiotic at that time but he did come home with one too. Hang in there I bet Charlie will be feeling better shortly now. Hugs!
Linda, Ollie, Riley & Spirit Mighty Max
Lori is spot on! One of belpved Ty's life affirming legacies around here is to alert members that, whenever there is an abcess, check for MRSA ! Lori was a POWERFUL advocate for Ty and was able to uncover MRSA was causing some of his problems...and he beat it too!!
I'm so Vet, but it seems like it would be a real good idea to delay any PT right now unless it was just gentle massage or gentle stretching.
Did the Vet pack the abcess? Also, just throwing this out there, sometimes something like this coukd be a reaction to sutures. Its happened before.
This may explain a lot about why Charlie wasn't feeling very well. Did Charlie have a fever?
Please update us as soon as you can. We're all cheering for this precious pup!
Love and 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!
Thank you Lori! I will ask them tomorrow. I already want to ask them to do a white blood count and check for fever. Sally, they did flush the abscess out but he did not come home with it packed. The surgeon put a patch over the staples and said the abscess would drain over the next couple of days. They sent me home with the antibiotics. I'm so worried. I can't wait until tomorrow. I wish I could go right now!
Okay, deep breaths....B R E A T H E...... You were keepi g such a good eye on Charlie you were able to get this taken care of right away! The draining is good. You just want to make sure it stays clean, which I guess is what the patch is for.
Is it still draining a lot now? I know it will look scary if it continues to drain, but try not to worry. Hang in there!!!
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!
Awww....poor Charlie! Good thing you were on top of things! He should be starting to feel better once those antibiotics kick in. Infection is always a risk with any surgery. Cassie just had surgery on her foot to remove a lump, and when it wasn't healing right I took her back in and asked my vet about MRSA . He was actually surprised that I asked, he said that he didn't really hear about it much anymore. Turns out with her she just licked it and we had to keep in covered instead of open. But I'm glad I checked. Even being a nurse, I worry. or maybe especially being a nurse 🙂
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Oh ouch! Poor Charlie. But yeah great move to get him to the vet right away. Those meds will kick in and he will do just fine. And yes, insist on a culture just to be on the safe side. I'm sure he will start healing up and you'll put this behind in no time. hang in there!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh, I'm so sorry that Charlie developed an abscess! I agree with the others--it would be great if your vet would culture it. My Susie was on FIVE different antibiotics (AND antibiotic cream) and none of them helped, over a period of three months, until I finally got our local vet to agree to do a culture. It turns out that none of the antibiotics she prescribed would have worked against the two infections that were found, PLUS the vet did a biopsy at the same time and found Susie's cancer.
If your vet cultures Charlie's abscess right at the outset, you can be sure you're on the right antibiotic for the job, and not have to waste time doing the "trial and error" method. Charlie will feel much better once those nasty bugs are kicked right out of his system!
(((hugs))) to you and precious Charlie! Good luck tomorrow!
Oh my, my, it's been a long day! My sweet Charlie had his appt. I had the vet run a culture and happy to hear that they'd run a white blood cell count and CBC yesterday to make sure there was no staff. The abscess did ooze all night and big clumps of blood clots came out of the abscess opening. He's still eating, drinking, pooping, and lots of sleep. Today they sent me home with a plug in the abscess opening and a diaper like bandage on him that allows for potty. They said to call them if the diaper comes off. Guess what....we didn't even get into the house and the diaper was off. They asked me to drive back up there (45 minutes away) which we did. Then they packed it again and put a different diaper on him. The surgeon said that he didn't present with septic or MSRA. She said to come back on Saturday for a diaper change. They took out his staples and the incision looks fully healed.
She did say that she wasn't surprise Charlie developed the abscess bc she was aggressive and took out so much more muscle and bone to be sure she got it all. The abscess is just below the skin. It does look a lot better after they cleaned it. If the clotting doesn't work, I believe she's looking at stitching.
Thank you so much for giving the information to ask these questions and get the cultures. This forum is truly God sent!
Oh, Charlie, what a time you and your pawrent have had! So, so sorry that you had to go through an abscess, on top of the surgery! No wonder you've been lying around so much--you've been trying to heal!
Now that your vet is on top of things (thanks to your pawrent's excellent diligence and care), you can start to recover properly!
So glad the incision has healed (YAY, Charlie!) and that the vet was aggressive at getting rid of that horrible cancer!
Now all you need to do is get over the infection and you'll be perking up in no time!
(((((Hugs))))xxx from Nancy & Susie
Thanks for the update.
Overall, except for Charlie dodging wearing the diaper, it looks like things are going to finally get better!! Sounds like the Vet is getting a good handle on things.
Glad the culture eliminated MRSA and glad staph was eliminated.
Hopefully YIU can get some sleep while Charlie is snoozing away!
CHARLIE!!! Listen up! Keep that diaper on!!!
Love
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!
Well....the dr said to call if the abscess bled through the diaper then to call them. It bled through and I'm furious. I called this morning and demanded to be seen. I told them they need to stitch the hole or cauterize the bled. Has this happened to anyone else? I'm so frustrated!
Doggone it Charlie!
Yes, this does happen! I haven't had the experience personally, but I've seen it here with others. Thank goodness you're staying on top of things and being a wonderful advocate for Charlie!
Update when you can. Hopefully this will get handled quickly and there will be no more bumps in the road.
Love
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!
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