jerry said
Hi guys, welcome. Chomp sounds like a real sweetie, I'm sorry he's feeling so down.

Have you talked to your vet about your concerns? At 12 days out he should be getting his sparkle back. Not up to his old normal, but a little more than what you are describing. What kind of pain meds is he on? How much and how often? His dosage could be too high, or, sometimes what you are describing (lack of energy, sleepiness) can be pain signals that dogs give.  

Also, about his incision. Bruising is normal, but is should be clearing up by now. Does the incision area smell at all? Fluid release is normal, it's called a seroma and it certainly can happen at about this point in time. But the fluid should be more watery than bloody. If there is smelly discharge, then that could be sign of infection. And if that's the case it could explain his lack of energy. 

Don't panic but also don't wait for the two days. Call your vet in the morning and let them know you are concerned and want to bring him in asap. Keep us posted OK? 

  

Thanks Jerry. As of today, he is on one Codeine pill every 8 hours. He finished his Gabapentin on Saturday and Sunday and Monday we were doing Codeine every 6 hours. As far as the wound, no smelly discharge. I'm mainly concerned about the coloration because the "bruising" hasn't improved since the day we picked him up. If anything, some parts of the exposed area are darker than before. Besides smelly discharge, any other symptoms of infection we should be on the look out for?

jerry said
Hey there. From what I understand, Codeine is a very mild pain medication and we typically don't see it prescribed here for amputation surgery recovery. If that's what your vet prescribed, then I would talk to them about Chomp's symptoms. He may need to be on something like a Gabapentin, Tramadol and Amantadine combination for a while longer. That is not uncommon at all.

If your vet says pain medication is not necessary, or doesn't seem receptive to the idea of investigating why Chomp is lacking energy and oomph then follow the advice of Dr. Robin Downing and search for a vet who is more up to date on pain management . We can help you locate some options in your area if you'd like. Also, check out our articles about why AAHA-accredited clinics are a good way to go. 

As for the incision, any infection can present itself as smelly discharge, warm to the touch, lack of energy in the patient and lack of appetite. Don't wait, call your vet OK? Let us know what they say.

  

Hi Jerry, 

Thanks again for your input - always nice to hear a second opinion! An update on Chomp's status: on your advice last night, we took our big guy to our local emergency vet (AAHA accredited and sister site from the location that did Chomp's amp). The ER vet on-site was concerned that parts of the flap of skin used to cover the amp site had started to necrotize and that he might need follow-up surgery to remove the dead skin. She recommended we follow up with his surgeon in the AM. First thing this morning we visited his surgeon (also at an AAHA accredited location) about our concerns. He removed all the bandages and came to the conclusion that he does not think the skin is necrotized. He believes that there's topical, first-layer bruising on the flap and that the sizable seroma could be slowing down the healing progress. He was pleased with the closure of the wound and removed the staples a day ahead of schedule. He drained some of the seroma fluid and we sent it off to 100% rule out infection. We started a secondary round of antibiotics as a precautionary measure. 

As far as pain is concerned, we are not concerned 🙂 Chomp was on a Gabapentin/Codeine combo for a solid 10 days, and we have been slowly reducing the last few days as he seems fine. We have taken him off the pain meds today and will keep him off of them unless he indicates a need. We think his lethargy stems from a sensitivity to the pain medications. Any time Chomp has had to be medicated, the effects on him are strong, so we're hoping to see an increase in energy in the next day or so. We have a follow-up appointment on Friday AM to check on the progress of the wound/skin flap post-staple-removal. I will update with any new news!

jkopper said
So glad you were able to get in and get an evaluation from your vet! 

Our forelimb amputee, Grover, took a bit longer to bounce back than some (he's also an older guy at 10ish) but we really felt like we hit the "home free" mark at 3 weeks. I think that changing their gate, as forelimb amputees, is a lot of work (lots of hopping!) which gives them more of a work out. We went from hiking for a few hours several times a week before surgery to needing to stop and take breaks just to hop around the apartment building. 

Every dog is different … but codeine and opioids in general make Grover incredibly lethargic and mentally out of it. The caveat I will say though is that although we had an awesome initial recovery I think we started reducing pain mediations to soon which ultimately set us back. It's a hard balance to create. 

I second what Jerry said -- Rehab has been incredibly helpful for us in the recovery period!

Good luck with you boy -- I hope all tests come back clean on his incision! 

  

Thank you so much for the reply. Your situation sounds very similar to what we've been experiencing. I think a combo of the meds and the extra work have been contributing to some of his drowsiness/general laze. He's been able to get up and around OK since day one, just seems like such an effort.

We fully stopped all pain meds yesterday, after 13 days, and he seems to be doing just fine. If anything, he's been more alert and has more "life" in his eyes. We follow up about the incision tomorrow, and are hoping he will be in the clear - I'll update then. We are definitely going to use the rehab consultation offer. Any way we can exercise Chomp to help him rebuild strength and stamina will be so meaningful to our family. 

I appreciate you sharing your experience and your support

jerry said
Hey how is Chomp doing these days? Hope things are great!

  

Hi Jerry, thanks for checking in! Chomp is doing very well! His tumor was in his shoulder, so his amputation was a fairly massive surgery - removing more than just the leg. As such, he had a large wound that required grafting. Since his initial surgery, half of the skin graft is healing nicely, the other half is at risk of necrosis. If that graft necrotizes, he will have to undergo another surgery to remove the dead skin and make another attempt at closing the wound. 

So far, the skin is hanging on for dear life  We go back once or twice a week so that the surgeon can keep a close eye on the progress. So far, we've been able to drain about 1,000 MLs of seroma fluid (gross) from the area, and we think removing that helps the graft lay as flat as possible and is contributing to the healing process. At our last appointment two days ago, the entire wound was looking marginally better, so we're hoping to be able to push off another procedure. For now, Chomp still has bandages covering his skin graft/chest to provide compression. 

As far as his demeanor, I couldn't be happier. As we dosed down his meds, he got a little more alert every day. However, it was the removal of the staples that was a real game-changer. As soon as they came out, he's been alert, happy, and wanting to do more physical activity. He's been cleared to go on walks, so we are working on building up his stamina. He can do about 200 yards now until he becomes exhausted, but what an improvement! Seeing his ears perk up and him hop to the door whenever I ask "do you want to go on walkies?" makes my heart melt