Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone, been some time since I've logged in but it's been a crazy month!
Rufa was doing great and recovering well after his surgery (January 4th), and tolerated his first 2 chemo treatments well. Then about 2.5 weeks ago (on Valentine's Day) he tripped in the yard and fell (momentarily) on his amputated shoulder. It was 6 weeks post-surgery. It didn't seem to bother him, however at his 2nd chemo appointment 3 days later they pointed out that a mass had formed on his shoulder (the surgery site). They did an aspirate and confirmed that it was likely a hematoma. We went back to our regular vet a few days later as it seemed to be growing by the day and was getting uncomfortable for him. They kept saying to apply warm compresses throughout the day to see if that helps and to discontinue his Metacam. A few days later he seemed in considerable pain still, off his food, crying a lot and seeming very depressed (not getting up to greet us, just laying around, not sleeping well). His vet said to wait 5-7 more days to see if it would go down, then to apply a tensor bandage to help, but that "it could take a very long time". It is at least the size of a large softball, if not 2. She said that if he still seemed unwell that they would look at other options, like surgery - but that if they drain it will likely just come back...???
This is very upsetting - Rufa is obviously uncomfortable as he doesn't sleep well at night and cries out after laying down on the hard floor (trust me, I try everything to get him to sleep in his cushy bed but he likes the coolness of the tile floor). I'm wondering if anyone else has had experience with this - your advice would be greatly appreciated! This was not what we had in mind for poor Rufa when we decided to amputate. I struggle with putting him through another surgery and I do admit I do consider just putting him down if the road to recovery is too long. I want him to be able to enjoy his post-amputation life, not to be in constant pain and on bedrest. 🙁
Danika
Hey Danika and HANDSOME, ADORABLE, CUDDLY RUFA!!
Good to hear from you and to know, other than this ugly hematoma, Rufa has been handled recovery like a champ!
I KNOW it's really hard ro see the light at the end of the tunnel and to see this new challenge as something that IS TEMPORARY. I can't gove you any firsthand knowledge, although, if I recall, my dog had one of these in his ears. It got ugly and painful before it finally went down and cleared up. If I recall, the vet did mention possible surgery, but did NOT mention that it would come back.. May not jave even been the same thing. Certainly javing this at the amp site is a whole different ball game.
Is he on any pain meds? Of not, you could ask the vet avout that to help until this thing dissipates. Not a vet, but I would think lain meds could help.
I would also suggest positing this under "Ask A Vet". Others will chime in with more help. I'm sure this has happened before....ugh!
Hang in there....deep breaths.....
Sending 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!
Aww poor Rufa, I'm so sorry! Yeah it's hard to deal with something like that when all you want is for a better quality of life. I know I might sound like a broken record here, but if you're ever not happy with what your vet is telling you, get another opinion at another clinic. If your vet is worth their salt they won't be insulted, they will welcome additional feedback that will help calm your worries.
I hope this gets better soon.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks Sally and Jerry. Also Jerry (Rene?) sorry, I know you messaged me about pictures some time ago but I couldn't figure out how to message you back - lol! Anyway, I will figure it out at some point. 😉
Rufa is on Tramadol and Gabapentin still - he is being seen by 2 vets (3 if you count the physio vet) so I feel like we have lots of eyes on him which is good, but I will keep that in mind. We took him in tonight as I forgot to mention he is drinking tons of water and urinating more frequently and actually peed in the house twice the other night (something he hasn't done since puppyhood), so they did a urinalysis and chemistry panel to see if anything else is going on with his urethra/bladder or kidneys. Sigh.
Also, my vet is going to give the hematoma another week to see what happens, so we'll see. But thanks for the idea, I may post in the vet forum. I am trying to look at it as a temporary setback, it just now seems like one thing after another but I would like to try to stay positive so thanks for the reminder. 🙂
Danika
I'm sorry you are dealing with this. The good news, hematomas will go away. The bad news is it can take a long time, especially if they won't leave it alone. I've dealt with... 3. I'm not sure I'd agree with your vet completely.
After Cora had her amputation she had a hematoma. That one went away with some compression bandages and time. The 2nd one was awful. Cora, who is blind and brain damaged so has additional challenges, fell on her stump. It formed a terrible hematoma that would not heal because Cora kept falling on her stump again and it ended up being this large, open wound. She really shouldn't have had a stump at all, as a front limb amputee with her challenges so we amputated her stump and she was so much happier.
The last hematoma was my other dog floyd. He got an ear hematoma (it is the same thing Sally). We tried leaving it alone. We tried hot compresses. We tried draining it (just came back). We tried compression which was absolutely ridiculous, infuriated and useless as Floyd could defeat anything we put on him. And I mean any cone, any bandage, anything. It just kept coming back involving his entire ear and into his ear canal. So, we tried surgery. Even after surgery, it came back a bit. Ears are a bit different and that's not as likely on the shoulder. At that point there was so much scar tissue it couldn't really spread and it wasn't bothering so I did some research and chose to leave it alone. And it healed. It was slow and there's a lot of scar tissue but it went.
Unless you are trying to get it to drain out, I don't think the hot compresses are a good idea. Think about something that's painful and swollen and then you add heat. I really think it added to pain. I think compression can definitely help, especially at an amputation site. Part of what can make a hematoma form is the blood trying to fill space that was previously occupied by bone, muscle etc. Draining definitely is rarely effective for long.
I hope some of that helps.
Topher
Vet Assistant (in school to be a licensed vet technician)
1.5 years Oncology department, moved to rehab & sportsmed December 2024
Tripawd Angel, Cora the Determined <3
rufasmama said
Also Jerry (Rene?)
Yes, Rene posts as Jerry.
I couldn't figure out how to message you back...
Click your Inbox button at top right above every Forums page to access the Private Messaging system.
Hope this helps!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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