Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My dog is 11 days post op from a front left amputation and she is having massive drainage. The vet keeps coming to my house to change the compression bandage and to look at the incision. Yesterday it started to really smell and he said that it was fermenting. Does that mean rotting? She is on antibiotics and the vet doesn't seem concerned.This is making me exhausted because it is leaking like crazy everywhere and it smells. Also I can't leave the room because she tries to lick at it. I have an E collar but I hate putting it on her because it stresses her out.I have been spending my days watching her and washing and washing towels and blankets that are covered with this fluid.I feel like it is never going to end!
I am also very worried that something is seriously wrong and this is all I can think about.I can't sleep well and I have to sleep beside her to make sure she doesn't lick at it.
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You obviously aren't satisfied by what your vet is doing or what you are being told. I don't want to alarm you, but I can't stress this strongly enough. Get a second opinion. It may save her life.
This surgery is difficult enough for us humans without added worry.
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I feel like I am just being a worrier and letting my mind get the best of me. Since I haven't had much sleep I feel like I am going crazy. Two different vets have been attending to this. My dog is a Great Dane and she is very large and hard to transport so they have been coming to my house. They said that there is this much fluid because she is such a large dog and being that her leg was so large there is a very large hole left where her leg was and it takes time for everything to reconnect. I guess that makes sense but the smell is alarming to me and they are telling me to change the bandage every 2 days. It is saturated by then and doesn't seem like it should be left on that long being all wet and stuff. I'm not surprised it smells.
Most dogs will eventually get used to the cone of shame , or you can consider these alternatives. As much as it hurts to see them stress over it, giving them time with it on by themselves and remaining calm can help. The drainage does sound normal for a big dog, but if it is dark red or truly foul smelling you may want to seek another opinion if your vet is being unresponsive.
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I would like to add that she seems to be feeling ok. She is eating ,drinking and going potty fine and I even took her temperature in her ear and her rectum and they were normal.
Personally, I would get another vet's opinion. My dog's post surgery paperwork said that it there was any leakage that wasn't clear and odorless we should return to the hospital immediately.
And on a human note, my husband had two hip replacements last year and we had strict instructions to change the bandages 2-3 times per day. Two days with a wet bandage sounds incorrect to me.
I would also get a second opinion. Our vet also said to call immediately if the drainage smelled or was cloudy (not clear). My dog got an infection after his amputation and we had to switch antibiotics twice because the first two did not work. They tried the first two while we waited for the results from the culture which indicated that we needed to switch to a third. Once they found that there was an infection, the vet was also having me flush the wound by the drain 2-3 times a day (my dog did not have a bandage, but he did have a drain that was in him for over 2 weeks after his amputation).
If you're not comfortable getting a second opinion, perhaps you can ask your vet to teach you how to change the bandage, so that you can at least do that more often than every 2 days?
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