Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Day 3 is off to a great start.
Maddie's BM's seem to be back to normal, and her appetite is still great.
Her incision site looks awesome however, she is still quite puffy underneath her incision. Well, actually the left belly area almost.
(Left rear amp) Feels soft probably fluid build up. However there is NO drainage at all. It's not near the incision. It's not a bubble, just a puffy area. Is that normal?
She's feeling better about things too. On this mornings potty outing, she insisted on walking around the apartment building verses just out to do business and back in. She didn't even stop to rest! I don't want to let her over do it, but I also want to encourage her to do what she feels she can. She wanted to go sniffing around, so I let her.
I brought her back in she had breakfast and her meds and is now resting on the couch beside me.
She stands at the couch like she wants up, so I lift her up there. But she just pops up and hops off when she's done. I guess that's ok?
She has not yet acted interested in licking her incision. Just one or 2 licks last night and I told her no and she left it alone. So so far, no cone! 🙂
Sounds like everything is going good so far.I wouldn't be to concerned with the swelling. if you start to see some oozing of a pussy looking fluid and have a foul smelling odor coming from the incision with a redness I would call the vet. Gus had redness around his incision a few days after surgery and it was just bruising. Our vet told us to keep Gus from alot of activity to fast, might cause a fluid buildup at the incision and lead to having to drain it, but sounds like your doing everything right so far
My buddy Gus had a left front amputation on April 7, 2010 and lived a great life until July 26,2010
Thanks. There is nothing oozing. Her incision is above where the puffiness and pooling fluid seems to be.
You can see it in this picture. That is not fat hanging, but swelling, that feels soft. Just hope this is not going to be a problem. Does this seem like normal swelling to ya'll?
Kelly, can you take a picture further back? I know it won't have the detail, but a bit more of her body will add a bit more context. As Dan said, it doesn't look red or angry or anything like that. I have a front amp and haven't seen a rear amp up close. But how about a picture further away from the incision?
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Looks like Maddie is healing beautifully! Seromas and post-op fluid buildup are perfectly normal. Jerry's never leaked, and we only had to have it trained once. Thanks for the update, please keep on posting updates.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Kelly,
Maddie looks great. Her post op course is similar to what Isabelle experienced…uneventful. She too was up & about, out on short walks & generally acting as if everything was normal other than being tired. Not using the amputated limbfor so long pre-op seems a definite advantage.
When tissue is manipulated it swells. Edematous tissue will retain fluids, particularly when in a dependant position, as is the tissue medial to Maddie's incision. This is not the same thing as a seroma . She may develop one, but what you're seeing looks like normal tissue response to a surgical insult. I used the stockinette on Isabelle to expedite reabsorption & minimize swelling, because she was up & active frequently, and was laying on her operative side immediately. The tissue may be a bit irritated & excoriated because of swelling, surgical prep, tissue clamps, etc. As the swelling resolves, it can itch, peel, & just be uncomfortable. I used Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief (zinc oxide & oat essence) Cream on it (surrounding tissue, not incision) a few times/day & avoided any of these annoying issues.
Cynthia
I have someone very sweet from this site sending me some stockinette for Maddie. I hope it comes in tomorrow 🙂
So, I may need to go get in drained? I was wondering about that. I wonder why my Vet didn't warn me that this could happen?
Thank goodness for you guys here helping by sharing your experiences.
I'm very happy with her incision and her recovery at this point.
Thanks for everyone's help.
I wouldn't worry about getting anything drained at this point, Kelly. It looks fine. I'm sorry the package didn't come yet...it seems like a long time.
Cynthia
no, no worries. You have no idea how much appreciate you sending them. I am sure they will be in soon.
Thank you again 🙂
Chloe had a bit of bruising under the incision site with a bit of swelling. That went away in about a week for her. No draining, no nothing except for her body doing her own thing. Chloe is a left rear amp too! Brings me back to those days when she was just recovering...time really does fly!
Lets hope she continues to do well!
-Chloe's mom
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
Bud had a seroma so big, I thought it looked like a cow utter!!! No draining for him because they didnt want to introduce bacteria into it. It took over 3 weeks but it did absorb back into his body. He still has a small lump. Maddie really does look good!
Thanks everyone, I feel more at ease with it now.
At least this morning it doesn't look any bigger, just about the same for now.
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