Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi there, starting this topic as a continuation of this thread but to focus on Mia's recovery now that she has had her surgery yesterday - a rear leg amputation due to a mast cell tumor. Mia was crying since we picked her up yesterday. I had her set up on an orthepedic bed on the floor and was lying beside her. I called the vet and they prescribed tramadol (50mg, 3x a day) and increased her gabapentin dosage (200mg, 3x daily where she was originally getting 200mg a day), now I do want to say I know the current research shows tramadol not nearly as effective as it once was, but I wanted to give it a shot to at least see if it would help.
In the late evening she actually got off her bed and sat by the couch, and I set her up on the couch and she was instantly more comfortable; her crying stopped and she would actually fall asleep. I noticed throughout the night that her pain signals decreased, she was panting at some points, but hasn't resumed since early morning with increasing her gabapentin dose.
At one point in the night she actually jumped off the couch (which didn't go as planned, she fell, and I'm now making sure she never does this during her healing process), and walked to the door. We took her outside and she peed on her own, squatting perfectly.
Come to today, I haven't noticed any pain signals until we go to pick her up, she does whimper slightly as we adjust our grip. So far she has peed multiple times outside, and is eating and drinking! She hasn't pooped yet though, and I'm counting on that to come soon.
Overall, I have noticed a big improvement in a short 24 hours with Mia, but I know it is still early stages. Her bruising is quite concerning though, I have sent multiple pictures to the vet, and they said they did expect bruising due to how muscular she is. I do also notice what I think is a seroma forming at the incision site; almost looks like a flappy bag of fluid. She has experienced minor leakage, and the vet doesn't seem to be concerned, but I'm keeping a close eye on it.
My next hurdle is that it is a long weekend for us in Canada this weekend, which means our vet is closed, on the positive side that means both me and my partner will be off work and watching over her. However, I'm not looking forward to the closure but there is a 24/7 vet an hour drive away that is available.
Thrilled you are seeing some reallu good th9ngs to celebrate! Peeng....walking to the door...reclaiming her position on HER couch....decreased pain signals .....eating....drinking..
BRAVO MIA👏👏👏👏👏👏 EXCELLENT UPDATE!!!👍👍👍👍👍
called the vet and they prescribed tramadol (50mg, 3x a day) and increased her gabapentin dosage (200mg, 3x daily where she was originally getting 200mg a day),
Good job of advocating for better pain med protocol
now I do want to say I know the current research shows tramadol not nearly as effective as it once was, but I wanted to give it a shot to at least see if it would help.
Hahaha.......had to chuckle when I first read the Vet added Tramadol. I kind of sighed and thought.... Ugh. You were on top of the latest information thoug and have done your research! Good job!!!
also notice what I think is a seroma forming at the incision site; almost looks like a flappy bag of fluid.
Yeah, sounds exactly like that's what it is. You might try GENTLY massaging around the incision to help disperse the fluid. It will feel eventually reabsorb.
Give yourself a pat on your back....you are handling this early hard part of recovery like a Champ.......and so is Mia!!!!
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!
WOOHOO!!! That is so pawesome, way to go! 
I love that your vet responded to your advocacy.
When we sat in on the pain control webinar this week, we learned that while Tramadol isn't a first-line pain medication for amputation pain, it "may" work in some dogs as a second-tier, so that's probably why your vet (and many others) still use it.
Yes, a seroma is totally normal and as long as there's not any smelly or cloudy discharge, and it's more watery than bloody, it's normal. Bruising probably is too. Here's a couple of posts for ya:
What to Expect: Is My Cat or Dog’s Amputation Bruise Normal?
Amputation Seroma Swelling Care Tips
Happy Canada Day weekend! She will probably do just fine. 
Keep us posted on how things are going!
Actually it sounds like she is doing well overall.
And good job advocating! I've used tramadol for several surgery recoveries back when it was the 'fashionable' choice and it was effective. We always used in in conjunction with a NSAID or another pain med, I think it has been shown to work best with another drug. And if you see a positive outcome and you think Mia is comfortable then you are good!
TriPug Maggie didn't poop for 6 or 7 days post op....she was stubborn in more ways than one 
.
Mag didn't have a seroma after her amp but had a huge one after the first tumor was removed from her side about 6 months previous. It reabsorbed as she healed and didn't need any intervention.
Keep up the good healing Mia!!!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Hi everyone, I wanted to provide an update since it has been a week since Mia’s surgery, which is hard to believe for me. She is doing really well. She is having regular meals and water throughout the day. She finally had a bowel movement on her third day post op and now is regular again.
Her bruising is slowly starting to dissipate along with her fluid build up, her incision looks good with no signs of infection. Every day she gets better at walking, we let her walk around the house under supervision, and it’s amazing the progress she has made in just a week. She is now much more sure about her footing, she walks through the grass with confidence, doing her usual sniffing. She even walks super fast to the stairs after doing her business as a cue for me to pick her up and get her inside, fast! Honestly, she is nearly back to her old ways outside of being laid up and recovering.
Every day she surprises me with how well she is recovering, I find myself amazed at her strength and willpower, I honestly expected things not to go this smoothly. I’ve been watching for pain signals closely and the medication she is on now has been working. I feel like my cat is the one who is taking Mia's recovery the hardest as he is extra extra needy with the close attention we have been paying to Mia (he is currently lying across my arm and part of my keyboard as I type this).
I am still waiting for the results of the tumor they sent away to the lab, so when I know that I will update here as well.
What a great update! Dogs are so amazing and inspirational.
She is doing so well, and so are you!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Honestly, she is nearly back to her old ways outside of being laid up and recovering.
That's what we like to hear!!! Mia really is rocking her recovery! You still want to take things slowly, although Miss Mia might not agree !
Eating, drinking, potty and pooping....YAY! We love to celebrate 
around here!!!
Give your cat a couple of extra ear scratches for us!!
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!
Wooohoo! Mia is doing so well, thank you for letting us know that she's made such huge improvement! Dogs and cats heal so much faster at this than humans, they really are remarkable.
We have absolutely heard reports of other animals in the family feeling more needy during a time like this, so be sure to spoil your kitty as much as you can!
Hi everyone. I just wanted to give an update since it has been 5 weeks since Mia's surgery. We did get the results back and her tumor was a low grade MCT with evidence of spread to the lymph node. But both the pathologist and the vet were confident that it wouldn't spread and it could have just been a sign of drainage from that lymph node. We are just keeping an eye out for now and plan to do yearly x-rays and ultrasounds to ensure no spread (vet recommended).
In terms of how Mia is doing, she is doing absolutely amazing, and I am so thankful and grateful. She is up to walking a few times a day with me, obviously shorter than our walks before she was a tripawd, but is enjoying her life, going up and down stairs, playing fetch, running, and being her usual stubborn self.
I will update you all if anything changes with our story but so far everything is going good! Thank you again for all of your kind words and support and guiding me through her recovery.
YAAAAAY. FOR. MIA!!!!! 👏👏👏
enjoying her life, going up and down stairs, playing fetch, running, and being her usual stubborn self
This is exactly why we do what we do! And you know what? 3 weeks is still early and so to see her doing this well so early is spectacular! The report from the Bet sounds like it's a good one and the conclusion makes sense.
Thank you again for the update. Knowing Mia is going Mia again makes us all wo happy😊
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!
Marvelous Mia! You are a ROCK STAR!!! 
Cheers to another Corgi who is rocking the life on three legs and kicking cancer's butt. We are so so so hoppy for you!
If you ever feel like sending us a story for a Tripawd Tuesday Feature, please do. We will add Mia to the "short legs long body Tripawd dogs" success story roster so others can find hope when they need it!
Give her a big big smooch from us!
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