Rogan Having His Toe Amputated Tomorrow - Update Post 24 :-(

[Guest LindsaySF]

In mid-April Rogan came up onto the back deck holding his right rear leg up. I felt him all over and couldn't find any injuries except for one toe (outer right toe) being sensitive to the touch, and some swelling being present. The next day I brought him for an x-ray because he still wasn't fully weight-bearing on that leg. X-rays showed the soft tissue swelling but no fractures.

 

 

They wrapped and splinted his leg and the goal was to leave it wrapped for 4 weeks, to stabilize the toe while it healed. The splint inside the wrap broke (it was cheap plastic ) so I had to take the wrap off after only 4 days.

 

 

 

 

I brought him back to the vet and they rewrapped his toe, and used an external brace for support. That wrap lasted about 6 hours, I had to take it off that night because it was too tight (his toes swelled).

 

 

 

A friend knows someone that makes splints for humans, so we did a custom mold for Rogan and made him a custom splint. They did a great job, and made many modifications to it, but no matter what we tried it kept rubbing his skin raw. Hard splints and thin-skinned Greyhounds don't mix, but I figured it was worth a try. We used it for about a week.

 

 

At this point the toe began to displace out to the side when Rogan put full weight on it. A racing friend told me to wrap the whole foot with just vetwrap and elasticon, so I did that, hoping we could get the ligament to tighten up and heal on its own. Rogan was not happy and kept trying to chew the wrap, he had to be muzzled often. We wrapped it for a few weeks.

 

 

Despite all of our efforts, the toe continued to dislocate out to the side when he put full weight on it, and the 'bump' where the toe attaches to the foot kept getting larger. I brought him back to the vet last week for follow-up x-rays and while we still don't see a break, there are clear arthritic bony changes visible on that toe. It needs to come off. The vet wants to send it off for biopsy too to check for cancer or infection. I highly doubt that, I think this is just a mechanical problem due to the ligament being shot, but we'll send it to the lab just to be safe.

 

 

Here is the toe tonight. The toe next to it (the one with the nail going sideways, it has always done that), was making clicking noises at his exam last week. The vet said the last joint was luxating, but she wasn't worried about that one because it's not painful. Hopefully it doesn't become a problem.

 

 

 

 

And a photo of the patient.

 

 

 

 

 

His amputation surgery is tomorrow. Please think good thoughts for him? It's not a weight-bearing toe so I hope he bounces back quickly. He's going nuts not being able to run around (strict leash-walking for 2.5 months). And it's LGRA season! I'm irrationally worried about him going under anesthesia, I have myself all freaked out for some reason.

 

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

Edited July 6, 2012 by LindsaySF

[Guest Adrianne]

Good luck to Rogan. Many thoughts and prayers coming your way.

[dmdsmoxie]

Lindsay,

 

Why 10 weeks with strict leash walking?

 

Dogs that are racing and have an outside toe taken off are back racing in 6 to 7 weeks and usually it has little or no effect on their career.

[PrairieProf]

Good luck to Rogan! You've been through so much already, it will be good to know you're on the way to a permanent fix. I also wondered about the 2.5 months for an outside toe ... I waited about that long after Beth had a weight-bearing toe removed with some healing complications after, and the last few weeks of that were mostly me being a nervous nellie.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Dick, I meant that he's been on strict leash walking up until now (about 2.5 months), while the toe was wrapped and we were trying to get it to heal. I am hoping that the recovery time after the amp is much faster than that! My LGRA peeps tell me being a 3-toed boy won't slow him down. Has that been your experience with the track dogs as well? I hope so, I plan to be at the LGRA Nats in October.

 

 

~Lindsay~

[dmdsmoxie]

Dick, I meant that he's been on strict leash walking up until now (about 2.5 months), while the toe was wrapped and we were trying to get it to heal. I am hoping that the recovery time after the amp is much faster than that! My LGRA peeps tell me being a 3-toed boy won't slow him down. Has that been your experience with the track dogs as well? I hope so, I plan to be at the LGRA Nats in October.

 

 

~Lindsay~

 

The best dog I ever owned broke his toe and had it taken off. He was running AA at Wheeling when he broke it and when he returned he ran AA and never missed a beat. I know of plenty of other dogs and most had the same results.

 

Hope he recovers quickly and is back running in no time.

[greysmom]

As long as he tolerates the anesthesia well, he should be fine in no time!

[Guest VBanGogh]

Our boy Jester had his toe amputated (same foot, same toe as Rogan), and he did extremely well. His foot healed well, and pretty quickly, too. In five or six weeks he was zooming around the yard as if the amputation had never happened. We'll be thinking of Rogan tomorrow, but know he will do great!

[3greytjoys]

Positive thoughts for Rogan's successful surgery on Thursday.

 

Facing a similar surgery here. Tips several people mentioned to me:

Ask vet to amputate toe completely back (far enough back so hound doesn't painfully rub remaining tip of digit on the ground when he stands/walks).

Also, round off the bone, so it's not a sharp point that could penetrate through skin later.

 

You'll both be in our positive thoughts. Try to relax and breathe as much as you can. Love that last photo, what a handsome boy!

[Batmom]

Good luck, handsome!

[macoduck]

Gracie had a "toe-ectomy" and did just fine. Hope your boy does too.

[FiveRoooooers]

Good luck Rogan!!!

[Charlies_Dad]

Good thoughts for Rogan. I hope all goes well.

[GreyPoopon]

I hope everything goes well.

 

Cal, who had a similar (but much less severe) repeated-dislocation problem, sends smooches.

[Hubcitypam]

Both Buck and Buddy had weight bearing toes amputated before I got them. (The outside middle on the right foot in both) and were never any worse for the wear. Buck managed to break another toe in the yard and my vet absolutely refused to splint it, saying splinting causes pressure further up the leg that can be far worse than a broken toe. We really didn't do anything for him except some pain meds.

Rogan

Edited July 5, 2012 by Hubcitypam

[greytpups]

Positive thoughts for Rogan's successful surgery on Thursday.

 

Facing a similar surgery here. Tips several people mentioned to me:

Ask vet to amputate toe completely back (far enough back so hound doesn't painfully rub remaining tip of digit on the ground when he stands/walks).

Also, round off the bone, so it's not a sharp point that could penetrate through skin later.

 

You'll both be in our positive thoughts. Try to relax and breathe as much as you can. Love that last photo, what a handsome boy!

 

Excellent advice. When Bailey had her toe amputated the remaining tip always bothered her when she walked on hard surfaces. Best widhes for an uneventful surgery and recovery.

[NancyB]

I hope Rogan does well during his toe surgery

[sweetdogs]

What a gorgeous boy! Best wishes for an uneventful surgery, speedy recovery & back to running soon.

[maggiespet]

Prayers for an uneventful surgery and fast recovery coming for sweet Rogan.

[TINMANPDX]

Rogan, you are adorable ... best of luck to you and wishing you a fast recovery!!

[dbullwinkel]

Good luck to an adorable dog! Garry had a back toe amputated and Missy had a front toe removed. Both adjusted fine.

[3greytjoys]

Just checking back in on Rogan today. Hoping all went well with his toe amputation surgery.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Thanks guys! Rogan did ok. Phew. I was a nervous wreck all day. I haven't had a chance to talk to the vet yet, she was crazy busy with an emergency c-section that came in. I'm leaving in a few minutes to go pick him up.

 

When I talked to the vet before scheduling the surgery, I asked about the amputation, and she assured me she would remove it at the joint where it connects to the foot. If it had been a weight-bearing toe I might have gone to an orthopedic vet instead of my regular vet.

 

 

~Lindsay~

[Guest LindsaySF]

It took me a while to be able to calm down enough to type this.

 

They amputated the wrong toe.

 

They took off the outer toe on the WRONG foot, realized their error, then went back and did the 'correct' toe. All while telling me everything was fine when I called for updates.

 

Livid, hysterical, they do not even begin to describe it. This is a vet my family has been going to for almost 20 years.

 

My poor dog now has 3 toes on BOTH hind legs. He is screaming when he tries to walk because both feet hurt so much. I can't stop crying. I feel so horribly guilty. I'm so sorry Rogan.

[Guest MnMDogs]

OMG! I can't quote your last post on this damn iPad. But OMG! I cannot believe you and Rogan have to go through this, and the lies when you called . Ugh, I have no words, and I'm just stunned that this happened .

 

Hugs to you and your poor beautiful boy. I know he'll be fine when he heals, but he must be miserable right now.