Victor

We visited Lana at the hospital today. She had quite a bit of postoperative bruising, even though she's on aminocaproic acid. Her left hindlimb was also quite swollen. While we were there, we massaged Lana's hindlimb and that seemed to help. The surgeon didn't seem to think the bruising and swelling were out of the ordinary for 21 hours postop. Lana didn't seem to be in pain, but she was pretty out of it from the Fentanyl patch. When we saw her she was still refusing to eat and drink, so they were giving her fluids by IV. Her red blood cell count was lower than pre-surgery, but it had improved from earlier in the day. This morning they started her on an oral antibiotic. It was hard seeing Lana so weak.

Thanks, Wendy! It truly is amazing. I hope her recovery continues at this rapid pace! Thanks, Kristin! That's what the surgeon said too. Each muscle, nerve, and blood vessel has to be accounted for. Still, by hour three we were really starting to get worried!

Thanks, greysmom! Thanks, Kristen! Lana's surgery today took almost four hours. Fortunately, she seems to be recovering well. She even managed to stand in her kennel in the critical care unit to get into a more comfortable position. Hopefully she'll continue to do well through the night and into tomorrow. They'll call us tomorrow morning with an update and then later in the day we should be able to see her for a little bit.

Lana's surgeon just called! Lana's surgery went well, and she's being taken to the critical care unit now. They'll call again later with an update once Lana wakes up.

What a handsome boy! Our Duke is also about 85 pounds: Thanks, Charlies_Dad! Thanks, Teri! We dropped Lana off at 7am. Her surgery was pushed back a bit because they had to do heart surgery on another dog. Lana's surgery will be later this morning or possibly early afternoon. I'll post an update as soon as we hear from the surgeon.

Thanks, Steve. I hope Katie is continuing to do well. Thanks, Kristin. I know tomorrow will be nerve-racking for us, too. That was a nice way to keep Pinky next to you during her surgery. Hopefully Lana won't need the platelets, but it's good to know that that's an option. Is Sunny a grey, too?

Lana's meeting with the surgeon went well this morning. We were pleased that she already knew about aminocaproic acid and postoperative bleeding in greyhounds. In fact, she had us start Lana on both aminocaproic acid and gabapentin this noon. (Starting gabapentin the day before surgery and continuing it for a week after surgery may help reduce the likelihood of phantom limb pain.) We'll take Lana back tomorrow at 6:15am to be prepped by anesthesiology. Lana's surgery will be sometime tomorrow morning. The surgeon said to plan on Lana spending at least two nights in the critical care unit. She advised against us visiting Lana the day of surgery, but we're welcome to visit the day after. She also encouraged us to bring Lana's food with us tomorrow. Lana is taking a well-deserved nap right now.

I am so sorry for your losses. They sound like quite the trio.

Thanks, MP_the4pack. We'll be sure to watch Lana carefully after her surgery! I noticed that—it was so sweet! I take it they all got along well?

Oh, she's a cutie! That pink "diaper" suited her perfectly, too! Thank you for sharing these photos and the video. I'm amazed that even with the diaper she was able to squat. I was wondering about that! Thank you for Dr. Less' contact information. I'll mention that to Lana's surgeon when we see him tomorrow!

Thanks, Kristin! I don't seem to be able to PM yet (perhaps because I only just joined GT?), but I appreciate the offer! I did have one question that perhaps you could answer? I read that for front leg amputations t-shirts are often used to keep the hounds from licking their sutures. Did you use anything to cover Pinky's sutures while she was recovering? That's great news about Blitz! I hope Lana bounces back that quickly. I imagine Lana is not going to be too happy with us for the first week or two. (Sorry I don't know anything about getting the chemotherapy meds across the border to Canada.) Thanks, Charlies_Dad. That's reassuring that Charlie recovered so quickly. Lana has always been able to out-race our other greyhound (Duke), so she'll be delighted if she can keep that up!

We just ordered one for Lana on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/78900259/greyhound-assistance-harness It was recommended by Northcoast Hounds: http://northcoastgreyhounds.net/store/index.php/cat_140 Thanks, Fawnfan. Lana will be happy to hear that you said she's beautiful.

Thanks, Batmom. We'll be sure to post updates.

Thanks, Wendy! Reading about Twiggy on this forum has been a real source of inspiration for us. We'd love for Lana to be able to meet her! We haven't received your contact info from Rich & Laurel yet, but we'll be sure to get in touch when we do! Thanks again, Victor

Thanks, 45MPHK9. It truly is heartbreaking. Thanks, KF_in_Georgia. This forum has already been immensely helpful, but we'll be sure to ask when we have questions.

I guess it's time we officially joined the club. Our Lana was diagnosed with bone cancer last week. She'd been having pain in her back right leg, and x-rays revealed a lytic area in the bone above the knee (the right distal femur). A urine test was done to rule out blastomycosis, and then the oncologist did a fine needle aspiration, which confirmed the presence of cancer. We don't know what kind of cancer it is yet (we decided not to put Lana through the pain of a bone biopsy), but it's most likely osteosarcoma. I guess we'll know for sure after her amputation, which is scheduled for Wednesday. Thank you to everyone who has posted in this thread. Reading the information and experiences you've shared has been invaluable to us. We'll let you know how Lana's surgery goes. We've already contacted OSU for the free chemotherapy drugs. Lana's surgery and chemotherapy will be at the University of Wisconsin's Veterinary Hospital in Madison. In case you're interested, here's a selection of photos of Lana from the past 3.5 years (taken by my wife, Shihmei): http://www.flickr.com/photos/beautifulcataya/sets/72157623188154570/ Lana came to live with us when she was 4 years old. She's 7.5 now. Victor