onrushpam Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 Okay, here's the deal... "Firing a toe" is a technique for stablizing a dislocated toe... When Rob does it, he mixes a "schlerosing agent" (geez, I wish I could remember what it's called) with a bit of the dog's own blood, and a local anasthetic (similar to novacaine)... This "cocktail" is injected into the tissue around the joint. (Not actually into the joint.) The how-much and where is more art than science... The foot is splinted, with the end of the splint extending well past the end of the toes, so the dog can't actually put weight on the toes. Post-procedure care varies, based on the severitly of the injury... typical would be 5 days of total crate rest (leash walk only to empty), followed by five days of gradually increasing leash walking, then gradual build-up of work back to competition. I've taken Amy to work with me and leash walked he r, gradually increasing the distance, over the second 5 days... Scar tissue forms around the joint, forming a sort of "artificial" means of support... The scar tissue keeps the toe from dislocating again. It doesn't always work. If the joint capsule is blown out or the supporting tendons are destroyed, this technique probably won't help. But, with a simple dislocation that just won't reduce and hold up to competition-level stress, it can give enough support to allow the dog to continue running. In my experience, this works on toes that "hold up" in day-to-day yard running, but won't sustain the pressure of competition in the field. If you rest the dog for 3-4 weeks, and the toe contiues to flop in and out just running around the yard, it may not be a candidate for success with this technique. But, if you can find a vet who knows how to do this, it's _always_ worth a shot before amputation! Quote Pam GPA-Tallahassee/Southeastern Greyhound Adoption "Fate is unalterable only in the sense that given a cause, a certain result must follow, but no cause is inevitable in itself, and man can shape his world if he does not resign himself to ignorance." Pearl S. Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onrushpam Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 Okay, I went back to my notes... I think the two substances used are: Ethanolamine Oleate and Prilocaine, mixed with a bit of the dog's own blood... But, I'm not a vet and don't pretend to play one on TV!!! Quote Pam GPA-Tallahassee/Southeastern Greyhound Adoption "Fate is unalterable only in the sense that given a cause, a certain result must follow, but no cause is inevitable in itself, and man can shape his world if he does not resign himself to ignorance." Pearl S. Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rockingship Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 (edited) The commercial products were, as Pam has mentioned, Ethamolin....... and Sodium Morhuate. They were not easy to come by, and were federally regulated. It is very important that there are no bone chips in the joint to be fired....and that you first novocaine the area, as without it, sclerocing agents are painful to the dogs. Not for a novice to attempt. What the drug does, is "irritate" tissue----so that new tissue will regenerate in the area, scar up, and restore some of the funtionality. It works particularly well on wrists, which can be quite troublesome when they become chronic. Edited April 16, 2003 by rockingship Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Katarina Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 This was the only string I could find on the forum mentioning ethanolamine. Our greyhound received this treatment 4 days ago and is currently bandaged up. He's suffered from a limp ever since we got him over 4 years ago. After more than $1,000 in various x-rays and the gamut of diagnoses (from corns, to calcification, to arthritis, to cancer), and after several anti-inflammatories later, Ajax managed to hurt his foot (again) but this time the limping was quite pronounced and the outer toe joint swelled noticeably. After the latest x-ray, our vet noted that there may have been bone fragments around the joint. Our vet located another vet who knew of the "firing the toe" treatment--but now reading your comment above about it being very important that there are no bone chips, now we're wondering why that is. Doing more research, we've also read that keeping the foot immobilized is key (with suggestions that it be kept wrapped for 21 days). The new vet's taking the splint/bandage off after 7 days. Something else to be worried about? It's been such a long haul for our pooch, suffering with a bad toe for the past 4 years at least. Whenever we walk him, people think he's 14 years old, instead of 6... Any information/advice would be greatly appreciated. PS Here's a video of our very special pup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onrushpam Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Wow! I can't believe this thread has reappeared!!! (1) If your pup has bone chips in the affected joint, the "firing" technique won't work. (2) The regimine Dr. Gillette used on our dogs involved imobilizing and total rest for 5-7 days, then gradual leash walking for another week or two with the splint in place, then removing the splint and gradually working back. It is very important to do the leash walking in gradually increasing distances. I took our dogs to work with me and walked several times each day. Rob helped us "fast track" once with a dog that was in serious competition, getting her back running in just three weeks total. But, that would not be his recommendation for most dogs. Is this an outside toe or an inside toe? If it's an outside toe and the dog isn't running in competition, take it off! If it's an inside toe, it's a little more "iffy"... I don't want to see those removed unless there is no hope to save it. I have a new foster dog here with TWO broken inside toes on the same foot.... YIKES!!! They aren't dislocated, they are broken. So, Dr. Rob can't help her with firing. We just have to keep her splinted and hope they heal!!! Quote Pam GPA-Tallahassee/Southeastern Greyhound Adoption "Fate is unalterable only in the sense that given a cause, a certain result must follow, but no cause is inevitable in itself, and man can shape his world if he does not resign himself to ignorance." Pearl S. Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Katarina Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Thanks for responding! I wasn't sure if a 5 year old thread could be re-wound! It's an outer front toe we're (OK, Ajax is) dealing with. The cast comes off tomorrow a.m. We'll see if our new vet can confirm whether there were indeed bone chips (our other vet only seemed to suspect the presence of them). 6 months ago, it was thought to be arthritis... Ajax's only competition these days involves speed eating and long-distance sleeping. If this procedure doesn't work, we'll probably have the offending toe removed. I'll keep you posted. BTW hope yours heal, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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