Am I Looking At Paralysis?

[Guest Adrianne]

It's been 17 days since Wilbur's surgery to repair his broken leg, and he still doesn't use the leg or put weight on it. I'm getting more concerned with each passing day.

 

Here's the facts: Wilbur broke his leg the evening of December 10. Immediately upon breaking it, he was knuckling that foot. We were told by the e-vet that it could be nerve damage or it could be that it hurts so much to lift the foot into place that he won't do it. The vet at our regular office, upon examining him, thought his knee was broken because she felt there was too much movement in it. Xrays showed the break to be near his hip, and the knee appeared fine. Dr. Sigman, the other vet in the office (whom we've known & used for years and love and trust) performed surgery to insert a rod to hold the bone in place. Xrays showed no sign of bone cancer or arthritis, although we were told that it's possible the bone hit a nerve in his leg when it broke. Time would tell.

 

We brought him home on Saturday. The leg was very swollen and bruised the first few days, and we weren't concerned that he didn't put weight on it. As the swelling went down, we noticed that he still wasn't putting weight on the foot. Then I began noticing that he does nothing with the leg, even when he's lying down. He doesn't bend it, he doesn't stretch it, he doesn't move it at all. From his hip all the way to his toes, it just lays there like a limp noodle. We also noticed that when he bunny hops around, the broken leg just flops like a rag doll. I do light exercises with the leg when he's lying down, and he seems to have zero pain in the leg.

 

Dr. Sigman gave him a thorough exam last Wednesday when he took the stitches out; he says everything feels good and tight in the leg. He did watch Wilbur walk out in the yard and is concerned about the flopping leg. If Wilbur goes very slow, the foot either knuckles or it lands in the correct position. I don't really know how to explain it, but it doesn't seem to be him placing the foot. If he's standing at his water bowl drinking, I can slide that leg back and forth with no resistance. There is no weight on the leg.

 

I have noticed his leg twitching at night the last few nights, and one night he licked his entire foot like it was bothering him. He wasn't in pain, but I wonder if maybe it was tingling--like an arm slept on wrong that tingles as it is coming back awake.

 

I've spoken with several people, including Dr. Sigman and have gotten several possibilities, everything from nerve damage to the rod itself pinching a nerve to possible paralysis. We're in a holding pattern right now, because the leg is broken and he has a huge rod sticking out the top of his hip. I found exercises I can do to force him to use the leg, but they are not even to be attempted until well after week six.

 

I worry now about muscle atrophy. January 22 is a long time away. I'm hoping someone here has had some experience with this.

[greytluck]

No experience here but,I'm keeping Wilbur in my thoughts.

[Guest Energy11]

No experience, but it does sound like possible nerve damage. I would definitely forward all records to Dr. Couto at OSU for his opinion. Maybe he can shed some light on this. couto.1@osu.edu

 

I am praying this all works out well for Wilbur! Good Luck and lots of love!

[Batmom]

That sounds rather odd. Did they x-ray to make sure the hip isn't dislocated??

[Guest multigrey]

Batmom could be right on.....a dog with a dislocated hip will not use the leg at all.....limp noodle is a perfect description.

 

My advice is a trip to an orthopedic specialist who does this sort of thing every day of the week.

 

Dogs who are recovering from ortho surgery to fix a broken leg don't really "use" the leg. It hurts. But they can control the leg which lets you know there is no other damage.

 

Hoping for good news for Wilbur.

[seeh2o]

No experience, but it does sound like possible nerve damage. I would definitely forward all records to Dr. Couto at OSU for his opinion. Maybe he can shed some light on this. couto.1@osu.edu

 

I am praying this all works out well for Wilbur! Good Luck and lots of love!

 

 

That was exactly my first thought, too. I sure hope you can get to the bottom of this and he makes a full recovery.

[brandimom]

No experience at this end but sending you and Wilbur prayers and good thoughts. I agree about contacting OSU.

[Guest IrskasMom]

OSU ditto . Hopefully you can get some Answers there.

[macoduck]

Also have your vet view the www.therapaws.com site for any "Assistive and Rehabilitative" devices that might help.

[Guest Adrianne]

Thank you everyone.

 

The hip is NOT dislocated. Xrays show the hip joint firmly in socket, and I've seen the xrays.

 

I have made contact with Dr. Cuoto, and I'll be getting Wilbur's information sent to him.

[Trihounds]

Have you thought about or discussed seeing a neurologist? It sounds like a nerve issue to me. Our Bumper has nerve damage as a result of an autoimmune issue in August and continues to recover. The symptoms sound similar to Bumper's re: control, feeling, etc.

 

Wishing you guys well.

[Guest eaglflyt]

Does Wilbur have any feeling in the leg when you put mild presssure on his foot? Or, perhaps a slight pinch? We test humans with a simple prick/touch with a sharp object .... NOT a puncture, just enough of a touch to definitely be felt. If he has no feeling in this situation, I'd definitely seek more opinions. Actually, I'd be seeking more opinions anyway.

 

Blessings and prayers for Wilbur and you!

[greyhead]

Good luck, Adrianne, and please keep us updated.

[LuvAPuppy]

Seeking more opinions is always a good idea, better safe than sorry. He did suffer a pretty traumatic injury and it's probably not out of the question that the remaining internal swelling and trauma are effecting nerve conduction. Might be permanent or might be temporary until the damage heals.

[brandimom]

Any more updates on Wilbur? Continued prayers and good thoughts coming his way.............that sweet sweet boy!

[Guest speedoketo]

I agree that the lack of use could be from pain but the flopping and the knuckling worry me. Have you got any hemostats in the house? Pinch the toes on a normal leg and the affected leg and compare the response. You can pinch relatively hard - see what it takes to get a response on a good leg and then go just slightly beyond that on the affected leg if you don't get a response at first. Only time will tell what is really going on, I wish you best of luck for recovery

[Guest Adrianne]

Thank you for asking; it's kind of a mixed update. On the plus side, he doesn't seem to be knuckling near as much, although I don't know that that is his doing. On the negative side, he still isn't using the leg. That was quite clear this morning when he had scooted himself over beside my husband's recliner. His back legs were under the recliner, and when he moved to get up, he only moved his good leg. He whimpered a little bit until my husband slid his broken leg out from under the chair. He seems very relaxed and not in any pain; he whimpers a little bit only as he's manuevering himself into a lying position.

 

He's been on Clavamox ever since his surgery; he took his last pill this morning. So, day before yesterday his incision site, which had healed up beautifully, sprung a leak. After much attention from him, it's a nice little opening that refuses to stop draining. I knew it was going to happen because he had developed a "bubble" (for lack of a better word) of fluid right beside the incision. I don't think it's stitch worthy, and it seems to have relieved the last of the edema in his foot. Of course, now he's out of Clavamox, and he has an open wound on his leg. Back to the vet we go for more antibiotics. We're treating it with EMT gel and bandaging, and it's just one pin-prick sized spot within the wound that's draining. I want to try the water therapy, but it's too cold to do it outside. We could put him in the bathtub, but he always goes limp and lies down when he gets bathed in the tub. It wouldn't be a problem except that we have discovered Wilbur absolutely hates being helped up. He gets downright snarky, and he's not a snarky dog. He's determined he will get himself up, so we can't use a sling. We don't think he could get enought traction to get himself up in the tub.

 

I have been in contact with Dr. Couto; however, after speaking again with my vet and with a wonderful lady who has 15 years experience with greyhounds with broken legs, we have decided to wait until his rod comes out to see what we're dealing with. The lady I spoke with believes that a slow growing bone cancer is at work. She said she has never once seen a break of this kind without cancer being involved. She told me about a conversation she had with Dr. Cuoto about a cancer that grows so slowly it is virtually undetectable at this stage on xrays and even with biopsies. His xrays the day of his surgery were clear, but she fully expects that when he is xrayed again before the rod removal, we will find that the bone has not knitted together. She said the broken bone is the first sign, and the bone not healing will be the second sign. Devastating news, but I told her I hope to call her in a few weeks to tell her that she now knows of a case where cancer isn't involved.

 

So....after a very frank discussion between my husband and myself, we have decided to let Wilbur focus all his energy into that bone healing. He is very sensitive to change and to stress, and we don't want to put him through anything right now. Everything else will be dealt with once we get the all-clear on his bone. We decided that a week before he goes in for the rod removal, we will discuss the various possible scenarios so that we can walk into the vet with a plan no matter what we're faced with.

 

I have ordered him a boot that will, if nothing else, protect his sweet toes from getting scraped and bloodied. Hopefully that will arrive early next week.

 

That's where we are today.

[Fastgals]

Adrianne,

I can so understand your distress at this information from your vet. One little thing that may provide some supplementary assistance to Wilbur: when I cracked some ribs about 18 months ago, the naturopath at work put me on "Duo Celloids" to speed up the bone healing/knitting process. These consist of silicon dioxide 33mg and calcium fluoride 500 nanogram. They are made by an Australian/New Zealand company (Blackmores), but your vet could advise if there's a version of these available in the US.

Regards,

Jane.