Opals_mom Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 (edited) I look Eden in Saturday morning for a dental and to get a few teeth extracted. I got a call from the vet at 2pm saying there was concern and wouldn't do the dental and to come in. When they were doing her pre-dental blood draw her leg bruised and swelled right up. They shaved the leg to see how far up the bruising went and it starts at her ankle and goes pretty much all the way up. It looks AWFUL! She's had multiple dentals and a few surgeries and we've never had any problems whatsoever so this is totally new. The vet listed some possible causes and we are doing a complete blood work up which I should hear the results for early next week. The list included TBD, autoimmune disease and maybe clotting problems. We have been going there for 5 years and I like them so I have no reason to second guess them. My only question is that in order to get enough blood for the new tests they took blood from her other leg and there was absolutely no issue. She's taking steroids and antibiotics for 14 days just in case. She's walking on it and doesn't seem to care about it at all but in the last 24 hours it's hasn't gotten any better. Is it possible for them to have really messed up the blood draw that bad (I'll go take pics and post them); like I said - I would think they'd be forthcoming had that been the case. Anyone have any input? *pics added* And this one just shows the color that it is: Edited March 21, 2011 by Opals_mom Quote Missing my bridge greys Opal and Eden and cat Bailey. Mom to Missy the Super Mutt and recent foster failure of Miley to mini-mutt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sambuca Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I don't know much, but sometimes if the needle goes in my moms arm wrong, she gets major bruising. Sometimes it just goes in wrong. Hopefully that is what happened. I'm glad it's not bothering her. I hope she feels better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Yup -- some bruising could be from the blood draw. I used to draw blood years ago and if the needle goes through the vein or goes in and then out a bit it could seepage from the vein. Bruising might also be caused if they don't hold pressure on the puncture site for long enough or they may have held it under too tight pressure. But, to have bruising up and down the whole leg would not be typical for a "bad blood draw". The swelling is also a different story -- if they put the tourniquet on too tight or kept it on too long -- it just might be able to could cause swelling but, I think it's unlikely it would swell the whole leg. If the ankle got wrenched during the blood draw I could see swelling in the ankle but not up the whole leg. It's baffling .. pictures would be very helpful ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 (edited) They can bruise pretty badly from any venipuncture but, yikes. Were they performing a blood draw or injecting her sedative at the time?? Wanted to add that it can takes days and days for the bruise to resolve. Edited March 21, 2011 by tbhounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I just saw the picture, the swollen joint is where someone may have been holding the leg while drawing the blood and I could foresee that the dog moved and someone tightened their grip on the joint (wrenched it a bit - like spraining an ankle when dancing) and that might explain the swelling on the leg. It looks from thepicture that the swelling is primarily on the joint - is that correct? If the dog moved (as described above), then the needle could have gone through the vein and caused seepage in the surrounding tissue. How big of an area is the bruising - from the picture looks like a 2x3 inch area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KF_in_Georgia Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 If Eden has bruised that badly from the blood draw--for whatever reason--talk to your vet about having Amicar on hand for the dental (and about her taking it for a few days after the dental), especially as she's facing some extractions. Quote Kathy and Q (CRT Qadeer from Fuzzy's Cannon and CRT Bonnie) and Jane (WW's Aunt Jane from Trent Lee and Aunt M); photos to come. Missing Silver (5.19.2005-10.27.2016), Tigger (4.5.2007-3.18.2016), darling Sam (5.10.2000-8.8.2013), Jacey-Kasey (5.19.2003-8.22.2011), and Oreo (1997-3.30.2006) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 FWIW, Joseph had a Giant Bruise For No Reason incident (vet himself had done the blood draw and had had no problems). We ran tests up the wazoo and found absolutely nothing. Never happened again. Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opals_mom Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 They can bruise pretty badly from any venipuncture but, yikes. Were they performing a blood draw or injecting her sedative at the time?? Wanted to add that it can takes days and days for the bruise to resolve. I believe they were just taking blood and running a few tests prior because of her age... she's only TEN people Quote Missing my bridge greys Opal and Eden and cat Bailey. Mom to Missy the Super Mutt and recent foster failure of Miley to mini-mutt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opals_mom Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 I just saw the picture, the swollen joint is where someone may have been holding the leg while drawing the blood and I could foresee that the dog moved and someone tightened their grip on the joint (wrenched it a bit - like spraining an ankle when dancing) and that might explain the swelling on the leg. It looks from thepicture that the swelling is primarily on the joint - is that correct? If the dog moved (as described above), then the needle could have gone through the vein and caused seepage in the surrounding tissue. How big of an area is the bruising - from the picture looks like a 2x3 inch area. She is actually bruised from below the last joint all the way above her "elbow" joint. Her lower joint is ginormous but she moves it and even tucks it underneath herself when she naps. To me it looks like it's going to pop but what do I know Her leg looks like a sausage link because it's the same size all the way down. I guess I just expected it to be way more localized - even if it was a "big" bruise. In all honesty I think that it was just a fluke but since I'm doing a few hundred dollars worth of tests I guess it'll be nice to know she's in tip top shape I have been sharing my Arnica with her and that stuff always helps me. I do wish I didn't have to have her on unnecessary meds but only in time will I know if she's really okay. WHEN everything comes back puppies and kittens she's gotta go back to get her teeth yanked anyway. Maybe this is all just a clever ruse... brat Quote Missing my bridge greys Opal and Eden and cat Bailey. Mom to Missy the Super Mutt and recent foster failure of Miley to mini-mutt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packmom Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 What KF said. Angel would do this sometimes and we later found she had high blood pressure. Just a couple of things to keep in mind but it may just be a fluke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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