Augie Went Back To The Vet Again For His Infected Hock

[Guest avadogner]

Hi GT Friends,

 

My sweet Augie's leg still continues to stay swollen. The injury happened over a month ago. We've been through two weeks of Keflex and four weeks of Cipro. He is bearing weight on it now but limps a bit after being to active. We have an appointment with the Vet Ortho coming up. The area of the leg about an inch below the hock is enlarged. It looks like the growth you see with osteo but two seperate sets of Xrays showed no osteo. The bone doesn't have any growth that is typically seen with Osteo. One small bones looks moth eaten like a crushed bone and the swelling has greatly improved. I just find it odd that the area is still enlarged this far out. The soft tissue injuries are healed and the swollen area is now hard instead of squishy. I know squishy isn't a medical term but it is the best way to describe the original texture of the injury site. The area is now hard and free of bruising and edema.

 

The joint fluid didn't culture any bacteria out despite the vet seeing white blood cells and bacteria on the slide immediately post tap. He hadn't been placed on antibiotics yet when the tap was done so we know the culture wasn't affected by meds. We continue to limit his activity and give meds (antibiotics and tramadol). I am beginning to wonder "how long does this go on?" The two vets who he has seen said he didnt' need to slint or cast the leg. It is in the constantly moving ankle joint area so totally immobilizing it would require a cast. I guess most of these questions will be answered with the ortho but my nurse mind is driving me crazy trying to figure this out. My sweet boy is too goofy to completely stay off it and we try to keep him off it. He is beginning to get stir crazy though. My boy is extremely vocal and a big whiner. Daily one mile walks before the injury kept him happy. It's not an option now and we are going through stuffed Kongs and chew bones at a walet breaking rate. Augie is also whining nonstop which makes us all crazy. We have even tried the crying baby cure of putting him in his dog bed in the car and driving around. Getting the fresh air and change of scenery helped but within an hour of being home, he was crying like a teenage girl at a Justin Beeber concert.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this type of injury? I just want my baby to feel better and get back to running zoomies like he loves.

Thanks!

alicia

aka ava and augie's mum

 

 

[Patsy]

Just letting you know you're "on" the nightly candle burned in ND.

[tbhounds]

If I remember correctly there are 7 bones in the hock-- sounds like the radiograph showed that one of those bones was crushed/broken. Because it's in the joint -- to me it sounds reasonable to immobilize the hock at this point. Can you send the films to a orthopod for yet another opinion?? It sounds like he has a non-union fracture.

[Guest HHHounds]

No experience (yet) with this type of injury, but sending good thoughts for a quick and complete recovery...

[Guest zombrie]

No advice about the injury, just letting you know you guys are in my thoughts..

About him being bored, have you tried training with him (touch, paw, etc) or hiding treats and telling him to "find it"? It will at least stimulate his brain

Edited April 19, 2011 by zombrie

[carronstar]

Added good thoughts and prayers for Augie.

[Guest avadogner]

Hi GT Friends,

 

I stayed up until 4am researching hock injuries. I read just about every vet research article and vet school text book I could access and am 99% sure I know what is wrong with his leg. II am a RN who worked trauma at a pediatric teaching hospital and learned a lot about reading Xrays. I am not a Dr. or a Vet but I am pretty savy with doing medical research.

 

Based on his Xrays compaired to radiographs on vet ed sites, it looks like he has a crushed the #3 Tarsal Bone. It's moth eaten appearance suggests repeated stress fractures that were never properly treated in the past. Auburn Univerisity (my big rival in Alabama-Roll Tide- has one of the top vet schools in the US) has a sports medicine program for vets and the Director Dr. Gillette has done extensive research on greyhound racing injuries. His articles were amazing to read because he has studied the running gait of greys and how the impact of their feet places stress on the bones. It just all came together after reading his research. Looking at Augie's racing history, I can see gaps in months of racing as he downgraded tracks. I am assuming that he was injured and instead of surgery to put mesh and pins in the joint, he was given rest and sold to a lower racing grade kennel. Not surgically correcting (per Dr. Gillette's research) reduces their race times 1/100 per stride. Augie was still winning races when he retired so I imagine his leg was giving him trouble again. The moth eaten appearance of the bone suggests repeated breaks that never healed fully. He ran his last race in Jan. of last year and was placed at McGregor for adoption around May. We met him in Sept 3 and he came home 3 wks later.

 

The night he reinjured it, he went out in the back yard and was only out for about 5 minutes. He wasn't winded like he had been sprinting. He may have been trotting around at the fastest. I don't think it would take much to rebreak the brittle bone. He calmly came back in limping. Within 2 hours the legs bruised and swelling set in and then we were off to the EVet.

 

I searched around for an vet ortho who has experience with sports injury and the ortho our vet wanted us to see has such experience. When I called last week, he didn't have any appts this week so I went with his partner. After last nights research, I called the office and insisted that we needed Dr. Milton. We can't get in until Monday am but I think it is worth the wait. The info on these breaks (which 30% of all racers get a stress fracture at some point in this area) states that it takes 6 to 9 months of minimal activity to heal it. We are already a month out so I think we can keep him comfortable until Monday. I've printed out the articles and research to take with me so I can have pointed conversation with Dr. Milton.

 

The research says he either needs a cast or splint to immobile it or surgery. There are two surgical options. They could either fuse the joint with plates which would leave him with limited use and a perma limp. The next option is to put mesh and screws in. This doesn't always work but it would give him more flexibitlity with the hock. The problem is that surgery should have been done years ago when this first happened. The bones may be too damaged to salvage with mesh and pins. We will know more Monday.

 

This is a disaster for us. I am still awaiting my kidney transplant and the medical bills (12 meds a day) are killing us. We have already spent $1200 on vet bills since this happened. If Augie needs surgery, we may not be able to afford it. I am heartbroken because I want the best for him but I also have to keep myself alive to be his and Ava's mum. I havent been able to work since 2006 and we have no idea when I'll get my kidney. My DH adores Augie but he has already said that I come first. Now I understand all the years my Mum went without things she wanted to give me things I needed. I am praying we can heal it with casting and long term rest. His racing days are over so our goal is just to get him comfortable and able to play.

 

I have a feeling Dr. Milton is going to refer us to Dr. Gillette at Auburn since this is his area of expertice. It's great to have the best close by but I just dont know how we can afford all this. Keep my baby in your prayers that he wont need surgery!

-ava and augie's mum

[DesiRayMom]

Good Grief!!!! Poor Augie.

 

Many and for your poor bored pupper.

 

Hang in there girl....we're with you!

[BatterseaBrindl]

 

Good for you for doing the research!

 

We've had multiple dogs and horses for many years and I am the Queen of research when one of them is injured!

[Chicocat]

Dr Gillette is one of the best.

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

I commend you on doing your research! I am hoping that the ortho will give you some answers; the way I am seeing it is that because he is now a pet, he may be able to be fixed well enough to have a happy retirement just with immobilization and rest. Sending continuing prayers for you and your family.

[Guest avadogner]

Hi GT Friends,

 

We just came home from a very long day at the orthopedist. Augie has managed to further damage the broken tarsal bones. His xrays today looked worse than the ones 2 wks ago. Not only are the 4th tarsal bone broken he has crushed it and one the adjoining bones to the point of there being nothing to pin back together. Dr. Milton seemed very knowledgable with greys and was a bit surprised at how well versed I was on the matter. He reassured me that this is a common grey injury and knows Dr. Gillette. We discussed the films together and our surgical options which were few (therefore we probably wont go to Auburn to see Dr. Gillette).

 

His leg is splinted 2/3 leg up with a a thin cast to immobilize and give it a chance to heal. He was not optimisitc about having enough bone to surgically stabilize it though. He didn't think there was enough solid bone to anchor the pins in. The poor broken bones were crushed instead of a normal crack like break. He said that he agreed that it was probably broken more than once before we ever met Augie. He said the moth eaten appearance of the bones indicates improperly healed breaks. If the bones in the other leg had that moth eaten look, he would have thought some type of bone disorder but the other leg was fine. I know most kennels give them the best care they can but I have a bad feeling Augie was splinted, rested and sold to a lower level kennel. He would race and perform well for 6 or more months and then he would get another 3 month break and a new track to race on.

 

We go back in two weeks to take the splint/mini cast off and check his skin for breakdown. Since greys have such "little old lady" like skin, they get sores really fast with casting so we decided to go the multiple splint route so we can keep a closer eye on his skin. It will be a little more expensive but I would rather not give infection a chance to rear it's ugly head. He went totally bonkers when we put the E Collar (clear lamp shade) on. I've made a deal with him that if he stays in the room with me and leaves the splint alone, then he doesn't have to wear it. Nighttime he has to wear it because Mummy needs a little bit of sleep. I stocked up on Bully sticks, Dried Beef ribs and treats this weekend. He has a big ol' bully stick that he's working on now.

 

I don't have much confidence in the clear collar. He already backed out of it once at the Dr. Does anyone have a preference or recommendation of another cone collar choic?. I saw a dog at the ortho who has one that looked like a small rubber inner tube. The dog was a boxer so he didn't have that super long nose to deal with. I will say this about my goofy boy, he was a very good sport with it all. He was nice to the numerous dogs we met and he was super sweet to a child in the waiting room. I had to answer all the normal misinformed grey related stuff but I do that all the time anyway. My sweet Augie may not be the smartest grey but he is so incredibly sweet.

-ava and augie's mum

[MP_the4pack]

I hate to say this, because it sounds like a painful break, but I'm glad it's that and not OS.

 

When I needed something similar to the cone, I just got a piece of cardboard (thin, like what's left over after the paper towels run out). I make it the whole length of the neck, pad really well, especially around the jaw and shoulder area where it would rub, then tape it. It looks more like a splint for his neck than anything. But he won't hit things with this on like he would with the cone. But it should be inflexible enough that he still can't quite bend around to his leg. Depending on how flexible he really is, would depend on if it works.

 

Good luck.

[JJNg]

Can you use his muzzle +/- poop cup to keep him from chewing on the splint? I've found that my guys do much better with a muzzle than they do with an e-collar. With bandages, I've usually been able to use just use the muzzle (less mess when drinking without the poop cup), but if I need to keep them from licking a wound, I use the poop cup or masking tape over the front/lower openings. Hope Augie heals quickly!

[krissn333]

We have had some pups come off of the track with similar issues - shattered tarsal bones. Our orthopedist Dr. Turner at VCA Berwyn Animal Hospital in Berwyn, IL does a surgery where he harvests a piece of bone from the shoulder to fashion a new teeny tiny tarsal bone/bones to replace those that were shattered. The leg is then either plated or wired together, and sometimes they have to take a piece of the skin on the hock and create a mesh graft with it, to pull the skin together over the plate.

 

Those that have the leg plated usually end up having the plate removed at a later time, once the leg has healed completely.

 

Hoping you can find a solution that will work for Augie

[Guest HHHounds]

Wow - poor Augie! Maybe that is what he has been whining about?! My houndies hate those plastic collars also. I saw some cloth ones at a pet store awhile back, but don't know if they would work for a hound...

[carronstar]

I second the muzzle/poop guard to keep him from the splint.

 

For what it is worth, I once had my "sister's" iggy with me at her house for a weekend, and she broke every bone in her foot by putting her foot down a hole while running. She had the surgery that put pins in her bones and while recuperation took a couple of months, she was absolutely fine afterward. The vet had another dog come in the same day with the same problem. That family couldn't afford the micro-surgery to put in the pins. The vet monitored both dogs to see how they healed. Both dogs regained full use of the foot/leg. A long way of saying, there is a fix out there if Augie's bones will take the pins, and even if they can't, there is still a really great chance that rested and not run, he will have the full use of his leg.

 

Lots of continued prayers for Augie and for you.

[Guest avadogner]

Thank you for the prayers and get well wishes! The e collar lasted about 5 minutes at home. I stayed in the living room with him and he didnt touch/lick the cast once. I have noticed when we say the word cast, he looks at his leg. He also seems to know how to leave it alone and how to get around in it (short trip to potty) extremely well. So well that I think he's done this before! He isn't very happy about it all but he is being a good boy. I used the muzzle for last night while we slept. He managed to get the muzzle off but didn't mess with the cast/splint. Ava has been so sweet to him. When I went in the living room this morning, he was laying right against her with his head resting on her back! This is the first time she's ever let him do that. She is normally space aggressive with her bed. I just couldnt believe my eyes! So amazingly sweet!

 

I would give anything to be able to afford the bone grafting surgery but between my 12 meds a day and medical bills and their medical bills, we just can't afford it. We have spent $1500 in one month on vet care for Ava and Augie. Until I get my transplant and get well enough to work, we just can't afford it. I feel horrible that we can't do more. We are willing to put pins and mesh in but there isn't enough bone to work with to do it. If the injury had been properly cared for before we adopted him 6 months ago, we may have had more to work with. I am trying to think positive and hope we can atleast get enough bone healing to get to the point of having something to work with for surgery. My research shows that these kind of injuries can take 6-9 months to heal. I'll keep y'all posted on how he's doing.

-ava and augie's mum

 

 

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Hope you and Augie are doing well.

[Guest avadogner]

Update on Augie-

My goofball managed to leave his splint alone on his own so we didn't have to cone or muzzle him. The only thing we did extra was wrap the exterior with that new Cling wrap that sticks so well. It is easier on his nerves than me trying to bag the leg during potty time. His poor potty technique has been an isssue since then first time he saw Ava cop a squat. Monkey see, Monkey do. He ended up doing a lazy quat move and urinates on his front feet. Not the brightest grey but son damn sweet!

 

Now with the soft cast, he stands straight up facing downhill and supersoaks his front legs. I've tried re training him to hike the splinted leg. Now when he goes, he lifts the casted leg up a couple inches, looks at me like he is Mr Smarty pants and continues to urinate on his legs. I have to do the doggie wash towlette wipedown before he can come in. He is so sweet but not the brightest hound.

 

We had our first 2wk check and splint change. The was a little bit of skin irritation but Dr. Milton &staff resplinted it in another way to keep the skin healthy. Augie doesn't seem to be pain now so we stpped the pain meds unless he does something to hurt himself. The tramado and antiobiotics really had his tummy jacked up. Of course it doesn't take much to get a grey's tummy outbof sorts. I busted Augie jogging on it today. I feel awful that just doing what makes him happy is cause for me put an end to it. My goof ball just doesn't care that it might hurt, he just wants to run. I guess that' s why he was such an amazing racer.

 

We have had a bit of problem with boredom and excessive whinning. I truely do.not think the whining is pain related. He just likes to make noise, have me or DH say shush which tells himnwhere we are when can't see. He will stand next my bed whinning until i open my eyes, make eye contact and then say "Mummy is sleeping. Go play with sis". This repeats until i get up or put ear plugs in. They have full use of a dog door,freshnwater and stuffed kongs toentertain themselves. Augie lovea trashy TV so the timer is set to come on when all those judge shows air. I've tried working on training with him but it is VERY slow going. My huge beta boy doesnt like to hold eye contact so we have trainedto now be comfortable looking to Mum for instruction. That took 4 months. We are now.working on shake since sits and lays on command. To get him out but nnot stree his leg too much, we went for a ride and stopped at our local pet store to just let have some stimulation and much needed people fawning over him time. Our old dailly walks included a bunch of kids who he adore. Now that he is off the pain meds, he is less sleepy and bored. He tripods hops really well but we were told minimal (potty only) related activity.

 

When we go back to DR Milton in 10 days, we will get another set of xrays to how effective the immobilizing splints are. We go in every 14 days for splint changes and exam by Dr Milton. If the xrays show.improvement, then we go in evert 2wks until we have enough bone growth to work with. We will just keep.doing our best and hope for a better priognosis!

-ava and augie's mum

[Guest HHHounds]

So glad to hear the good news! Hope that you are doing well also...

[carronstar]

Sounds like some good healing is going on. Yay, Augie!