Toe Amputation

[ShantisMom]

Im getting Nala scheduled for toe amputation. It appears to be cancer. I have a work trip then she goes in. Anyone had this done? How long are they down for? My hope is to do it on a Friday so I'm home with her a couple days straight. I'm worried about complications and the 4th of July. More stress and my vets closed. So many things I'm thinking.

 

Anyone have insight?

[greysmom]

Lots of people here have had toe amps for various reasons. You might find PrairieProf's thread about her Beth as she's the most recent surgical candidate.

 

The surgery is really not complicated - make sure they take enough toe bone so that there's nothing rubbing the ground or other toes. The key is really to keep them *very* quiet and off her feet as much as possible for a week or so afterward. When Dude had his about four years ago he was in a hard splint and wrapping for almost two weeks before the first bandage change. It seems now the trend is for daily bandage changes either at home or the vet's office. This seems like way too much disturbance of the surgery site and moving around and back-and-forth travelling for the first three or four days at least. You'l need to see what your vet suggests.

 

By two weeks post amp, Dude's incision was nearly all healed and he never missed a beat. Make sure you know where your closest e-vet is for the holiday just in case. Hopefully you won't need it at all.

[PrairieProf]

Beth is just recovering from a middle-toe amputation (complete amputation to the foot) 3.5 weeks ago. That is harder on them than the inner or outer edge toe supposedly. But it's not that bad -- your dog should be able to walk when she leaves the vet, and will be on painkillers. The foot will be wrapped for a couple of weeks, and the stitches will come out after 10-14 days.

 

I see the point about all the bandage changes, but the bandage was rubbing Beth's toes completely raw and it would have been terrible if we hadn't caught that sooner rather than later. Make sure the bandage is well padded -- Beth's was just basically vetwrap at first, and I think that was a problem. Also with only one middle toe left, the remaining knuckle on that toe was really vulnerable. I think I was probably walking too much -- still very short walks to my mind, but more than we should have, because it wasn't made clear enough to me.

 

Beth had complications with the wrap abrading her toes and the fill-in vet had me take it off after six days, but by the time we got home Beth's skin had ripped away from the sutures -- she got some subcuticular sutures put in but a significant area had to heal by granulation and it's been a longish stressful process with a lot of crate rest (foot unwrapped in the crate/wrapped to go out, a huge pain), but most other hounds here haven't gone through anything like that. And she was able to walk just fine through all of this, and not in any distress.

 

I get what you mean about the 4th of July -- Beth's was done the week before Memorial Day and I think that contributed to our problems. If I were you I'd do it ASAP and NOT right before the holiday weekend. Once you're a week out you're less likely to have complications.

 

Here's my thread with all the gory details: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/272208-deep-ulcer-between-beths-toes/

Edited June 19, 2011 by PrairieProf

[ShantisMom]

Her P3 is obliterated and they plan on taking p2. It does not look affected from the X-rays. Hopefully that gives us a clean margin.

[macoduck]

Gracie had an amputation a month or so before PraireProf's Beth. They removed 2 joints from an inner rear toe.

She did great, healed quickly without complications and doesn't miss it at all. Biopsy revealed a rare but benign tumor of the nail bed.

[ShantisMom]

She said I could wait a couple weeks but not months. Wonder if July 5 would be better?

 

Nalas is her left inner toe, front leg.

[PrairieProf]

I suspect it's a lot easier on them when it isn't a complete removal like Beth's -- basically you're only healing the end of the toe then, right, vs. Beth who has the whole area on her foot where the toe was removed, that gets sort of pulled when she walks. But I guess they'll still have to remove the webbing adjoining the toe? A lot of the incision/stitching area comes from that. The most sensitive part of Beth's incision area seemed to be around where the webbing was detached nearest to the pads.

Edited June 19, 2011 by PrairieProf

[ShantisMom]

I heard that stitching is the tricky part. Since it's the end toe it might be a bit less tricky.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Comet went through a toe amp at age 13. He had a bandage for a bit over a week and was on Tramadol and Gabapentin and was back to normal within 2-3 weeks.

 

It was a non weight bearing toe, which is easier. I also had it done by a specialty surgeon, not a regular vet - it cost more, but my only concern was getting him healed and back to his own routine. He was also raw fed, so that was a help with the healing.

[DaisyDoodle]

Leash walk, even if you have a fenced yard, for a least a couple of weeks. The better you keep her from overdoing on that foot, the better. You don't want the stitches to pull out. I'd keep her in a x-pen during the day too, to keep her quiet.

 

Outside toes are non-weight-bearing which is better than weight-bearing, middle toe, in terms of adjustment to losing the toe.

 

Just to give you a heads up--you might want to consider calling around to different ortho-surgeons. The one who did Daisy's surgery is VERY reasonable, but other vets I have met price gouge just to pay their mortgages.

 

Good luck. Geez, you've had a lot of "stuff" going on lately--

 

Hugs,

 

DD

[Guest KennelMom]

Melody had a toe amp done a couple years ago, right outer back toe. That was due to injury. Stella just had a cancerous back, outer toe removed (due the size/location of the tumor, also part of the foot/foot pad), and the lymph node in her knee. Other than Stella losing her appetite, both dogs healed w/o complication. Pain meds and anti-biotics. Strict leash walks and keeping the dog as quiet as possible for a couple weeks is really important. Basically, potty trips outside and otherwise you want the dog off their foot. Mel's surgery was done by our vet, Stella's was done by an orthopedic surgeon at the specialty hospital, but it was a more aggressive surgery than just a toe removal. We debated taking two toes, even though the one next to it appeared to be unaffected but ultimately decided to go the more conservative route and only take the one toe. The surgeon really doesn't like to whack a toe on a greyhound unless there really is no other choice.

 

Stella's foot was wrapped for about 10 days with three bandage changes. That was a bit longer than I would have preferred. The skin on their foot is so thin and fragile that it has hard time healing in the dark/warm/moist environment of a foot bandage. Combined with greyhound feet not having the best ciruculation...there's just lots of stuff that can go wrong quickly in a wrapped foot. I wanted to get her foot unwrapped as soon as possible. They left the bandage on for so long b/c the skin pulled away from a stitch or two...which I don't think would have happened if they'd have left it unwrapped sooner. Mel's stitches healed up perfectly and her bandage came off after 48 hours. http://worldofgrey.com/?p=952

 

One tip I picked up from a GT'r that helped with Stella's recovery was to use glad clingwrap to put around the bandage or foot for quick potty trips outside in the rain or wet grass. SO much easier than fussing with a plastic bag!

 

 

...pardon any misspellings...haven't had coffee yet!

Edited June 19, 2011 by KennelMom

[ShantisMom]

Love the cling wrap idea!

[PrairieProf]

I would also highly recommend Pawz boots (semi-disposable rubber booties). I can't imagine having gotten through this without them (use size large). They are waterproof and stay on perfectly. I used them anyway for winter salt, but they're just what you need to protect a wrapped foot. http://pawzdogboots.com/

[BauersMom]

Princess lost an inner toe at age 12 - no complications, no issues. She was wrapped for a week or so and then after that she was unwrapped - but she didn't mess with the stitches at all, which I took out after 2 weeks. She wasn't one to run or anything, so it was easy to keep her quiet.

 

I would say though that you are probably better off taking the whole toe off over a partial amp of a toe.

[ShantisMom]

She is scheduled for surgery July 15. Wish we didn't have this issues but it's something we can probably fix.