Joe Had His First Major Fall As A Tripod

[joejoesmom]

Joe was running back in from outside a few minutes ago. He tripped on the edge of my concrete walkway and did a face plant into the concrete and skidded on the top of his front leg. His face seems fine but he scraped the top of his front leg from his "ankle" to the top of his paw. Most of the scrape is just a skin scrape. He has a spot about 1/4 inch by a bit less than 3/8 inch on the front of his ankle. It is deep enough that it is bleeding well but I can get the bleeding stopped. Definitely not a puncture wound. He has another spot about 1/4 inch around on the top of his paw. This one is not bleeding much and doesn't look as deep. I think it just scraped into the skin as it appears white.

 

I called my regular oncology vet at OSU (thinking that maybe he should get antibiotics since his white cell count is low due to long term chemo (Palladia/cytoxan/artemisin metronomic protocol)). Unfortunately, she is out until this afternoon. Another oncology doc (who I don't like quite as much because he always seems to think I am made of money -- he asks for tests and add-ons that I don't think are necessary so I am always saying no to him), said I would need to bring him in to look at before he can prescribe antibiotics. I already have cephalexin (and also have Bactrim). He also said that it might need to be sutured. So now he has me worried that I am a bad Mom if I don't take him in and pay $500 or so to have him close the largest wound.

 

So a question: The worst is on the front of the ankle. If he bends the ankle it would stretch at the wound site. It is 1/4 inch by a bit more than 1/4 inch. It goes deeper than the skin, but I don't see anything but red tissue (no bone). I have been able to get the bleeding stopped. Would you suture it -- could probably do this with a local numbing agent and no sedation as Joe is a very calm boy at the vet? If not, I plan to put Joe in a muzzle with stool guard (he is a licker) and leave the wound open, perhaps using some spray gentamicin and polysporin ointment. Is this what you would recommend?

 

I am hoping my regular vet will call me this afternoon and either tell me to use the cephalexin I have or tell me that no antibiotic is necessary. Note that I normally wouldn't think an oral antibiotic would be necessary for this.

 

Sigh, I am such a good worrier!

 

Jane

 

edited to add: Joe is 14 months post amputation -- so no worries about the amp site.

Edited October 28, 2011 by joejoesmom

[XTRAWLD]

Oh my gosh, poor guy.

 

For "road rash" like that - although if there is a GASH it sounds more like road rash, I'd put polysporin on it, or if you have any Collodial Silver at all. If it's a deep cut, I'm honestly not sure, but for starters I don't think polysporin would hurt things.......it would get clean and prevent infection from the get go I would hope.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Whether it needs a suture or not, antibiotics or not, I'd wait for your normal vet this afternoon. In the mean time, clean it, keep him from licking it too much.

 

But expect him to be a bit sore and watch for any bruising. I'd expect bruising around his foot and on his chin, but watch for anything showing up elsewhere.

[Guest Yankeegreyhound]

Poor Joe!!!! Glad it sounds like he's ok.

 

I would totally wait for your regular vet.

 

Hailey slipped into the pool at a doggy pool party one year and scraped her leg really badly. I took her to the e-vet but because it wasn't an emergency - the bleeded had stopped - I waited forever. I finally left and took her to her regular vet the next day. They did stitches and she was fine. So long as the bleeding is stopped, I don't think there is any harm in waiting. Just clean the site and hugs to Joe.

[MP_the4pack]

Princess Emerald did this to the front of her ankle about a month ago.

 

It can't be sutured. And her's was down to the tendons.

 

I put antibiotic cream on it and used a non-stick bandage to cover it. She was put on antibiotics.

 

You can do the cream and bandage now and ask your regular vet about antibiotics. I think he will probably need it since his immune system is compromised.

 

Give that silly goof a kiss for me Jane. I do love that boy. So entertaining.

 

And congrats on the longevity.

[MaryJane]

Is he still on chemo? You did mention that he has a suppressed white cell count and based on that I would not put any antibiotic cream on at all and wait until your regular vet calls in the afternoon.

 

The reason that you shouldn't put any antibiotic cream on is that the cream does not work for all bacteria and if they decide to use an antibiotic, they may want to use a "certain" type.

[joejoesmom]

Joe says "thanks Mary Pat" for the kisses.

 

Mary Jane, he receives low dose chemo as part of a Palladia study at OSU. He receives Palladia, Cytoxan, and Artemisinin and will for the rest of his life. This does cause suppressed white cells. He just had his monthly CBC last week and it was low (as usual) but acceptable. Neutrophils were 1.37 K/micro-liter (2.95-11.64 normal range) and WBCs were 2.06 K/micro-liter (5.05 to 16.76 normal range). He did get a break from his chemo for 3 days over the weekend due to some diarrhea, so the count might actually be higher now.

 

I have decided to wait until my regular vet calls me. I cleaned it well with sterile saline and have left it open. Joe is wearing his muzzle with stool guard (he tolerates this better than anything else).

 

Mary Pat, I agree that this might not be suture-able. If he bends his "ankle" it would place pressure on the sutures.

 

Jane

[greysmom]

When Dude fell on Toni and she bit him, it did require staples and AB's, but our onco treated it much like a "regular" dog. I don't think that wound site would be suture-able anyway, so you will need to manage it as an open wound. I probably wouldn't even worry about it with a non-cancer dog - Neosporin spray, keep it clean, some AB's if I had them, a light wrap or sock if necessary.

 

See what your vet says.

[tbhounds]

Ah poor boy-sending well wishes!! A WBC of 2,000 is low but, I'm going to guess it's not that low where they will prescribe antibotics.. Keep us posted to what your vet recommends!! Hugs to the big guy- tell him not to be ambrassed- we all take tumbles sometimes!

[joejoesmom]

I just love Dr. Fenger. Here is her response to my email:

 

Hi Jane,

 

 

Yeah our phone system has been acting weird (what's new?), but I had some back to back meetings and appointments today, so thanks for emailing me about Joe. I think those scrapes sound fairly superficial and given the small length, should probably heal fine without requiring suturing. The largest one on the front of his ankle would probably open even with sutures given the mobility in the joint, so I think it's reasonable to try to keep the cut clean, prevent him from licking/chewing at it, and putting him on some of the cephalexin you have just as a precautionary measure. His white blood cell count is still pretty normal for a greyhound, so I don't anticipate him being truly immunosupressed and unable to fight off any infection.

 

 

With the cephalexin you have, give him: 1 of the 500 mg capsules and 1 of the 250 mg capsules (total dose 750 mg) by mouth twice a day for the next week while this heals. It should slowly be healing in the next 2-3 days. As long as the tissue is pink, has no blood or pus discharge, it shouldn't be a problem. Unless he's directly supervised, have him wear a muzzle in order to prevent him from licking at it. If he's scraping it against things or scratching/licking it, you can put a clean bandage on it, but don't worry about putting any topical antibiotics on it.

 

 

Let me know if things aren't clearing up. Hope this is just a small bump in Joe's weekend,

 

Joelle

 

 

 

 

And here is my original message:

 

Joe was running to the front door to come in this morning. When going from my flagstone walk to my concrete walk he tripped on the edge of the concrete and did a "face plant" and skid onto the concrete. The front of his lower leg skidded along the concrete and his back leg hit the back of the front leg (just above the paw).

 

His face seems fine but he has numerous small scrapes on the front of his lower front leg. Most of them are just scrapes where he took the top layer of skin off. He has 3 areas where the damage is a bit worse. The one caused by his back toenail (on the back of his front paw, just above the large pad) still has a small piece of skin attached but it is not very deep, just barely through the skin. The second one he tore about an 1/8 inch piece of skin off and it is a bit deeper. The third one is the only one that could (maybe) be sutured. It is on the front of his "ankle". It is about 1/4 inch by a little more than 1/4 inch and goes below the skin (the underlying tissue is red, like muscle would be). However, if it were to be sutured, the sutures would pull whenever he bent his ankle (not sure what the dog term is for this joint). I am assuming with the small size of this and its location, suturing is probably not feasible.

 

So, unless you say otherwise, I will keep it clean and use polysporin (I also have some gentamicin spray). He can wear a muzzle with a stool guard and/or I can bandage it.

 

I can go into Rascal Unit this afternoon if necessary for suturing.

 

I wanted to check to see if he should be on antibiotics because of the suppressed immune system due to chemo. I do have cephalexin here (both 500 mg capsules and 250 mg capsules). The only other antibiotics I have are bactrim and flagyl.

 

As a reminder, he had his last bloodwork done on 10/20/11 (9 days ago):

 

WBC 2.06 K/microL (ref 5.05-16.76)

NEU 1.37 K/microL (ref 2.95-11.64)

 

He didn't get any chemo on last Friday, Saturday or Sunday. He received flagyl on Friday through Tuesday (5 days). His diarrhea has completely cleared.

 

I tried leaving a message for you but not sure if any voicemails got through (your system seemed to be having problems).

 

You can reach me at home after 3 pm or on my cell anytime this afternoon.

[TwiggysMom]

I'm sorry about Joe's tumble! That sounds painful, but glad you got good advice from Dr. Fenger.

 

Here's to quick, uneventful healing!

[sabrina]

Poor Joe I wish you the best

[Guest IrskasMom]

And how is poor Joes Wounds healing ?? Give that Boy extra Big Hugs from me

[45MPHK9]

No medical advice. Just sending Joe a hug from all of us here. Hope he is on the mend.

[Charlies_Dad]

I hope Joe's scrapes heal quickly Jane! Please give the boy a hug from me.

[NeylasMom]

Poor guy, hope he's on the mend.

[duncan41]

How is Joe this morning! Hoping for positive signs of healing!

[joejoesmom]

Joe is doing much better today, but feeling very sorry for himself for having to wear that nasty muzzle. He is quite subdued and is not eating much, but I'm not terribly worried at this point. He has never been a big chow hound. I know his leg hurts and I think he might have sprained or strained something in the fall. He is able to hop around just fine though. He just hasn't done any zoomies or play since it happened. His wounds are healing over and bruising is very minimal.

 

He has done a good job of training me to come running whenever he gives that special whine that says "You haven't given me any attention in over 15 minutes!". I really need to stop being a worried mom or he will have me truly at his beck and call (as if he doesn't already).

 

I just feel so sorry for him. He was having a grand time outside, doing some zoomies and trying to get the foster labradors to chase him (they seldom try any more). I called him in and he came running and caught his front paw on the edge of the concrete walkway. With his other front leg missing, he had no way of catching himself and down he went, skidding across the concrete. He got up quickly and ran the rest of the way in, stopped just inside the door and proceeded to bleed all over the tile, shaking something fierce. Meanwhile, his mom was trying to get her heart started again.

 

You would think at some point living with an osteo dog would stop being such a roller coaster. Shouldn't I be there now, after 14 really good months? Every time he whines, or acts the slightest bit gimpy, my heart jumps and I go running to him, expecting to see something horrible (I won't put my fears into words). So yesterday, I kind of panicked. As I said, I am a world champion worrier. I wish I could change that about myself.

 

Jane

[mychip1]

Many good thoughts for Joe.

[Batmom]

{{{{{Joe}}}}}

{{{{{{{{{{Joe's mom}}}}}}}}}}

[DesiRayMom]

Joe: Hope you're feeling better this evening. You scared your mama witless!!!

 

Whole ordeal ought to be worth some extra-special goodies, eh?

 

Your foster bro......Desi

[joejoesmom]

Joe: Hope you're feeling better this evening. You scared your mama witless!!!

 

Whole ordeal ought to be worth some extra-special goodies, eh?

 

Your foster bro......Desi

 

Fank you bro! Bin gettin lots n lots ob goodies. peenut budder, liver (I lubs liver), homemade beef jerkee. yum!

 

Your little brudder, Joe.

[Charlies_Dad]

 

You would think at some point living with an osteo dog would stop being such a roller coaster. Shouldn't I be there now, after 14 really good months? Every time he whines, or acts the slightest bit gimpy, my heart jumps and I go running to him, expecting to see something horrible (I won't put my fears into words). So yesterday, I kind of panicked. As I said, I am a world champion worrier. I wish I could change that about myself.

 

Jane

 

Yup . We're the same way Jane. Total panic whenever something happens. I am glad Joe is doing better today!

[tbhounds]

I hear ya sister, hugs from one world champion worrier to another. Big hug to Joe, hope his boo-boo heals quickly.