Jaynie - Possible Broken Toe - Treatment Options Asap Please

[Rickiesmom]

Jaynie was running around in the deep snow this morning, and came back to the house on 3 legs. The outermost toe on her left foot was pointing left instead of straight.

 

My first thought was that it was dislocated. By the time I caught up with her in the house the toe was straight, and initially I thought it had popped back in. But . . .

 

I don't think that happens so easily, plus it's looking bruised on the inside and is somewhat swollen. Maybe she broke it.

 

We have a vet appointment at 3:20 this afternoon and I am sure they'll x-ray.

 

My question is - if the toe is broken, is the standard treatment amputation, or can it be set / bandaged / whatever so that it will heal.

 

I trust my vets but it would be so helpful to have more information going in.

 

The other complication is that Jaynie has compromised kidneys, so if she needs surgery I will want it done at the specialty clinic (board certified anaesthesiologist and a building full of specialists if anything goes wrong). I imagine Monday would be the earliest I could have that done - is it OK to give it supportive care until then?

 

I gave her 100 mg of Tramadol and 300 mg of Gabapentin this morning. She is not allowed to have NSAIDs, unfortunately.

 

Thank you for your help!

[pabozem]

I have no advice for you, but will keep Jaynie and you in my thoughts and prayers. Those long greyhound toes can really cause problems from time to time!

[Guest snowmo18]

We had a foster that broke his toe...same as you are describing..very flat looking and took to E-vet...he was in a walking cast for 8 weeks. Amputation is not standard unless it wont heal properly from my understanding. Our foster had shattered it in 3 places and thats why the 8 weeks..they x rayed at 6 weeks to see any calcium forming..it was slow, but it was forming

 

P.S. of course this was when I was out of town for work and had to happen on the husbands watch. leash walking only and plastic bag on cast every time we went out...kept dry and clean. bought our own vet wrap to change it out when it needed patch jobs between vet visits.

Edited February 7, 2014 by snowmo18

[Hubcitypam]

When Buck broke his toe my vet refused to splint it saying that a splint often caused more harm than good on a broken toe by transferring pressure up the leg. Buck was just on limited movement for several weeks and he was fine. Treatment might depend on the kind of break. His was clean.

[PrairieProf]

I don't think you know it's broken until the vet xrays it. If it's seemingly stayed in place I'd guess it WAS dislocated.

[GreyPoopon]

Cal had that happen a few times. It was a dislocation each time. I even got instructions as to how to put it back.

 

My vet thought a split would cause more trouble than it was worth.

 

Eventually the toe healed well enough to stay in place even when she ran.

 

[Rickiesmom]

Thank you everyone who responded - I wanted to be better informed in the event the toe was broken.

 

The good news is that it's not, although the vet is sending the rads to a radiologist as there was one thing she was a bit uncertain about, but nothing sinister.

 

So we are to continue the Tramadol and do leash walks for a week, then see how it's healing.

[greysmom]

Glad he's OK.

 

FWIW, splinting often causes more problems than the broken toe. You need weekly or bi-weekly bandage changes to prevent pressure sores. You have the hassle of making sure it's kept clean and dry for the entire splinting period. Eight weeks, give or take, of leash walking only.

 

No splinting and just giving the toe time and support to heal, can work. You'll still need to leash walk extensively.

 

A toe amp, barring other complications, can be relatively quick and easy as surgeries go. It's a fairly short procedure, first off, that can be done with minimal anesthesia by a competent surgeon. My Toni was sedated only for her recent toe amp. One week of leash walking, two bandage changes and one followup appointment, and three weeks later she's running around like nothing's wrong.

[dante2zoe]

Glad it's not a break! Zoe dislocated her toe so badly once that when I brought her to the e-vet, he was positive the bone had been shattered. Skin had split and the toe was perpendicular to her foot. He was absolutely stunned that it was in pieces inside. Due to the stitches, that it wouldn't stay in place, and that I didn't know any better at the time, she was splinted for 4-6 weeks with weekly changes and then an additional several weeks of leash walking only. It was a long road but she healed beautifully.

 

Good luck!

[FiveRoooooers]

Years ago my great dane broke a toe and was in a cast for several weeks, no amp. But your update is great, no break!