Asking For Prayers, Tail And Toenail Injuries

[FiveRoooooers]

Ace degloved his front leg in a deck sliding accident before I got him. He had 73 stitches in his lower leg. The person caring for him (his owner died) did not know to change the bandage. When I got him, his leg was a gooey mess, that couldn't be stitched again. Manuka honey did an amazing job and I COULD see the day to day improvement. My vet had suggested using sugar, but the honey was sooo much easier. It also made it easier to get the non stick pad in place because the honey held the pad while I wrapped the gauze. Manuka honey is magic!

Ah right! Remember sweet Nell when she had her amp and how Manuka honey helped with her healing. Ultimately she became an angel but what fighters she and her family were.

[Guest Kryspen]

No suggestions from me, just prayers and good thoughts. Mac & Pebbles send sympathy wags and licks.

[GreytXpctations]

I hope he heals well and heals fast.

[a_daerr]

Oh my goodness, that tail. Both of my boys have had tail injuries and both have gotten partial tail amputations. It quickly became too hard for the tail to heal with it constantly whacking off things and the bandages falling off. The rest was cauterized with a laser, and it healed up in no time. Best of luck to you. If you have problems and that tissue gets necrotic, don't rule out an amp. ETA: Neither of my boys' tail injuries looked as bad as Uri's.

Edited September 18, 2015 by a_daerr

[bradymom]

Believe or not I use "blue-painter's tape" with Brady. He does not mess with it, it does not pull his fur when I have to change a bandage.

[Urismom]

Thank you everyone so much for the input and great suggestions! I have ordered some manuka honey. We just saw our regular vet for a follow-up and he said it is going in the right direction, but still has a long road ahead. He prescribed an oral antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory (for the toe). He said the granulation layer has started to form and the honey might help with that. We have another appointment in 10 days.

[Urismom]

Here's an update on Uri! His foot where he lost the toenail is doing very well. He was licking it a lot - the vet prescribed a week of anti-inflammatory to help soothe that. Also, we got the poop guard for his muzzle, so he wears that when I can't be supervising so that he doesn't get into an obsessive licking mode.

 

The tail is seeing definite progress, still hopeful that it will heal up. The bandage has been staying on very well this week - changing it daily, he hasn't gotten a lick in for over a week! I put together some pictures to show how it is progressing. I am so encouraged to see less tendon and more of the red fleshy stuff.

 

The manuka honey I ordered came last night, so today I put on his first dressing with the honey.

 

Thank you everyone so much for the suggestions.

 

[bradymom]

I am so glad that the poop guard arrived and is giving Uris and you some relief from the "cone of shame".

 

Wow his tail is looking better and I hope the honey helps promotes faster healing. It is a long process.

[Guest LazyBlaze]

Fingers crossed the honey can do the biz. The tail is definitely looking improved. Glad his foot's feeling better too. Poor pup.

[FiveRoooooers]

 

 

That is definitely looking better!

I have to ask if you are a researcher/scientist? That pic is a perfect "Figure" for a scientific journal

[Urismom]

That is definitely looking better!

I have to ask if you are a researcher/scientist? That pic is a perfect "Figure" for a scientific journal

 

Haha, no, I'm not! But, I am definitely approaching this tail like a serious project and figured I might as well approach the results analytically! I like to feel encouraged by seeing progress. I hope it keeps up, I know I'll be crushed if it takes a turn for the worse, as several people have said their dog's wounds did even after many weeks.

[Urismom]

We saw the vet again today. He thinks the tail wound is looking great, he thinks the manuka honey was helpful. He said that we should stop keeping it moist and bandaging it, and instead, leave it open to the air and let it dry out and scab over. That makes me soooo nervous, as I've always felt comfort in keeping it moist, and we had really gotten the hang of the bandages and keeping it safe that way. I'm afraid now it will get dirty, or bang into something and open up, or that Uri - who is an obsessive licker - will get at it and lick it raw. We taped a plastic syringe tube around it from the top, and I will watch him like a hawk and he'll have to wear his muzzle-with-poop-guard whenever I can't supervise.

 

I hope the drying out/scab phase goes ok. I'm sure the scabbing will bother him a lot more, whereas when we had it moist and bandaged, he didn't even seem to notice it. Never thought I'd feel like I miss goopy-bandage stage. :-) I am so glad the vet thinks it is going well. He said we don't even need to schedule a follow-up appointment unless something concerns me.

 

Thank you all for the suggestions!!

[kudzu]

OK, the following is just personal opinion & not trying to convince you to go against your vet. For tail wounds, I have always left them covered, and padded, until fully healed. If the wound is at a stage where the bandage won't still to it then I'd skip the goopy part... maybe. Have found for humans & hounds that keeping the wound moist does not seem to inhibit healing but does change the way it seems to heal. The wounds kept moist didn't scab over but healed with much less scarring. Of course, it leaves you with all those bandage changes.

 

Some wounds & locations do fine without any dressing. Some hounds don't worry sores, giving you more options. What I do usually depends on the hound, type of wound & location. For a tail on any hound, I try to keep it bandaged & padded for the full healing process & is kept moist until at least a point where the bandage doesn't stick to the wound. That's just what works best for us.

 

Edit: Forgot to say that you've done a great job on this wound. It was really nasty. Your dedicated efforts at wound care have been commendable. Well done.

Edited September 28, 2015 by kudzu

[Urismom]

Yeah sooooo....a few hours after the vet visit, I decided to go back to the moist/honey/bandage treatment. Drying out and scabbing just instinctually didn't feel right to me. I feel bad and worried because it's not like I'm the veterinarian, who I certainly trust. I am going to keep it moist and covered at least for a few more days, maybe a week, and then go from there.

[tbhounds]

I would keep that moist and covered until completely healed.

[Guest LazyBlaze]

Yeah, I would be wanting to keep it moist and covered until there's no open skin or chance of infection. I'm not a vet though, just a panicky owner... What I understood when Blaze had his tail injury and I was reading up on healing was that moist healing helps with scarring better than 'air healing', and you don't want scar tissue constricting the blood flow to the tail when you've done so well to bring Uri's tail along this far. With Blaze his tail was bandaged for two whole months, possibly a week or so more. In the last couple of weeks, once the healing was well underway and the risk of infection had passed we switched from using manuka to using stuff called Intrasite gel on a cellular dressing, which just helped to keep the very fragile skin moist and clean. Then we went full-on fresh air and I remember it being a bit scary, but by then it was fine. He now has a very fetching and fluffy tail-combover!

 

You're doing a great job with Uri, his injury was a nasty one. Hopefully it can keep healing nicely and he's wagging it in the fresh air again before you know it!

[Newgreymom]

Another vote to keep it moist and wrapped. Been through it and we kept it covered seems like forever but I did heal.

[Urismom]

Thank you all! We're still keeping it wrapped and moist. Here is a picture showing week 3's progress:

 

[Guest LazyBlaze]

Wow, that's really looking great. It has healed so quickly. Go Uri's tail!

 

[bradymom]

It is looking great, but I would also keep it moist and wrapped like you are doing.

[tbhounds]

That looks amazing!

[Batmom]

Your instincts are correct -- moist until it's all closed and filled in. (Cells need moisture! The "let it dry out" business slows healing.) Then I would still bandage for protection, for a couple weeks.

 

Good job on getting it so well healed!

[Neighsayer]

Your instincts are correct -- moist until it's all closed and filled in. (Cells need moisture! The "let it dry out" business slows healing.) Then I would still bandage for protection, for a couple weeks.

 

Good job on getting it so well healed!

Yup!

[Urismom]

So today, after 4.5 weeks, Uri's toe hole started bleeding again. And THEN he somehow totally got the entire tail bandage completely off - the first time he's managed that also in 4.5 weeks - and I was outside, so I wasn't there to see if he got a few licks in. But, it looks ok and I washed and rebangaged. We are trying to decide at what point we should/can stop with the moist environment (have been using vaseline and manuka honey) and maybe just start dry bandaging. What do you guys all think? Currently, there is no scab and no open parts of the wound. It is smooth and dry, though still pink and vulnerable looking. I'm not really sure what I'm looking at.

[Batmom]

Nice pink scar tissue. I would keep bandaging for several weeks but doesn't have to be wet.