Plate Coming Out Of My Greyhounds Leg

[diglesias0625]

My dog has been limping for a while so I took to a vet and he said it was arthritus so I gave him pills for arthritus. After 1 month I see that it was not helping. So I took him back to the vet and saw my regular vet and he bend the dogs foot and leg to see if it was hurting him and it was not. So we decided x rays and it seemed like he had dark spots in his bone so we were leaning toward bone cancer. We did a biopsy by taking a piece of the bone out and I wanted chest x rays. Chest x rays clear and biopsy came back with not having bone cancer. Next step is remove the plate he has which is close to his elbow. Does anyine know what the recovery time is and what would be an estimate price. I am being laid of in Feb and I want to know if it can wait till then so I can be with him for the recovery.

[greysmom]

It's a very common surgery, and should be pretty straightforward as long as the leg is completely healed from what caused the plate to be put in in the first place. An uneventful surgical removal might be a couple weeks of recovery, which will mainly consist of keeping him quiet and not letting him lick the wound.

 

Your vet/surgeon should be able to provide you with an estimate of what he expects it to cost - at least a range of prices, low end to high end.

 

Also, make sure he understands about using proper anesthesia for greyhounds, and about putting your boy on Amicar to control bleeding during and after surgery. You can search here in the forum for information on both things and copy it to take to your vet.

Edited November 21, 2017 by greysmom

[diglesias0625]

Thank you. Apparently my normal vet will not do the surgery. He has requested for me to take him back to the surgeon who put the plate on. I already put a call into him but I have not heard back yet. My dog has been through so much, not to long ago he was attacked by another and almost lost one of his front leg so he has a big scar and had to be operated two times and held at the emergency vet for almost three weeks. Now he has this issue on his other leg. I am just hoping that he can also wait till Feb because I can stay with him 24 hours a day, normally no one is home while I am working.

[turbotaina]

If the hardware is failing or "backing out", no, I'm afraid it cannot wait until February. The cost is going to to vary depending on where you are. In the DC region where I live, it would probably be at or more than $1,000, but things are *very* expensive here (a dental will run me between $600 and $1,200). If I drive a few hours west, however, such an orthopedic surgery would probably run $500-$800. Recovery time will be however long it takes the bone to fill back in from when the screws were removed. Probably 4 - 6 weeks of keeping to leash walks only/crate rest. Sutures will probably come out within 2 weeks.

[diglesias0625]

I am taking him back to the surgeon who put his plate on. The plate is not backing out, it just needs to be taken out. They estimated a high end of 1300 that is without a discount of being rescued through an organization that works with this hospital and also a discount because the plate was done there. My concern is that there will be no one here if I do it now and I wont be here 24 hours till Feb. His limb is not big and he constantly wants to go for walks by I limit his walks for now. The hospital says its fine but if I see him not wanting to go for walks or getting up I will have it done asap. Trust me I always put my dogs ahead of me.

Thank you all for helping me. I really appreciate it.

[turbotaina]

Get him on pain meds if not already, do leash walks only and keep a *very* close eye on it. We had a foster who was limping slightly on her hardware, then as soon as she was adopted, she went downhill quick, a screw came out and she went necrotic. The adopter accused the group of hiding the issue. We didn't - not at all. It just changed that quickly. The dog ended up fine, but it's amazing how fast these guys can go south with something like this. Good luck!

[diglesias0625]

I just put a call to his regular vet to see if I can leave him on pain meds that long. He will be calling me tommorrow.

[diglesias0625]

I just put a call to his regular vet to see if I can leave him on pain meds that long. He will be calling me tommorrow.

[diglesias0625]

He was on deramaxx 75 mg but removed because he does not seem to be in pain. I am worried what damage pain killers can do if left along time in his system. I did put a call to his vet which I shpuld receive a call back tommorrow.

[SanTanSnuggles]

I was at C.A.R.E. last week in Frederick MD. and a lady had her greyhound with her that had a plate in it because of a broken leg. The same thing happened to her, it started to come out. So the Surgeon there took the plate out as the leg was becoming very infected. I seen the dog about a week or two after the operation. It was healing very nice and the infection was starting to go away. They also have a Hyperberic Chamber there to aid with healing if needed. http://www.carefrederick.com/services/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-hbot. They helped save the life of my Pasadena. They could not help my Surprise. I can tell you they are very expensive. But I have seen several Greyhounds there in just the week we were there. They can also do negative pressure treatment if the wound is more intense.

[NeylasMom]

The concern if you don't remove it sooner than later is that the bone becomes infected, if it isn't already. Bone infections are nasty and cam be difficult to treat and it's not something I would mess around with. Obviously there's some issue, whether its that the hardware has moved and/or an infection is already brewing as something prompted you to get to this point. FYI, many dogs never need the plates removed so the fact that he does indicates a problem. Do you have someone who could stay with him part of the time in his early recovery? Could he be hospitalized for an extra day or two? I have to say, I had a foster who had his hardware removed (nasty infection once they got in there too) and I remember him being mobile pretty immediately. I don't think I really took time off of work aside from the day of his surgery and the day he came home. I also lived in a condo up several flights of stairs. My memory is really fuzzy at this point, but if I were you I would strongly recommend doing the consult with the surgeon now so you can determine the risks of waiting and what the recovery is like so you can make a more informed decision.

 

Also, a month or two on an NSAID is not a long time and you should not withhold pain meds if a dog is in pain. You could try Tramadol instead, but if he tolerated the Deramaxx earlier he should be fine on it a bit longer.

[diglesias0625]

I am not going to wait. I am trying to get him to surgery this Monday and he will be staying overnight is the plan if everything goes good. So I will pick him up Tuesday after work and take wed, thurs, friday off and have sat and sunday with him which would give me 5 days with him at home after surgery. I just hope its not a bad infection. He has been through a lot with a dog attack on his other leg last year. They did do x rays and biopsy becayse they thought it maybe bone cancer but it came back negative and this is our next procedure is to remove the plate. If he had a bad infection, I would think he would have a fever. But he is walking, playing, eating and being normal. It is just the limping I see now. But these dogs are good at hiding their pain and thats what concerns me with him.

[NeylasMom]

If he had a bad infection, I would think he would have a fever. But he is walking, playing, eating and being normal. It is just the limping I see now. But these dogs are good at hiding their pain and thats what concerns me with him.

Nope, my foster was normal as well. Keep in mind the infection is localized, until its not. Glad you are getting him in.

[Walliered]

My grey were on Gabapentin (spelling?) for years. It help so much with their back, hips and corn pains. Just saying..

[Guest newyorkgrey]

My dog went through this except the plate literally came out of her leg shortly after the original surgery. If yours is not recent then all that will need to heal are the screw holes in the bone and the flesh. I do keep saline cleaning solution at hand as well as clean medical grade cotton and wrap - basically a dog first aid kit - at all times now. The vet will want to wrap the leg and have you come back for some routine check ups, so you should be fine. Just have your own kit on hand in case your dog pulls the bandage free. I also recommend ensuring your dog gets the proper minerals for the bone regrowth. I use calcium/magnesium supplements.

 

Also I did not give my dog much in the way of pain killers after the initial surgery. Eventually I gave her a couple of aspirin over a few days when she was swelling but after that nothing (as she shows no sign of pain.)

Edited November 25, 2017 by newyorkgrey

[turbotaina]

I am not going to wait. I am trying to get him to surgery this Monday and he will be staying overnight is the plan if everything goes good. So I will pick him up Tuesday after work and take wed, thurs, friday off and have sat and sunday with him which would give me 5 days with him at home after surgery. I just hope its not a bad infection. He has been through a lot with a dog attack on his other leg last year. They did do x rays and biopsy becayse they thought it maybe bone cancer but it came back negative and this is our next procedure is to remove the plate. If he had a bad infection, I would think he would have a fever. But he is walking, playing, eating and being normal. It is just the limping I see now. But these dogs are good at hiding their pain and thats what concerns me with him.

 

Good thoughts for a smooth surgery and quick recovery. I'm glad you're getting him in sooner