Ever since Franklin broke his toe 2 1/2 weeks ago I have been really paranoid about splint issues. My worst fear was that the splint would be put on too tight and cut off circulation to his foot. I've heard of dogs losing a foot/leg because of a split too tight. Well yesterday I noticed Franklin wasn't wanting to walk on his foot anymore and he was acting like it was bothering him. We just had this splint put on Friday afternoon and it was supposed to be on for 2 weeks. Well I decided today that its better safe than sorry so I took him to the vet to have the splint taken off and redone. Well they took off the splint and found a swollen foot with necrotic (dead) foot pads that smelled HORRIBLE. The splint was put on way too tight and was cutting off circulation, just like I had feared. Parts of his foot pads are dead and won't come back, but hopefully since the blood circulation has returned some of it will come back again. All of his toes are swollen to twice the normal size and very red/pink. He is incredibly painful and also has open pressure sores. The vet (a different vet than I had been going to before) said that these wounds are so much worse than the broken toe! He is worried about his foot but hopes with the splint off it will heal. He is on strict cage rest now because he has a broken toe that is now unprotected and his foot pads are dead and very painful. We are going to re-xray next week to see how well the break has healed and if we need to re-splint, although I will likely see if there is something else I can do. What is really scary is thinking about what would have happened if I wasn't so paranoid and if I hadn't worked at a vet. If I would have waited the full 14 days for the splint to come off, Franklin would have lost his leg. The damage was so severe already after only 5 days, that by the time 14 days had passed his whole foot would have been dead and they would have had to amputate. I'm sooooooooooo glad I am so in tune with my little guy. I plan on bringing him into the original vet tomorrow just to show them the damage that was done. I just want them to be aware and maybe more careful in the future. The picture attached is of his foot. It already looks better after having the splint off for most of the day.
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Thank you , this is very informative...
I hope Franklin will be alright. Not to be the mean guy around here.
I wonder if vet have malpractice insurance, you will need to be compensated for all of the extra grief and work!!!
I am just sick for you! I would have never had thought to think about that. Our poor babies can't even tell us when things are wrong. It is a blessing that you know him so well. Best of luck during this recovery!
Oh my gosh, how awful! I am stunned that they would not do something as basic as make sure the splint is not too tight, or show you how to check it periodically to make sure that minor swelling hasn't caused it to become too tight when it initially fit ok.
So glad you found it and hope his recovery goes better than planned! Poor guy.
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