one of my worst fears was almost realized today
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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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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thats the big question. If the top of the splint is too tight you will see swelling above the splint, but when it is down in the toes like that you really have no way of knowing unless your dog chews the splint off or it starts smelling. Once it starts smelling though its too late. I'm just glad it happened to me and not somebody else because I know many people wouldn't think about that as even being an issue and their dog would have lost a foot.
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Permalink Reply by Bob and SparkPlug on
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That's terrible! Good luck to you guys.
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Permalink Reply by Priscilla, CARLY, and Frankie on
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oh my word!! what a terrible thing for him to go through...i sure hope it all gets well and hes able to use his foot soon, bless your heart and thank God you were smart enough and had the foresight to call the vet. Shame on who ever did that to him.!!!
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Permalink Reply by Tauna and Kota on
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I am so sorry to hear what happened to your baby. It makes me so upset to know there are vets out there who really don't care at all about the pets they are supposed to be helping. It appalls me to know they would let a dog suffer like that by their own hand and then turn around and say they can't do anything about what happened because they weren't the ones who took off the splint. I hope I never have to deal with a vet like that... well, THEY better hope they don't have to deal with me after something like that. Oh my goodness. I was in tears after reading your story and looking at the picture. I would be requesting a refund from the original vet at least. I really hope your baby recovers fully and quickly. Give him extra lovies for me and I hope you might be able to look into the hydro therapy Sam suggested. I look forward to updates!!!! Also I wanted to comment that this is such good information. I would never ever think that they don't know what they are doing with this sort of thing and would never have thought twice if the splint was too tight. Unless Kota was obviously showing major signs of discomfort (but I might have also thought that was from the original cause). Stories like this are so helpful to other people like me and so many others out there. I am very sorry you had to go through this, but am also VERY thankful you posted about it here so that people can learn to always double check everything and be cautious about these sorts of things.
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Two updates: #1) I am not actually sure if the vet put the splint on herself or if a technician did it. Legally an RVT can put on a cast or splint as long as the vet is around somewhere to check it. I'd like to think it was the RVT that screwed up because it seems like such a basic thing to put on a splint
#2) Franklin's foot seems to be regaining some life. Now that his toes aren't red/purplish I can see where the most damage is and where the sores are. I can also see that most of his foot pads are not going to make it. Some parts do have some color back but most of the bottoms of all the pads are white and dead. One of my concerns now is the original break. The toe is still at a funny angle and seems swollen. I would have hoped the swelling would be down by now if the bone was close to being healed. He broke it 3 weeks ago today.The hyrdotherapy was a great idea. I'll have to talk to my NEW vet about it. Seems like just getting the pressure off and putting on the ointment he gave me has been enough. Some of the pressure sores on the top of his leg are already starting to heal after only a few days. Poor guy still has a long road ahead of him, especially when the foot pads slough off. One is starting to come of already and left an open wound. Hopefully they come off a tiny bit at a time so each new wound has time to heal before a new one opens up.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Ugh. I was hoping that he wouldn't lose part of the foot. That is just awful. Makes me mad because it never needed to happen. And of course since animals don't show discomfort til they are really in pain, by the time he let you know something was wrong it was too late.
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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on
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I am shocked that the vet had no sympathy and no remorse for what she or her staff did. Since they are being ridiculous about this, I'd go on Yelp, Kudzu or any other review sites you can find, tell your story and WARN people not to go to this vet! Bad press is worse for negligent businesses that giving you a refund. Have at it, I hope it keeps other business away from them.
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Permalink Reply by Kimberlie on
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I so sorry to hear about Franklin, plently of love sent from Adora and she know how much it sucks to recoup from a splint and soars, but to go one step further really sucks. But i am so glad he has such a great mommy that is in tune with him and noticed the problem before it was devastating. I would Google the vet and where ever you see a site where you can post, please tell your story. One 6 weeks is way to much for a broken toe, and to not care about what they did pushes it to far. Alot of people new to pets will research vets unless recommended to them or it is near by or only choice(small town/out of town) and you don't want them to go through the same thing, especially considering splinting happens alot. My vet felt bad that adora even had to go back soon after her split was off. Even though the main issue was she started having seizures, he even felt bad that she got soars when he pulled off the splint though it was clear that it was from getting wet(she likes to dig in her water bowl). I am so glad it isn't the worst case sinario and that he is showing continuous good news to a bad story, he is one tough cookie, and we will be wishing him a positive recovery all the was though every day with lots of love. I had the same worries about it being to tight when Adora had her's so i can only imagine what you are going though finding out your fears came true, big hug and lots of love to you to, you did a great job loving and worried for him.
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I had previously posted a reveiw on Yelp for the vet, for some reason my reviews of vets are filtered so it doesn't show up on the main page. I posted a new review and warned owners of my experience. I have actually had a previous bad experience at this vet but it is only about 5 min from my house and they can always get me in when there is an emergency. Also the vet I saw this time was a different vet so I had hopes that things would go better. The first time I took him there was for diarrhea and the vet just gave meds and sent him on his way. The meds did not help at all and I called to ask what next and they basically said wait another week or two. There was no way I was going to wait knowing diarrhea is NOT NORMAL, not ok, and can cause dehydration so when I went to visit some friends where I used to live (about 3 hours away) I took Frank to the vet I used to work for and she discovered an ENORMOUS rock in his belly. I had even warned the first vet that he eats rocks. I guess I'll have to search around for another close vet for emergencies, I'm starting to think if it were a life threatening emergency this vet may end up killing him rather than saving him due to their negligence.
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Permalink Reply by Comanche Flame on
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I am very sorry for Franklin, and also you. This should not happen to anyone. If someone chooses to go into the field of treating pets they need to have a heart, not just knowledge. It seems this one has neither. I would take my complaint further. I would take it to the local paper. The people in the area where this doctor practices need to know exactly what has happened, not just this time, but both times you had Franklin treated at that office. You may just save some little ones life. I am sure if you do this others will come forward with their own stories. Just write a letter to the editor unless you know someone on the paper.
Franklin is very handsome, and a real trooper. I am sure he is very proud of his mom.
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Permalink Reply by Sam, Gregg & Poopdeck on
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Feel better soon Franklin; you are a lucky guy to have such a smart Mom!
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I told your story to my boyfriend and he says there is a medical board for vets just like doctors and urges you to at least report/complaint the vet (on both insidents) to the Veterinary Medical Board of your state. Here is the site for calafornia which your page says you from http://www.vmb.ca.gov/consumers/comp_inf.shtml. Even if you don't want to sew for malpractice atleast report, if he/she is a bad vet and enough people file against him he could properly loose his licence and you could one person that help him/her from not harming another animal without remorse again. You could also send your story to your local news station. Hopes his recovery goes quick and smooth.
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