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.
- Attachments:
-
-
20110331122221.jpg, 490 KB
-
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
-
Thanks for the info. I am currently in a Vet Tech program and we were just learning the week that this all happened about malpractice and negligence. In California its pretty pointless to sue for either unless you have a champion show dog or a race horse or something worth a ton of money. Not worth it. But it is a good idea to report it just so they can be put on the radar of the Vet Medical Board.
Franklin is healing well. His toes are still very red but I don't know if that will ever go away and his pads are slowly sloughing off. In some places there is new raw pink skin underneath and in others just open sores. I have always said Franklin can't feel pain, and I still believe this. He is one tough cookie. When I take him out to go potty he will try to FRAP then step on some rocks/sticks/grass and hobble around on three legs for a while then go back to using all four. Don't tell my new vet that I'm letting him run a round a little :-) Three weeks of no walks or exercise of any kind have finally caught up to him and he is a total maniac. Now all the sedatives do is make him noisy (growl and bark more) but don't do much to knock him out. Oh, and about the sedatives, when I first got them she had said lowest dose to give was 1 of each pill every 12 hours, so I did that and Franklin was a wobbly zombie for almost 3 days!!! I calculated the dosage on my own and her lowest dose was actually quite high for what is recommended, so I cut that dose in half and he did much better. Just another error they made. We go in Thursday for another x-ray and for the new vet to check his paw. Frank and I can't wait for the appointment because he is going CRAZY and wants to know if he can have walks again! :-)
-
Permalink Reply by Shepdog on
-
Ugh... I am so, so sorry. That's awful. I hope his foot heals up all right, and I'm glad you followed your gut instinct and took him in.
When Simon broke his toe, that's exactly what my vet said too, that the possible damage of splinting it or casting it could be worse. We simply taped it to his other toe like human athletes do, and I was lucky in that he realized instantly it felt better with the tape on, and he never, ever touched it while it healed. :/ Had to keep his toes clean and dry and outside we wrapped it in Ace bandage, but it did heal pretty quick, thank goodness.
Best wishes. I would not be happy with the first vet's reaction, no way. Smart move to change vets. I hope your little guy feels better soon. :(
-
-
Franklin and I can't wait until Thursday when we may or may not get the ok for walks. He is going absolutely CRAZY lately. His paw pads are sloughing quite a bit now so I am going to have to go buy him some booties I think. Somebody at Petsmart mentioned some waxy stuff I can put on to protect the pads too. Does anybody have any experience with raw pads and what did you do?
-
Permalink Reply by Kelly M. on
-
Hey Melissa...this is the first I am reading your post and I'm mortified (at that horrible vet (office) and so happy that you went with your gut instinct and took him in to get checked out when you did. Your a good mom!
I can imagine Franklin is going stir crazy! But, boy does he sound like a trooper! And it sounds like he's still in great spirits which is so good.
Bailey has scuffed and cut her pads before on walks and after I clean them off and put a little Neosporin on I cover them up with some gauze and a sock. I've never heard of waxy stuff, but I googled it and found this site about paw wax:
http://www.vetinfo.com/paw-wax-for-dogs.html
And I found a brand...Excel Paw Wax...Amazon sells it...here's a link:
http://www.amazon.com/8in1-Excel-Paw-Protector-1-75-Ounce/dp/B000FP...
Hope that helps! Looks like Amazon sells other brands and kinds of paw wax too, but this got the most stars.
Poor guy! Hope he gets better very soon on both the fracture and his pads healing. And you hang in there too! :)
-
-
Melissa...I was looking at the paw wax after sending you those links. (I might actually like something like this for Bailey) and there is another brand called Musher's wax...better reviews and when I was reading the reviews for the Excel Paw Wax, I guess it's made in China and might not list the ingredients...the other wax is made in Canada (I think). I'm just not a fan of things being made in China...especially things that can absorb into the paws.
-
-
thanks for all the info! I'll have to check with the vet before I buy anything since his pads are in such bad shape. He already gave me an ointment for the pads and pressure sores and I'm not sure if he'll let me use other stuff or just have me put a booty on. Frank HATES having booties but if I put it on right before a walk he forgets immediately because he is so happy to go outside haha. I've had to use booties on him in the past for torn toenails that wouldn't heal and they seemed to work well to protect his feet. Vet appointment Thursday so hopefully he can hold on for a few more days! I've upped the interactive treats and bought him 2 new ones but he is getting too good at them! haha
-
-
Oh totally...he's got a lot going on, so probably little booties are better. They have disposable ones on amazon when I was checking out the wax. Bailey hates anything on her paws, but its true, once they are outside, they forget about it!
LOL about the interactive treat toys...he's going to be a wiz at all of them by the time he is fully recovered. Ha! He sounds like such a sweet boy! So sorry you both are going through this.
Good luck on Thursday and hopefully he just keeps on getting better. Keep us posted! :)
-
Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
-
Hi Melissa, here's John's personal experience. If the pads are raw and open, I'll just keep using the ointment and keep the area clean / free from moisture.
Musher's secret is made in Canada, it is 100% wax with vitamin E, no fragrant, it does not stain. It works great in Canada's salty winter or Florida's hot pavement.
Excel / 8 in 1 Brand paw protector is own by United Pet Group, Inc in OH, same company that makes Nature's miracle. It does have ingredient listed on their website: paraffin wax, mineral oil, rosin, fragrance and titanium dioxide. I personally have a problem with any skin product that contain titanium dioxide / oxide, let alone applying it on open / raw skin.
I called their customer service line (opens at 8:30AM) (800) 645-5154 in OH, pressed 3 and the lady first said the product is Made in USA, when I asked if that was printed on the "can" itself, she went and check, apologize and said it is made in China, I asked if the ingredient are listed on the can, she said no, and explained "it's basically fragrance / nitroglycerin".
At the end of the day, always make your purchase based on facts and logic, not sheep goat effect. Made in the USA is not any safer than any other countries, just check the FDA recall list. Don't be duped by politics and media.
-
-
Musher's secret is awesome stuff! I've used it on my cracked hands too. ;)
-
-
I've heard of Musher's secret before but never really knew what it was :-) I think the vet basically wants Franklin on cage rest because of his paws, but Franklin as already been on strict rest for just about 4 weeks now so I am really hoping if I bring up some of these ideas he will let him go for walks. I'm supposed to be using the medicated ointment he gave me and soaking/washing his paws with medicated soap to keep them clean. Hopefully with this regimen he will also allow short walks. We will see tomorrow!
-
Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
-
You can'tr believe anybody.
I once worked at a Seattle factory that made hoist/winch equipment. They were just then beginning to ship the jobs overseas (early 1980s). Part of our job was to removed all evidence of Japanese manufacture from the imported stuff. We'd affix durable labels that said, "XXX, Inc., Seattle, WA, U.S.A" -- as long as it didn't say, "Made in U.S.A., they could get away with it. There's reasons they don't like unions.
I wouldn't buy anything made in China. Sure, this is unapologetically bigotted, and I think the melamine scandal earned it.
-
Permalink Reply by Rebecca on
-
Your a good corgi mommy to be on top of what your feelings are telling you. I'm sure Franklin is greatful to have that off. Hope he is feeling better. Its so true vets or their techs need to be very careful in wraping a dogs leg. My wrangler had to have one to,. We ended up with a leg splint that has a bottom almost like a human shoe boot for a broken leg. Worked pretty good, this way they cant wrap it to tight. Take care you to.
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
