Maxi is in the Hospital......

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Wylde1 said:
Maxi,
As someone who broke my leg in a car wreck many years ago - I feel your pain. Hang in there girl. Prayers are on their way for you and master Joe. Here's to a speedy recovery.


Wylde1.
Click to expand...

Thank you Wylde. I know you are going through some tough times too. I wish you best and may all you worked for come true... :read2:
 
best wishes for a speedy recovery. this is why we got yelled at for horseplay in the house. sorry to hear.poor pup
 
ramcharger said:
I was given three options from the surgeon:

Euthanasia.... I talked to an older (close to 60) buddy of mine here who has had many dogs, most rescued. He played the devil's advocate and said "Joe, are you sure you not being a selfish SOB and just prolonging her pain so you can still have her by your side? I know dogs and they'll be by your side 'till their last dying breath no matter how much they are suffering. Is this really what you want? A dog that will be in pain for the rest it's life? I'm not telling you what to do but I have to put this in front of you. You gave her 4 years that she never would have had unless you rescued her and there are plenty of dogs that need your help too." Well damn, he's got a point........ BUT!!! Maxi has been by my side through a loss or a fiance', a loss of house, a loss of my job, a loss of my mom. I OWE her.

Surgery..... 2500 bucks plus long time care and no gaurantee that she will be the dog she once was. 75%-80% chance is what I was told.

Custom splints, changed every 10 days and than an orthotic splint custom made here in Colorado. She may have to wear it the rest of her life. The custom splints are x money every 10 days and the custom orthotic is 900$. She'll look a bit like Mad Max and maybe have to have it forever.

The amount of care it's going to take is incredible......That little pucker opening on the front of her cast is so I can stick my finger in there and feel her toes. If she's agitated that means that the cotton lining has compressed and is allowing movement of the tarsal joint, if her toes are cold that means that an infection has set in and there's swelling that's cutting off her blood supply. I have to monitor this at least three times a day.

She has just crawled out of her crate so she can see me here in my office. I have to let Merlin in now.... He's thrilled that Maxi is not the top dog. He pissed on her though her crate when I went back to work. Paybacks a *****.....

I chose the Mad Maxi option. I just don't have the money for the "Maybe" surgery and choose to put in the time for her to try to fix herself. I just can't put her down, no way. She still hasn't really ate yet, but she's home. I know she hurts but they gave me some good drugs for her. I'm just trying to do my best.... If I had the money, she'd be bionic..... :-D
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This is Nikki responding (she knows about this junk).............



Hi there.

I have worked for a board certified veterinary surgeon for about 8-yrs and have seen a lot of fractured tibias on dogs. I have never heard of 100% guarantee with any surgical fracture repair, but 80% is an extremely high success rate. I can't think of one dog that wasn't running and jumping and walking normally after the surgery recovery period was over. Broken bones are not something that our surgeon usually even offers euthanasia for because they are something that can be repaired or amputated and not life threatening typically. Bones take about 8-weeks to mend so you do have to keep your dog from running, jumping, most likely keep an E-collar on your dog so that it doesn't chew on the splint, and you do have to go in to get the splint changed every 7-10 days. I have never seen our surgeon recommend using a permanent splint or "orthotic". Generally they are pointless, they rub ulcers in the skin, and the dog wants to chew it off. However, you may find different opinions from new school vets out there. It would be a huge advantage to your dog"s recovery if you limit the amount of food you are feeding and put her on a low calorie diet. Being confined and inactive can make it hard to keep the weight off and her body mass will play a big role in her recovery. I really do not believe a fracture this severe is going to heal without surgical repair and if you wait too long the bone will mend in the wrong position and will not be able to be repaired later on, not to mention it will most likely be more painful for your dog to endure the attempted recovery.

I am sure your surgeon also discussed the option for limb amputation. These surgeries are incredibly more difficult for the dog's owner to endure than it is for the dog as a patient. It only takes 2-weeks of rest and relaxation for the incision to heal and about a month until the dog is really back to herself. Plus, there is no bandage or splint change to worry about. Dogs are incredibly resilient creatures and typically bounce right back, especially if they are not very old. Also the front limbs on a dog is primarily where the dog holds her body weight so they do great with having just one leg on the back end. There is no lying around feeling sorry for themselves like humans do. They adjust rather quickly and move on with their life. If you were to choose that route keeping her thin will make it much easier for her to get around. I understand that is a big decision to make and not for everyone. It also isn't usually all that much cheaper than the surgical fracture repair.

Our surgeon's estimate for surgical repair with internal plate fixation would be approximately $3000 for the entire package. This would be for the initial consultation, surgery, anesthesia, lab work, hospital care, pain meds and tranquilizers, splint changes, and all rechecks needed for the recovery. Some vets will keep adding on all the extras and you don't realize that their $2500 estimate actually adds up to $4000. Most emergency vets and surgical specialists nation wide offer a medical payment plan called Care Credit. You can sign up online at www.carecredit.com. Care Credit is provided by GE Money and you do have to pass a credit check. They send you a statement each month just like a credit card. What makes them different is they offer 12-months with no interest to pay off the balance, or you may choose a 48-month fixed APR of 13.9%. There is no extra fee to you as long as you make your monthly payments on time. We have used this plan at our hospital on a weekly basis and never had one complaint from a client. They have great customer service and have saved many dogs' lives for people that could not afford surgery otherwise. If your credit isn't great, they also have a co-applicant option. (Just another option for you).

Just remember, everyone has their own philosophy on how far you should go to save your pet's life or how much you should be willing to sacrifice financially, but when it comes down to it, it is between you and your dog. No one knows her like you do. Your old school buddy has a point when he thinks about how you could feed 1000 puppies in the shelter with the money you would spend on your dog's surgery. On the other hand you could also feed 1000 human orphan babies with the money that you would spend on rebuilding an engine. You can't try to save the entire world all at once, but you can do the best you can to take care of the ones that are closest to you. You should just make the decision that is right for you and your girl. It is a tough situation to be in, I know. I hope that I could offer some assistance. Let me know if you have any questions. I have to go feed some bacon to JR now. Take care.

Nikki
 
Blessing sends her best wishes, she had a shattered hip also.

2010_01230001 (Small).JPG
 
dogs are resilient. and a broken bone won't dampen her spirits. whether she heals with a limp or not she will continue to wag her tail and be your best friend for as long as you are together. This is why dogs are truly mans best friend. I hope for a speedy recovery.
 
daredevil said:
best wishes for a speedy recovery. this is why we got yelled at for horseplay in the house. sorry to hear.poor pup
Click to expand...

Damn it man! Why have a dog if I can't have tennis ball marks everywhere? :)

360scamp said:
This is Nikki responding (she knows about this junk).............
Hi there.

I have worked for a board certified veterinary surgeon for about 8-yrs and have seen a lot of fractured tibias on dogs. I have never heard of 100% guarantee with any surgical fracture repair, but 80% is an extremely high success rate. I can't think of one dog that wasn't running and jumping and walking normally after the surgery recovery period was over. Broken bones are not something that our surgeon usually even offers euthanasia for because they are something that can be repaired or amputated and not life threatening typically. Bones take about 8-weeks to mend so you do have to keep your dog from running, jumping, most likely keep an E-collar on your dog so that it doesn't chew on the splint, and you do have to go in to get the splint changed every 7-10 days. I have never seen our surgeon recommend using a permanent splint or "orthotic". Generally they are pointless, they rub ulcers in the skin, and the dog wants to chew it off. However, you may find different opinions from new school vets out there. It would be a huge advantage to your dog"s recovery if you limit the amount of food you are feeding and put her on a low calorie diet. Being confined and inactive can make it hard to keep the weight off and her body mass will play a big role in her recovery. I really do not believe a fracture this severe is going to heal without surgical repair and if you wait too long the bone will mend in the wrong position and will not be able to be repaired later on, not to mention it will most likely be more painful for your dog to endure the attempted recovery.

I am sure your surgeon also discussed the option for limb amputation. These surgeries are incredibly more difficult for the dog's owner to endure than it is for the dog as a patient. It only takes 2-weeks of rest and relaxation for the incision to heal and about a month until the dog is really back to herself. Plus, there is no bandage or splint change to worry about. Dogs are incredibly resilient creatures and typically bounce right back, especially if they are not very old. Also the front limbs on a dog is primarily where the dog holds her body weight so they do great with having just one leg on the back end. There is no lying around feeling sorry for themselves like humans do. They adjust rather quickly and move on with their life. If you were to choose that route keeping her thin will make it much easier for her to get around. I understand that is a big decision to make and not for everyone. It also isn't usually all that much cheaper than the surgical fracture repair.

Our surgeon's estimate for surgical repair with internal plate fixation would be approximately $3000 for the entire package. This would be for the initial consultation, surgery, anesthesia, lab work, hospital care, pain meds and tranquilizers, splint changes, and all rechecks needed for the recovery. Some vets will keep adding on all the extras and you don't realize that their $2500 estimate actually adds up to $4000. Most emergency vets and surgical specialists nation wide offer a medical payment plan called Care Credit. You can sign up online at www.carecredit.com. Care Credit is provided by GE Money and you do have to pass a credit check. They send you a statement each month just like a credit card. What makes them different is they offer 12-months with no interest to pay off the balance, or you may choose a 48-month fixed APR of 13.9%. There is no extra fee to you as long as you make your monthly payments on time. We have used this plan at our hospital on a weekly basis and never had one complaint from a client. They have great customer service and have saved many dogs' lives for people that could not afford surgery otherwise. If your credit isn't great, they also have a co-applicant option. (Just another option for you).

Just remember, everyone has their own philosophy on how far you should go to save your pet's life or how much you should be willing to sacrifice financially, but when it comes down to it, it is between you and your dog. No one knows her like you do. Your old school buddy has a point when he thinks about how you could feed 1000 puppies in the shelter with the money you would spend on your dog's surgery. On the other hand you could also feed 1000 human orphan babies with the money that you would spend on rebuilding an engine. You can't try to save the entire world all at once, but you can do the best you can to take care of the ones that are closest to you. You should just make the decision that is right for you and your girl. It is a tough situation to be in, I know. I hope that I could offer some assistance. Let me know if you have any questions. I have to go feed some bacon to JR now. Take care.

Nikki
Click to expand...

Nikki, Thank you so much for you educated and intelligent input. It's seems odd that euthanasia was given as an option vs. amputation.

I was unemployed for 9 months and regardless of my previous credit record {which was was trashed by my X's refusal of her paying her half of the house that I lost, as well as stealing my GSD (german shepherd dog) Turbo..... Now I'm geting off track...... :cheers::cheers: I was offered the option of "Care Credit" but at my new job starting at Nov 4th 2009, it was not an option.

Sparky said:
Blessing sends her best wishes, she had a shattered hip also.
Click to expand...

SoulSurvivor said:
dogs are resilient. and a broken bone won't dampen her spirits. whether she heals with a limp or not she will continue to wag her tail and be your best friend for as long as you are together. This is why dogs are truly mans best friend. I hope for a speedy recovery.
Click to expand...

Now go feed that peckerhead some pork for Pete's sake. :-D
 
Outstanding post Nikki :thumbup:

Joe, I am confident Maxi will recover and Merlin may rule the roost ;-)

I remember really tough decisions like these when our best bud was sick. It's never an easy decision $$ versus value of the pup......they're priceless IMO :cheers:
 
Have you seen the You Tube ( I Think ) video of the dog born with no front legs ? It walks and runs.
 
Here's the problem...... She's not being very "Snuggly" and she never was. What I have now is a pissed off, over protective female dog who is now growling when I try to get close.
 
Remember she is in pain and probably partly blames you for this. Also she was left in a strange place and she knows you took her there and left her. She will come around. I have faith
 
Regardless, she's in pain and I understand. Merlin Peed on her when I crated her at noon when I had to go back to work. Paybacks a *****. Merlin peed all over her crate.

So now I have Merlin who now feels that he's Alpha and my baby girl who I'd damn near die for just not eating and being .... Hmmm...... Bitchy.
 
dusted72 said:
Remember she is in pain and probably partly blames you for this. Also she was left in a strange place and she knows you took her there and left her. She will come around. I have faith
Click to expand...

LMAO! Diggin the avatar...

Yeah, I'm sure it's MY FAULT!!!! LMAO... Typical woman. :-D

Seriously though, she will not let Merlin in the bedroom. This is her deal and there is a carpeted floor. I brought her crate near my office and she just wants to be in the bedroom, done deal.
 

Nikki/JR

I was told that the the small opening in her cast was so I could feel what her deal toes were doing.

1. If it was warm, OK. Dogs are few degrees over 98.5
2. Cold was bad, that meant that swelling was constricting blood vessels
3. Agitation....Possible looseness onthe cotton lining causing movement on the afformentioned tarsal luxation
 
Ram, I would talk to your vet and see if they will work out a payment plan for you. If so I would get her the surgery so that she can be as close to normal as possible. The hard part would be keeping her calm but busy so she doesn`t chew up everything.
 
Hey longgone. I already spoke to them and guess where there orthopedic sugeon is from :) This is not a bad thing. They are the best of the best.

Check out the website. http://www.vrcc.com/

They are the best in the nation much less the state. As far as chewing stuff, her only duty....even now.... is to prevent Merlin from ever gettting into the bedroom. :)
 
So where the hell is Nikki!!!!!!

Hey woman! I will send you a box of killer vodka!!!

Talk!!
 
Hey Joe, this is Nikki again,

I can only give a general response, but the only reason the toes would be exposed is that they want to be sure that the pressure from the bandage is not cutting off any circulation to her feet. If a bandage slips it can become a torniquete which can cause a toe or even a limb to become necrotic and require amputation. If you notice any swelling in the toes that are exposed you should take your girl in for a splint change asap. Also, if the bandage becomes wet or soiled you should bring her in immediately even if it is much sooner than her scheduled splint change. Any dampness can promote infection. I know I told you that surgery is the best answer, but I understand that sometimes it is not possible. In that instance, spoil her, pay close attention to her bandage care, keep it clean, dry, in place and cross your fingers. Every so often there is a dedicated loving dog owner that follows the doctor's instruction and comes out on top with the odds against him and the bone miraculously heals in place. I wish you were in Washington, otherwise, anything we can do to help, let us know! We will be thinking of you.

Nikki
 
Nikki,

Thank you!

The VRCC has given old IV bags I put over her "peg leg". You are right onthe money in regards to keeping the bandages dry. Thank you so much for your input and don't stop now!!

The toes are not exposed, but a finger can be put in to test feel.

You said EXACTLY what the docs said at VRCC. NO MOISTURE ALLOWED!!. Hence the IV bags they gave me to strap around her leg.
Thanks again for the incredibly accurate advice. You are a Queen among Kings and may life treat you as well as you treated my pets.
 
LJS30 said:
Hey man if possible use this instead of the traditional cone. My dogs are much more comfortable and relaxed.

http://www.petco.com/product/100555...e-Protective-Collar.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch
Click to expand...

Thanks LS. So far no chewing probems but I know that won' last for long. :-D Been there, done that but never anything quite so sevier.

As usual, it's dog eat dog, no bs. Merlin is now reveling in his now found status as Alpha peckerhead and has already peed on Maxi's crate.....:read2:

Jeez, talk about pissing on someone when they're down..... I don't know man........I say watch out for "Mad Maxi!!!" Merlin just may have to back down again....
 
Just reading the progress Joe, poor Maxi. Were they able to set the fracture properly before splinting it, I'm guessing that's a splint under the bandage.
 
demon seed said:
Just reading the progress Joe, poor Maxi. Were they able to set the fracture properly before splinting it, I'm guessing that's a splint under the bandage.
Click to expand...

No.... The Distal is considered a vestigal bone in a dog. The prognosis was "Left Tarsal Luxsation/Distal Tibial Fracture.

ramcharger said:
Nikki,

Lets say NO to Necrosis.... Damn it, now I gotta check her again.....
Click to expand...
 
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