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#11
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Six (not Five) Years After Broken Ankle Repair
On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 15:19:33 -0800 (PST), Elle
wrote: Beloved pud is back from the ortho vet's, snoozing in the sun. He is well. Main points: -- An x-ray was done immediately. The ankle bone has fused nicely. Bone healing looks great (after six years, not five, pardon). -- No signs of infection. -- The vet said the screw could stay or be removed; it was my choice. He did not list any particular pros or cons. I naively did not realize pud had to be put under for this, so it was kind of a big deal. (Big doh on me again, remembering the screw goes into the bone and must now hurt just having been removed.) I did decide to have it removed, on the premise it bothered the cat in general and could lead to worse things. But I really have no idea. Pud got one stitch to pull the skin over where the screw was. No meds were prescribed. This is a reputable vet hospital and I trust their post-op instructions, which were nothing this time. -- The x-ray showed that the plate, now held in place by 12 screws, actually broke at its vertex. The vet said this is very common. The cat's ankle is at a fixed angle now, the same as the angle of the original plate. The vet said removing the plate is done often. After surgical removal, the cat would be in a splint for 4-8 weeks and have to be confined so he does not pull that superman flying from the table top stuff. The screw holes would fill with bone over time. If the plate is not removed, the question is whether the plate will start moving around and causing the cat pain. The surgery for removal is not too expensive ($400 to $850, depending on how things look when the surgeon actually gets in there). I asked the vet if it were his cat what he would do. He hesitated. I am sure he gets this question a lot. He was pretty clear it did not have to be done, at least not without other signs. Earlier he asked the cat's age, and I think he was factoring this in, too. If I had all the money in the world, yet there continued to be no signs of malaise, pain or infection, I think it might be cruel to put the cat (about eight-years-old) through another surgery and that gosh awful convalescence. At any rate, no decision has to be made immediately. I will monitor the ankle and ponder it. Pud with his sister got a special treat of shrimp when we got home. Thank you all for your input. Sometimes just not being alone in these decisions helps. I got all teary-eyed just watching the many dog and cat patients passing through the doors, along with a few human visitors with special treats who had come to see their loved ones as they convalesced there, which the staff encourages. It remains the same fine hospital I know from six years ago. It is nice to have a place where you can really trust the vet. I have run into two really bad ones, over the years. Just like doctors, there are good and bad vets, and a LOT that are just adequate. I have a VERY good vet now, which is a great comfort to me. She will answer question on the phone, or by E-mail; she encourages people to call or E-mail, so you don't have to bring your cat in, every time you have a question. Aside from being very, very good, she's also a VERY nice person, as well |
#12
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Six (not Five) Years After Broken Ankle Repair
On Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:15:40 GMT, ingold1234[at]yahoo[dot]com
(Gandalf) wrote: On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 15:19:33 -0800 (PST), Elle wrote: Beloved pud is back from the ortho vet's, snoozing in the sun. He is well. Main points: -- An x-ray was done immediately. The ankle bone has fused nicely. Bone healing looks great (after six years, not five, pardon). -- No signs of infection. -- The vet said the screw could stay or be removed; it was my choice. He did not list any particular pros or cons. I naively did not realize pud had to be put under for this, so it was kind of a big deal. (Big doh on me again, remembering the screw goes into the bone and must now hurt just having been removed.) I did decide to have it removed, on the premise it bothered the cat in general and could lead to worse things. But I really have no idea. Pud got one stitch to pull the skin over where the screw was. No meds were prescribed. This is a reputable vet hospital and I trust their post-op instructions, which were nothing this time. -- The x-ray showed that the plate, now held in place by 12 screws, actually broke at its vertex. The vet said this is very common. The cat's ankle is at a fixed angle now, the same as the angle of the original plate. The vet said removing the plate is done often. After surgical removal, the cat would be in a splint for 4-8 weeks and have to be confined so he does not pull that superman flying from the table top stuff. The screw holes would fill with bone over time. If the plate is not removed, the question is whether the plate will start moving around and causing the cat pain. The surgery for removal is not too expensive ($400 to $850, depending on how things look when the surgeon actually gets in there). I asked the vet if it were his cat what he would do. He hesitated. I am sure he gets this question a lot. He was pretty clear it did not have to be done, at least not without other signs. Earlier he asked the cat's age, and I think he was factoring this in, too. If I had all the money in the world, yet there continued to be no signs of malaise, pain or infection, I think it might be cruel to put the cat (about eight-years-old) through another surgery and that gosh awful convalescence. At any rate, no decision has to be made immediately. I will monitor the ankle and ponder it. Pud with his sister got a special treat of shrimp when we got home. Thank you all for your input. Sometimes just not being alone in these decisions helps. I got all teary-eyed just watching the many dog and cat patients passing through the doors, along with a few human visitors with special treats who had come to see their loved ones as they convalesced there, which the staff encourages. It remains the same fine hospital I know from six years ago. It is nice to have a place where you can really trust the vet. I have run into two really bad ones, over the years. Just like doctors, there are good and bad vets, and a LOT that are just adequate. I have a VERY good vet now, which is a great comfort to me. She will answer question on the phone, or by E-mail; she encourages people to call or E-mail, so you don't have to bring your cat in, every time you have a question. Aside from being very, very good, she's also a VERY nice person, as well Glad that all is well, I think I would have just left the plate alone also. That's pretty much what they do for people, right? I just checked with my friend who has a plate in his ankle. He says they just leave it in but they might remove it if he was younger. |
#13
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Six (not Five) Years After Broken Ankle Repair
On Mar 11, 7:09*am, dgk wrote:
Glad that all is well, I think I would have just left the plate alone also. That's pretty much what they do for people, right? I just checked with my friend who has a plate in his ankle. He says they just leave it in but they might remove it if he was younger. Thanks for the above info. It does help my decision-making. Pud continues to do well, though he would tell you he does not think much of the stitch in his back ankle. He gets extra loving daily as he recovers from this latest messing with his paw. Much obliged for your good thoughts and further sharing as well, MLB and gandalf. Good vets and vets' staff, along with their like-minded clients (four pawed, three pawed, etc. and two legged etc.) make the world warmer. |
#14
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Six (not Five) Years After Broken Ankle Repair
dgk wrote:
On Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:15:40 GMT, ingold1234[at]yahoo[dot]com (Gandalf) wrote: On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 15:19:33 -0800 (PST), Elle wrote: Beloved pud is back from the ortho vet's, snoozing in the sun. He is well. Main points: -- An x-ray was done immediately. The ankle bone has fused nicely. Bone healing looks great (after six years, not five, pardon). -- No signs of infection. -- The vet said the screw could stay or be removed; it was my choice. He did not list any particular pros or cons. I naively did not realize pud had to be put under for this, so it was kind of a big deal. (Big doh on me again, remembering the screw goes into the bone and must now hurt just having been removed.) I did decide to have it removed, on the premise it bothered the cat in general and could lead to worse things. But I really have no idea. Pud got one stitch to pull the skin over where the screw was. No meds were prescribed. This is a reputable vet hospital and I trust their post-op instructions, which were nothing this time. -- The x-ray showed that the plate, now held in place by 12 screws, actually broke at its vertex. The vet said this is very common. The cat's ankle is at a fixed angle now, the same as the angle of the original plate. The vet said removing the plate is done often. After surgical removal, the cat would be in a splint for 4-8 weeks and have to be confined so he does not pull that superman flying from the table top stuff. The screw holes would fill with bone over time. If the plate is not removed, the question is whether the plate will start moving around and causing the cat pain. The surgery for removal is not too expensive ($400 to $850, depending on how things look when the surgeon actually gets in there). I asked the vet if it were his cat what he would do. He hesitated. I am sure he gets this question a lot. He was pretty clear it did not have to be done, at least not without other signs. Earlier he asked the cat's age, and I think he was factoring this in, too. If I had all the money in the world, yet there continued to be no signs of malaise, pain or infection, I think it might be cruel to put the cat (about eight-years-old) through another surgery and that gosh awful convalescence. At any rate, no decision has to be made immediately. I will monitor the ankle and ponder it. Pud with his sister got a special treat of shrimp when we got home. Thank you all for your input. Sometimes just not being alone in these decisions helps. I got all teary-eyed just watching the many dog and cat patients passing through the doors, along with a few human visitors with special treats who had come to see their loved ones as they convalesced there, which the staff encourages. It remains the same fine hospital I know from six years ago. It is nice to have a place where you can really trust the vet. I have run into two really bad ones, over the years. Just like doctors, there are good and bad vets, and a LOT that are just adequate. I have a VERY good vet now, which is a great comfort to me. She will answer question on the phone, or by E-mail; she encourages people to call or E-mail, so you don't have to bring your cat in, every time you have a question. Aside from being very, very good, she's also a VERY nice person, as well Glad that all is well, I think I would have just left the plate alone also. That's pretty much what they do for people, right? I just checked with my friend who has a plate in his ankle. He says they just leave it in but they might remove it if he was younger. \ We have a good one here in the Salem, Oregon area too. She operates a van, and comes to your house, which is a lot easier on the cats than bringing them away from home would be. Trouble is, the cats hear her van, and split as soon as she turns the corner onto our block, so she has to phone first, so we can catch them and stick them in a cat carrier.... I am waiting until they can tell the ring of our phone when she is on the other end...:^) |
#15
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Five Years After Broken Ankle Repair
"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message ... Please, NO!!! When the original surgery was done, the OP was told "to stay on the lookout for protruding screws over the years." There was a reason for that warning. The cat should be seen ASAP--*before* infection sets in or further damage is done. MaryL I agree with this. Infection is almost inevitable if the screw is coming through the skin. |
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