| intokind | 09-06-2008 09:36 PM |
Buddy the Yorkie running on his new prosthetic leg!!
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Please check out this to link to see my Yorkie,Buddy, running on his new prosthetic leg!
Buddy is my 10 year old Yorkie that has had a string of bad luck. I'm so grateful that my best little friend is still with me today and would like to share our story.....
On December 23, 2008 we were at my Mom and Dad's house visiting for the holidays. Buddy woke up and couldn't pee. I rushed him to the Animal Emergency Clinic in Bridgeton, MO. Radiographs revealed several bladder stones. Dr. Drescher informed me that emergency surgery had to be done to save him. She said that it was a simple common procedure and the only concern was his age. Little did I know that she had only been a vet for a year and didn't have a lot of experience. She failed to position his hind leg in a way to see in an area called the penile urethra (it's an area behind the penis bone). If a stone is lodged in this area only one with special training in retrograde hydropulsion she perform the operation. She did not have this special training and failed to even find this stone until she removed the other stones, sewed him up and performed another radiograph. Then she found the stone and took it upon herself to reopen him up to attempt to remove the stone. This 1/2 hour to 1 hour surgery turned into a 3 hour surgery!! She failed to remove it and sewed him up. When I picked him up the following morning he couldn't pee and was experiencing the most excruciating pain than I have ever seen any creature experience. The clinic closed due to the holiday so I brought him to another clinic. The doctor radio graphed him again and saw where the stone was lodged and told me immediately that he, nor anyone in the area, would be qualified to do the surgery due to the location of the stone. He referred me to the small animal hospital at the University of Missouri - Mizzou in Columbia, MO. We left the office and immediately drove the 100 miles to the hospital. Poor Buddy was crying in pain the whole way. Dr. Dismukes performed emergency surgery and was able to remove the stone and save Buddy's life. I had to keep Buddy in St. Louis for a whole month until he was well enough to fly back to our home in L.A. Once home he never healed. It was obvious he was in pain. His eyes were glassy and he wasn't happy. He couldn't hold his urine anymore but also couldn't go all the way when he did go. My regular vet ran many tests to find that Buddy had large amounts of epithelial cells in his bladder. He sent me to a specialist. I was told that he probably had cancer. Usually if there are large amounts of cells they are shedding from a tumor. I decided to fly him back to the small animal clinic in Columbia, MO to the people I trusted. An ultrasound revealed a mass on the neck of his bladder where cancerous tumors are usually found. It was a nightmare to me. The only way to find out if it was terminal cancer was to do exploratory surgery. Dr. Tony Mann, an amazing surgeon, did the exploratory surgery and removed the mass. When he went in he found that the mass was actually blocking the ureter(the tiny tube that runs from the kidney to the bladder). He performed emergency microscopic surgery to reconnect the ureter to a different part of the bladder. The mass was sent to the lab and I waited 7 miserable days to find out if it was malignant or benign. The night of the surgery I got a call at 9pm from Dr. Mann stating that he went to check on Buddy and noticed that is right rear paw was swollen but he didn't know why. The next day I found out that it was because he was tied down too tight by the student that prepped him (it's a teaching hospital so the students prep the animals and then watch the super experienced surgeons perform the surgeries). The surgery lasted 3 hours and the whole time his circulation was cut off!!! They did everything they could to try to save his paw but it didn't work. To make matters worse his left rear paw started to swell! Luckily it didn't get as bad as the right. The right rear paw turned completely black and shriveled up. The pads fell off both feet. The poor guy was in pain because of his bladder and his feet. It was torture to go to the bathroom or to even walk! On the same day that I found out the great news that the tumor wasn't malignant I also found out that the mass was caused by a suture that had been left behind from a previous surgery!!! Since he had 2 different surgeries by two different people in a matter of a week I couldn't prove who it was from but if I had to guess I would probably say that it was the inexperienced surgeon. To make matters worse, while waiting for a test at the hospital, Buddy got his e-collar off and chewed his paw off!! Another surgery was performed the next day by Tony Mann to amputate his right rear paw. A month later I took Buddy to Denver, CO to a company called Orthopets and got him a prosthetic leg. It only cost $550.00 to make it possible for my little guy to run on four legs again. After all of this I found out that Buddy was making calcium oxalate stones. Male Yorkies sometimes lack an enzyme that prevents the stones from forming which I didn't know. I was feeding him an all natural food called Solid Gold which I thought was good for him. Little did I know that was too high in protein. If you have a male yorkie talk to your vet or do your own research to make sure that you are feeding him the right food. Royal Canon makes a formula for Yorkies. I now only give him distilled water to drink. It doesn't have the minerals that could also cause stones. Please share this video and story with all of the dog owners that you know. If anything good can come out of this it will be because his story is out there to make other dog owners aware that this could happen and how to prevent it. Also, I want everyone to know about Orthopets. They not only make prosthetics but also braces and orthotics. They are amazing people that are truely in it for the animals. Thanks for listening and may you and all of your Yorkies be healthy and happy! | 