fractured radius and ulna - YorkieTalk.com Forums

lizbits · 12-28-2008, 02:59 PM

I have a 6 month old yorkie, I just got him early December. Well, we were visiting my boyfriend and he got too excited and leaped out of my friend's hands. He hit a table with his left paw on the way down, and cried and cried. And then I cried and cried. I wanted to wait to see if maybe it was just a sprain but his paw looked all loose and he was in a lot of pain. He started acting wierd: overly sleepy, sad, not walking on the leg. So, we took him to the emergency vet at 1 AM.
Once we got there they took a look at him and agreed his leg looked too loose, so we got him in for an x-ray. It turns out he had a distal fracture of both his radius and ulna. The vet showed me the x-ray and it looked terrible. He said we would probably need to see a surgeon to get him completley fixed up, but for now he would put him under and move the bone(s) back in place and splint the leg. The vet also told me that he would need pain killers and anti-inflamatory medication until he got the surgery that he needed.
My baby came out of anasethsia about an hour later, looking surprisingly chipper, and with a big bright yellow splint. I took him home, but only after paying the mere 600 dollar vet bill. I finally got to bed around 5 AM.
The next day he was still acting wierd, a reaction to being under anasthesia I suppose, but mostly he was shaking and sleeping a lot. I did my best to comfort him. I cried and cried, and he tried to comfort me. I made an appointment to consult with a surgeon. I was able to get an appointment that day in the early afternoon.
The surgeon was at a large animal hospital, and I had never been to a place like that before. The receptionist treated me terribly, which was great. I brought the x-rays from the emergency vet and finally got to talk with the surgeon. He seemed like a nice guy. We looked at the x-rays together and he explained that surgery would be necessary because the puppy's bones were still growing (he pointed out the ephysial plate at the bottom of the ulna) and because the fracture was diagonal, that the bones might not heal correctly and break easily again. He wants to put a pin in the middle of the ulna, running along the inside of the bone that will stay there for good. In addition, he wants to put six pins up and down the leg, plastered together with bone cement. This amount of work came as a shock to me, I had no idea how complicated this would be. I figured maybe a cast and one pin would do the trick...Then I got the estimate of charges. It looks like 2400-2800 dollars will be the total for the surgery. When I first got the estimate I was completley shocked. I just don't have that kind of money right now. The nurse told me I could apply for Care Credit. So I did, and I immediately got rejected because I am young and don't have enough credit yet. My boyfriend applied as well, and the same thing happened. I asked if they had any other options. They told me no, and that if I couldnt pay then they couldn't help me. I just sat in my car outside their office crying and crying for half an hour. I didn't know where I could get that kind of money and I knew that he needed the surgery.
I called up some of my relatives and told them about the situation, asking to borrow money for the surgery and eventually me and my boyfriend were able to get the money together. So my baby is on the schedule to get fixed up tomorrow.
Its been a very hard Christmas for me, but somehow I got it figured out. I am in some terrible debt, but I would do anything to make him okay. He is doing fine with just his splint. He is already back to his normal self. I have to calm him down and tell him no, because he seems to think he is better already, and wants to run and jump again. I am glad he is not in pain, but I am really nervous about the surgery tomorrow. Any advice would be greatly appreciated...thanks.

Woogie Man · 12-28-2008, 05:13 PM

I'm very sorry to hear of his accident but the surgery will be necessary with that kind of fracture. I had a little girl that broke her right foreleg just at the elbow a little over a year ago. It sounds like your case is more complicated but similar. My Scarlett had to have a pin put in (just one). Her recovery time was 8 weeks and during that time it was critical to keep her very inactive to avoid re-injury. This will be the hardest thing for you and your little guy. He will feel better much sooner and will want to play but you won't be able to let him. If he re-injures the break, chances are it can't be fixed correctly (not to mention all that money down the drain). Your surgeon should be able to tell you more about his care after surgery and his outlook for recovery. In Scarlett's case, I kept her in my computer room which is away from my other dogs and is away from all the noises of the house so she didn't get too excited. You may need to crate your guy but I didn't need to for Scarlett. Today, you'd never know she was ever injured so it was well worth all the money and extra care for her. Chances are your little man will be fine too....just treat him like glass until he's fully recovered. Best of luck to you both.

DYMONDS MOM 08 · 12-29-2008, 06:06 AM

I am so sorry to hear about your furbabies injury. I think your little guy is extremely lucky to have a "Mommy" like you!!!!

celstu1 · 12-30-2008, 02:06 PM

Wow.. Im so sorry to hear about your babys accident. Its so hard to see them in pain and even worse when noone will work with you to help you get the care he needs.

You are one terrific mom to have found a way to make this surgery happen. My prayers are with you guys through his surgery and recovery!

Raven · 12-30-2008, 02:50 PM

He is one lucky little guy to have you for his mom. Give him extra kisses from me.

lizbits · 01-06-2009, 12:59 PM

So my little man got his surgery last Monday. He is doing well. The hardest thing has been keeping him from jumping. If I turn my back for a second, he's jumped on the couch. I tell him no and try to watch him very carefully, but he still gets a couple by me. We have a check up this Monday.
I have been having an awful time giving him his antibiotic and pain medicine...we hide them in peanut butter balls with the pill in the middle, but sometimes he just eats the peanut butter and leaves the pill! Then he stopped eating peanut butter altogether because he figured out that where we hide it. I tried grinding it up in his food, but he just eats around it somehow. I got an oral syringe to shoot the ground up pill with water in his mouth but he spits about half of it back out ... I got him to eat peanut butter balls today and last night...but he's so tricky!!!!

Sunnie · 01-06-2009, 02:05 PM

the easiest way to give him a pill is to hold him (or have someone else hold him.) pry his mouth open and place the pill as far back on his tongue as you can. Immediately close his mouth and hold it closed. point his nose up to tyhe ceiling and gently stroke his throat until you feel him swallow.

jencar98 · 01-06-2009, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizbits

So my little man got his surgery last Monday. He is doing well. The hardest thing has been keeping him from jumping. If I turn my back for a second, he's jumped on the couch. I tell him no and try to watch him very carefully, but he still gets a couple by me. We have a check up this Monday.
I have been having an awful time giving him his antibiotic and pain medicine...we hide them in peanut butter balls with the pill in the middle, but sometimes he just eats the peanut butter and leaves the pill! Then he stopped eating peanut butter altogether because he figured out that where we hide it. I tried grinding it up in his food, but he just eats around it somehow. I got an oral syringe to shoot the ground up pill with water in his mouth but he spits about half of it back out ... I got him to eat peanut butter balls today and last night...but he's so tricky!!!!

I can not stress enough to you the importance of keeping your boy from jumping during this time he is healing. The last thing you want is for him to re-injure it.

A friend's yorkie broke her leg, and my friend had to crate her the 12 weeks it took for her leg to heal. She wasn't taking any chances.

The best way I have of getting them to take the pill, is to open their mouth and poke it way back, then close and hold their jaws, they will swallow it - most times

Good luck and I hope he is all better soon!

lizbits · 01-13-2009, 12:43 PM

2 Week check up....
So we went to the Doctor for a check up and everything looks good. I have been keeping him from jumping and started taking very short walks outside to potty. The 6 pins running up and down the leg and held together with bone cement are hard to clean, and he HATES it. But other than that things are so much better!

ARCHIE · 01-13-2009, 01:13 PM

Just seeing this. Poor little guy. Sending warm wishes to you.
Keeping him quiet must be a nightmare. These little ones are like
wiggly worms. Your doing a great job

Hope the rest of the time
goes by fast for for you.

Patti · 01-13-2009, 01:31 PM

Glad he is on the mend!

lizbits · 01-23-2009, 10:32 AM

Well, he is doing really well. He keeps trying to jump but now he knows I yell so he tends to hesitate. Interestingly he will sneak and jump up on things but never down. He is off meds and we are doing small, slow walks around the block ( I lift him when we come to the curb so he wont jump) He is showing no signs of pain and uses the leg normally. The external pins come out on the 9th.
I have had some problems recently...he started eating his own poo! I usually pick it up right after he goes on the pad but hes been grabbing it right away before I can see that its there. Its sooo gross. I have been brushing his teeth extra and walking him more often so he goes outside. I just am wondering why he would do this? He has never done it before...

KYBLUE · 01-24-2009, 06:59 AM

my hanna broke her leg jumping we elected not to do surgery the breeder did not want us to my vet was not sure what the outcome may be
so she was casted and the cast was changed every 2 weeks
and 9 weeks later she had finale exray and the cast taken off we are now doing water therphy and she is running and jumping uggg it healed perfect just lucky i guess good luck with your baby i know it is heart breaking

Lindsay1973 · 01-24-2009, 07:09 AM

I am terribly sorry to hear about this,I hope your baby will be okay...what wonderful relatives you have.

12-28-2008, 02:59 PM	#1
lizbits Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Richmond, Virginia Posts: 12	fractured radius and ulna I have a 6 month old yorkie, I just got him early December. Well, we were visiting my boyfriend and he got too excited and leaped out of my friend's hands. He hit a table with his left paw on the way down, and cried and cried. And then I cried and cried. I wanted to wait to see if maybe it was just a sprain but his paw looked all loose and he was in a lot of pain. He started acting wierd: overly sleepy, sad, not walking on the leg. So, we took him to the emergency vet at 1 AM. Once we got there they took a look at him and agreed his leg looked too loose, so we got him in for an x-ray. It turns out he had a distal fracture of both his radius and ulna. The vet showed me the x-ray and it looked terrible. He said we would probably need to see a surgeon to get him completley fixed up, but for now he would put him under and move the bone(s) back in place and splint the leg. The vet also told me that he would need pain killers and anti-inflamatory medication until he got the surgery that he needed. My baby came out of anasethsia about an hour later, looking surprisingly chipper, and with a big bright yellow splint. I took him home, but only after paying the mere 600 dollar vet bill. I finally got to bed around 5 AM. The next day he was still acting wierd, a reaction to being under anasthesia I suppose, but mostly he was shaking and sleeping a lot. I did my best to comfort him. I cried and cried, and he tried to comfort me. I made an appointment to consult with a surgeon. I was able to get an appointment that day in the early afternoon. The surgeon was at a large animal hospital, and I had never been to a place like that before. The receptionist treated me terribly, which was great. I brought the x-rays from the emergency vet and finally got to talk with the surgeon. He seemed like a nice guy. We looked at the x-rays together and he explained that surgery would be necessary because the puppy's bones were still growing (he pointed out the ephysial plate at the bottom of the ulna) and because the fracture was diagonal, that the bones might not heal correctly and break easily again. He wants to put a pin in the middle of the ulna, running along the inside of the bone that will stay there for good. In addition, he wants to put six pins up and down the leg, plastered together with bone cement. This amount of work came as a shock to me, I had no idea how complicated this would be. I figured maybe a cast and one pin would do the trick...Then I got the estimate of charges. It looks like 2400-2800 dollars will be the total for the surgery. When I first got the estimate I was completley shocked. I just don't have that kind of money right now. The nurse told me I could apply for Care Credit. So I did, and I immediately got rejected because I am young and don't have enough credit yet. My boyfriend applied as well, and the same thing happened. I asked if they had any other options. They told me no, and that if I couldnt pay then they couldn't help me. I just sat in my car outside their office crying and crying for half an hour. I didn't know where I could get that kind of money and I knew that he needed the surgery. I called up some of my relatives and told them about the situation, asking to borrow money for the surgery and eventually me and my boyfriend were able to get the money together. So my baby is on the schedule to get fixed up tomorrow. Its been a very hard Christmas for me, but somehow I got it figured out. I am in some terrible debt, but I would do anything to make him okay. He is doing fine with just his splint. He is already back to his normal self. I have to calm him down and tell him no, because he seems to think he is better already, and wants to run and jump again. I am glad he is not in pain, but I am really nervous about the surgery tomorrow. Any advice would be greatly appreciated...thanks.

12-28-2008, 05:13 PM	#2
Woogie Man Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mississippi Posts: 2,564	I'm very sorry to hear of his accident but the surgery will be necessary with that kind of fracture. I had a little girl that broke her right foreleg just at the elbow a little over a year ago. It sounds like your case is more complicated but similar. My Scarlett had to have a pin put in (just one). Her recovery time was 8 weeks and during that time it was critical to keep her very inactive to avoid re-injury. This will be the hardest thing for you and your little guy. He will feel better much sooner and will want to play but you won't be able to let him. If he re-injures the break, chances are it can't be fixed correctly (not to mention all that money down the drain). Your surgeon should be able to tell you more about his care after surgery and his outlook for recovery. In Scarlett's case, I kept her in my computer room which is away from my other dogs and is away from all the noises of the house so she didn't get too excited. You may need to crate your guy but I didn't need to for Scarlett. Today, you'd never know she was ever injured so it was well worth all the money and extra care for her. Chances are your little man will be fine too....just treat him like glass until he's fully recovered. Best of luck to you both. Last edited by Woogie Man; 12-28-2008 at 05:15 PM.

12-30-2008, 02:06 PM	#4
celstu1 Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 10,534	Wow.. Im so sorry to hear about your babys accident. Its so hard to see them in pain and even worse when noone will work with you to help you get the care he needs. You are one terrific mom to have found a way to make this surgery happen. My prayers are with you guys through his surgery and recovery! __________________ “Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.” ― Dean Koontz

12-30-2008, 02:50 PM	#5
Raven YT Addict Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Arkansas Posts: 360	He is one lucky little guy to have you for his mom. Give him extra kisses from me. __________________ Hope & Rio

01-06-2009, 02:05 PM	#7
Sunnie Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: So. California Posts: 4,057	the easiest way to give him a pill is to hold him (or have someone else hold him.) pry his mouth open and place the pill as far back on his tongue as you can. Immediately close his mouth and hold it closed. point his nose up to tyhe ceiling and gently stroke his throat until you feel him swallow. __________________ Sonya, Owned by Ladybug, Tilly, Sunshine, Beamer, Rainbow, Sonny and Righteous RIP Sunnie (11/12/2003-7/31/2009)

12-29-2008, 06:06 AM	#3
DYMONDS MOM 08 Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Wayne, MI USA Posts: 221	I am so sorry to hear about your furbabies injury. I think your little guy is extremely lucky to have a "Mommy" like you!!!!

01-06-2009, 12:59 PM	#6
lizbits Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Richmond, Virginia Posts: 12	So my little man got his surgery last Monday. He is doing well. The hardest thing has been keeping him from jumping. If I turn my back for a second, he's jumped on the couch. I tell him no and try to watch him very carefully, but he still gets a couple by me. We have a check up this Monday. I have been having an awful time giving him his antibiotic and pain medicine...we hide them in peanut butter balls with the pill in the middle, but sometimes he just eats the peanut butter and leaves the pill! Then he stopped eating peanut butter altogether because he figured out that where we hide it. I tried grinding it up in his food, but he just eats around it somehow. I got an oral syringe to shoot the ground up pill with water in his mouth but he spits about half of it back out ... I got him to eat peanut butter balls today and last night...but he's so tricky!!!!

01-13-2009, 12:43 PM	#9
lizbits Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Richmond, Virginia Posts: 12	2 Week check up.... So we went to the Doctor for a check up and everything looks good. I have been keeping him from jumping and started taking very short walks outside to potty. The 6 pins running up and down the leg and held together with bone cement are hard to clean, and he HATES it. But other than that things are so much better!

01-13-2009, 01:13 PM	#10
ARCHIE No Longer A Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: NEW YORK Posts: 16,218	Just seeing this. Poor little guy. Sending warm wishes to you. Keeping him quiet must be a nightmare. These little ones are like wiggly worms. Your doing a great job Hope the rest of the time goes by fast for for you.

01-13-2009, 01:31 PM	#11
Patti Donating YT 30K Club Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Illinois Posts: 35,509 Blog Entries: 6	Glad he is on the mend! __________________ Cali Pixie Roxie : RIP Nikki; RIP Maya;RIP my sweet Dixie girl 1/17/08 http://callipuppyscastle.bravehost.com/index.html

01-23-2009, 10:32 AM	#12
lizbits Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Richmond, Virginia Posts: 12	1 month update Well, he is doing really well. He keeps trying to jump but now he knows I yell so he tends to hesitate. Interestingly he will sneak and jump up on things but never down. He is off meds and we are doing small, slow walks around the block ( I lift him when we come to the curb so he wont jump) He is showing no signs of pain and uses the leg normally. The external pins come out on the 9th. I have had some problems recently...he started eating his own poo! I usually pick it up right after he goes on the pad but hes been grabbing it right away before I can see that its there. Its sooo gross. I have been brushing his teeth extra and walking him more often so he goes outside. I just am wondering why he would do this? He has never done it before...

01-24-2009, 07:09 AM	#14
Lindsay1973 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: weltevreden park,jhb,south africa Posts: 199 Blog Entries: 10	I am terribly sorry to hear about this,I hope your baby will be okay...what wonderful relatives you have. __________________ Lins http://lindsaysmenagerie.blogspot.com/