Broken leg

[sherile]

Hello everyone, this is my first post so excuse me if I step on any toes. I have a 11mo yorkie named Moses, he is a sweety. He broke his leg 3/30 and has been in a cast since then. Little dummy took a flying leap off the bed and it just snapped! He broke it at the radia/ulna, which I guess is a bad place to break it. He is showing some healing but the vet told me today I have a decision to make in 2 weeks if drastic healing doesn't take place, surgery or amputation. I have been reading everything I can find and one thing struck me, a vet post said small dogs have a lower blood flow to their extremities than large dogs, so healing in bones will take longer. So, I need opinions. Keep the cast on longer and hope for more healing or follow vets advice. I am not opposed to amputation, if necessary, but of course I would like to avoid it. Vet did say, even if bone heals, because of area of break, would more than likely break again.

[RDB911]

Sorry to hear about your lil one! you're in a tuff situation.. hope for the best...god speed

[citygirl]

Aww..I hope your little boy gets better...

[Lolapup]

I would definitely get a second opinion before doing anything that drastic. A regular just recently went through a similar break recently. Hopefully she'll jump on and offer some advice.

[yorkiepaws]

I would get a second opinion before even considering amputation. My friends pomeranian had a similar break and after six weeks of casting the bones were not mending well. She opted for surgery to have a plate and screws put in. He is fine now and has not had anymore problems in the last 2 years. The only thing the vet said is that when he gets older his leg may turn out a little bit, but not enough to cause any problems.

[lingenieuse]

My old 9 yr old girl had a fractured radius at 7 mos,had an ORIF and then plate removal a few months later and no problems with the leg since.You need to take the pup to a Specialist.

[megansmomma]

Hello and welcome to YT! This is a great place for information and support so do not think you are stepping on anyone's toes by posting.

Have you seen an orthopedic surgeon for the break if not that should be your next step. I wouldn't wait and get in ASAP. If you need a referral in KY maybe you can ask Administration to move your post to the Sick and Injured forum. There are a lot of great people with a huge amount of knowledge that post. I am sure that someone will have the name of a good ortho in your area or if you are willing to travel I know for sure there are other states with excellent surgeons. Do not give up hope on that leg just yet.

[manolos mom]

I agree, get a second opinion.

[Raven]

Sorry to hear your news. Hope had a bad break, and the vet could not get it healed. She referred us to an orthopedic vet, and he fixed it right up. She does great. I hope you can find an orthopedic vet. If you pm me , i can give you his name and number. Best luck to you!

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by lingenieuse

My old 9 yr old girl had a fractured radius at 7 mos,had an ORIF and then plate removal a few months later and no problems with the leg since.You need to take the pup to a Specialist.

FYI ORIF stands for Open Reduction Internal Fixation

To further explain this, there are 2 ways to fix a broken bone with hardware. You either place the hardware (pins) by pushing/drilling through the skin without any cutting of the skin knows as a Closed Reduction Internal Fixation.
This is done with a Florascan (moving XRay) where the surgeon watches as he moves the bones together and then drills the pins into place to repair the fracture of the bone.
ORIF would be when the surgeon makes a cut into the skin and uses plates and screws to make the repair.

Obviously it is way more complicated than what I just described but that is a very basic explanation.

[sherile]

My vet did recommend surgery, but I just can't afford it. I had a 7 yr old yorkie, Harley, that was attacked by a husky and died 2 days later. His vet bills came to over $2000; this was in Dec. The ortho doctor gave me an estimate of $2500 to $3500 and I just can't do this. Saddest part is, I only had Moses 2 days when he did this, so for as long as I've had him, he has been in a cast. We kept him as quiet as we could for the first 3 -4 weeks, but he plays like everything now with Isabel, our other yorkie. The cast does not slow him down, so I know if he loses his leg, he will be fine. I guess I'm just trying to decide whether to take the chance he has healed enough to remove the cast and watch him carefully or go ahead and have the amputation done. The vet did say if he breaks it again, it won't complicate anything as far as amputation; he will just have to go thru the pain of a broken leg again. Well, I have 2 weeks to ponder on this. Maybe he'll heal up real quick in the next 2 weeks! hope is always there.

[erickajm]

I definitely agree with the others.. get a second opinion before amputating anything. I will pray for a fast and proper healing for this little guy.

[greyacresmom]

I have a greyhound off the track that her mom layed on her and broke her leg at the tender age of 4 weeks. She had her first surgery at the age of 5 weeks. I picked her up to foster her that next morning.

After many months of vet appts and even water (hydro) therapy (swimming) her growth plate was to damaged to heal right.

My DH was so upset. Thought it was cruel to amputate. Well, I told him we had to try...Jax couldn't just have this unbendable stick in her way.

Jax had the surgery, we brought her home...(6 hour drive) as soon as she was **awake**. (about 1 hour after surgery)

She was up and chasing her first bunny 9 hours later. What a sight to see. It was WONDERFUL! They do really well as tri-pods and the younger they are they won't even miss it.

Good luck to you. {hugs} to you and your baby.

[chachi]

I would turn him over to a rescue before amputation

[bildio]

Originally Posted by chachi

I would turn him over to a rescue before amputation

Not a Yorkie, but a rescue that went the distance to save an Eskie's leg.

Lady from Massachusetts