Skeeter is Paralyzed. Please help
 

Hi

My dog is in the emergeny hospital in critical condition. Friday night he ran into something and Saturday morning he had a seizure and began losing his mobility. He has the common disk disease but all four of his legs are paralyzed. He's alert and aware of his surroundings but unable to do anything else. The Dr told us he has a 25-50 % chance of survival. My options are to go through with the surgery and risk him being paralyzed forever or possibly dying under anaesthesia (he's underweight) or to put him to sleep. He has that small chance of survival if all goes well with the surgery and getting better. I want to know if there's anyone out there went through with the spinal surgery and what happened. We don't know what to do. Is there a chance for him? Please someone help.

Oh my gosh I am so sorry to hear that! I cannot give you any advice. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.Please keep us posted!

I haven't experienced this, but I wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you. I'm so sorry you're going through this, I wish I had advice, but I couldn't begin to tell you what to do. Just go with your heart.

Im so sorry to hear about your baby. I have never had any thing like this happen to one of my pets . So im no help. I Will keep him in my Thoughts and prayers.

This is terrible! I'm so sorry for you and your furbaby. :( You are having to face a very difficult decision. You need to ask yourself, however, are you doing what is best for you or what is best for your baby? A life time of being paralyzed is no picnic for anyone. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. God Bless!

I'm sorry about your little doggie. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes right now for anything, but all of us have at one time or another faced a decision with our little one's and it is never easy and we only hope we've made the right decision for our little doggies and for us.

Your doctor is the one person to trust. He has given you a 25% to 50% chance. The rest is up to God. Again, I'm so sorry.

Thanks everyone for your support. I couldn't remember what was the name of this problem before but I realize it is Atlantoaxial Luxation. Where the first and second vertabrae is shifted therefore causing it to pinch the spinal cord. Anyone else know anyone that had the surgery done? And how much does it cost?

Your vet should be able to tell you the cost of this surgery. Good Luck sending hugs.

I really wish i could help. your baby is in my prayers. :rose:

ok, i just read this part. i didnt see it before. my cairn terrier also had this problem. she did not advance far enough to have surgery, she passed away due to being hit by a car years ago. (still affects me to this day) i learned a valuable lesson and i now have my entire back yard fenced in for all my babies and they must go out through a door that only goes into the fenced area. what our vet at the time did for her was give her cortisone shots directly in her spine. she also took .02 mg valium for a yr for pain. i first noticed her condition when she would jump up on the sofa or chair and she would just "scream out" in pain but would seem fine otherwise. i truly hope that with surgery maybe your baby will be ok. we were planning surgery for our cairn and i foolishly let her out one day for a quick piddle and she was struck by a car belonging to a neighbor. i feel guilt and anger towards myself to this day. i am keeping your baby in my prayers.

Hi...first let me say, I'm so sorry that you're having to go thru this. My heart goes out to you and your Skeeter. My Tonka had this and the best thing for him was euthanasia. He was just 6 months old. Didn't mean it didn't hurt though. Please read this thread as well. This is about someone else that I met while I was researching about A-A Subluxation...they had the surgery, which I was told would run me anywhere from $3,500 - $6,000 depending on how he did while under anesthesia and the time it took him to heal under their direct care.

Again, I'm so sorry. :(

so sorry to here whats happened to your baby. sometimes we have to do things we dont like and if the vet told me that my baby would be paralysed for life even after surgery id have to think very hard before id have it done, because i feel life for a doggie paralysed cannot be a happy one.
prayers for your baby are sent your way.

Im so sorry you are going through this terrible time and having to make such an agonising decision.My thoughts and prayers are with you.

I am so sorry you all are going through this ... especially your little one! The only thing I can do is keep him in my prayers, and I will ... I hope things are looking up today!

I am so very sorry to hear this. How old is Skeeter? I never heard of this but got online to find some info. for you. It can be genetic or caused by an accident....just like luxating patella. I know Skeeter is your baby and you will do what is best for him. If you have the surgery and all goes well, he will need cage rest for 4-6 weeks...no play time at all. He will also need constant care and numerous trips to the vet. Whatever you decide, my heart goes out to you tremendously. The site did mention that this is a common occurrence in toy breeds. Here is a little info I copied from one site...


Surgery is usually recommended for this problem due to the high recurrence rate with conservative management. The goal of surgery is to stabilize the joint using internal devices. These can include wires, pins combined with an epoxy-like cement, or heavy-duty suture material. The joint can also be fused, using screws and bone grafts collected from the dog's shoulder.

Surgery is very difficult due to the small size of the patient and delicate nature of the bones. After surgery, cage rest, neck braces, and steroids are often used as you would for conservative management.

There is less of a recurrence rate when surgery is performed, but recurrences can still happen due to failure of the implants placed in the bones or failure to follow post-operative instructions. The type of surgery depends on the surgeon's preference and the specific injury.

The prognosis depends on the severity of the neurological signs present before surgery. The more severe the signs, the more guarded the prognosis. The spinal cord is an unpredictable organ. Accurate predictions are difficult to make as to how much function will recover as well as how long it will take to recover.

Follow-up

Atlantoaxial instability is a serious problem that requires dedicated and observant owners. Optimal treatment for your pet requires a combination of home and professional veterinary care. Follow-up can be critical, especially if your pet does not rapidly improve.


Administer all prescribed medications as directed. Alert your veterinarian if you are experiencing problems treating your pet.


Follow your veterinarian's instructions for exercise restriction. The tissues must heal strongly to allow the joint to become stable. Excessive activity can lead to tearing of healing tissues and cause a major setback.

I know nothing about this disease but want to say how very very sorry I am fo you and Skeeter....That was so sad to read. I really hope he can be helped because the alternative is just heartbreaking for you.

Bless your heart - I just want to hug my girls after reading your sad post - I'm very sorry and GOOD LUCK with Skeeter...IF they can operate I really hope he comes thru this and live a pain free life.......how sad for you...

I wish I had a magic pill to heal your little one or some clever words to make you feel better. Since I have neither, know that I care and am sending yorkie hugs and kisses. Please keep us posted and remember, Yorkies are fighters, if there is a way Yorkies have the will. Good luck

OMG!!! My thoughts & prayers are with you!!!

I am saying a prayer for your baby and I hope and ray he will be okay

Anyone heard news from Skeeter??

Hi everyone

Thank you so much for all of your support. We received a call this AM from the Dr. She told us that he seems to have improved SLIGHTLY. He has more feeling in his legs now and is slightly moving them. We fed him some Nutrical yesterday since he hasn't been eating anything. The sugar might have been what helped. He's still on an IV too. We are going through with the MRI but there is still a high chance he won't be able to handle the anesthesia since he is thin. We will keep you posted. Please keep praying for him!!

How small is Skeeter? When Sedrick had his surgery he only weighed 3 and 1/2 pounds and his surgery lasted for 6 hours and he came through without major problems and he had been without food for almost 4 days - only had iv therapy. I know my husband pm'ed you back regarding the cost associated with this surgery but I want to instill that if you have the available funds than the surgery should not be an option. If you could see our little boy now it would definately make you go ahead with surgery. If you wish to phone me to discuss the surgery and aftercare we provided just let me know and I will send you my home and work number. You really need to know everything you are up against.
I am glad to hear that he has some purposeful movement in his limbs and he will be in my thoughts continuously until we get an update.
One quick question, if your vet knows that it is AAS why are they doing an MRI? Sedrick presented with AAS with only xray and seeing that AAS is associated only with c1 and c2 vertibrae and I do not know why they feel an need to do this?

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help
With thoughts and prayers,
Lorraine

YOU HAVE LOTS AND LOTS OF PRAYERS - I hope he continues to improve - it sounds hopeful right ? Thank you for the update I know I'll be praying for your baby & hoping for good news about Skeeter ...hang in there and the best of luck....Sending hugs your way for little Skeeter

You and skeeter are in my thoughts today.

O My Gosh, I am soooo sorry to hear about your little baby.. This is to sad and I just wanted to let you know that I am also keeping Skeeter in my thoughts and prayers.
I have never heard of this before and have no suggestions for you either.. what a hard time this must be for you and Skeeter.. Please, keep us posted on how he is doing. Sending hugs and prayers.

cmon skeeter we are rooting for ya....lexi and i are sending out prayers to you...you will be in my thoughts.....

so sad
 

I cant even begin to imagine what you are going through right now. I am so sorry. i will keep you and your pup in my prayers. I hope that God will take away his physical pain and your emotional pain. God bless :angel2dl:

Little Skeeter has our prayers and our thoughts are with him, too. Skeeter is tougher than you think. Please keep us updated. :)

Good luck to you and Skeeter. How horrible to be in this situation. The news that he slowly seems to be getting some feeling and minimal function in his limbs, etc., sounds like a good sign. It's amazing how sometimes just a little time to mend makes a big difference. I really feel for you right now. We all here hope that everything comes out okay. You both are in our thoughts.
Tracy