Leg factures - how long before it heals?

[themacalu]

Our 8-month old Maki broke his front leg a week ago. We took him to our vet immediately and she immobilized the leg using a splint. Today we took him in for his weekly x-ray/rebandaging... it looked like it was healing but you could still see the crack. Our vet told us the splint could be there for another few weeks. She said to minimize Maki's movements (no running, etc.) and to drink milk and/or take a calcium supplement.
YT, glad to be here!

[cynsir]

My Max broke both of his front legs in December. He only weighed 2 lb 9 oz. The vet put him in a casst for three weeks. When the casts were removed, not only had the breaks not healed, but he had pressure sores and gangarine. She then splinted his legs. Each week until end of March, she removed the splints, cleaned up the sores, and resplinted him. By the end of March, she told me that his legs would never heal and I would either have to have them amputated or put him to sleep. I took him to a doctor that specializes in small dogs and orthopedics. He told me that he could put pins and plates in Max's legs with no forseeable problems. First, the gangarine needed to be healed and all open sores on his legs needed to be healed. On June 1, I brought Max in to have his surgery. As the doctor was putting the last pin in his leg, he had a heart attack and they were unable to revive him.

Depending on how large your baby is, you night want to check to see if there is a orthopedic vet around and have him/her check your baby. The vet that originally took care of Max did not have much experience with broken legs in an animal as tiny as Max. The new doctor told me that if I had brought Max to him right away, he would have done the surgery right away and would have cut down on the length of time Max had to zoom around on just two legs.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[themacalu]

Sorry for your loss. We're hoping he recovers without surgery. He's always been a fighter but has mellowed down a bit after the injury. We're keeping him on a leash so that he won't move around as much (doctor recommended).

We'll post weekly updates on his condition...

[stovesj]

First of all, welcome to YT....You've come to a great site with lots of good information and support.

At least have an orthopedic surgeon take a look at the xrays to make sure your pup will heal properly without surgery. If it doesn't, he could have problems for the rest of his life with that leg. My dog Gracie not only broke her leg but her growth plate slipped. She had to have pins in her leg to prevent the growth plate from slipping further which would have resulted in that leg not growing as long as the others or being deformed.

I would seek a second opinion from a specialist.

[cynsir]

Suggestion, take your pup to an orthepedic doctor. It won't hurt and if surgery needs to be done, doing it sooner rather than later will cut back on the amount of time he has to be mobile. My ortho vet told me that if I had just brought Max to him right away, he would have done the surgery rather that my having to go through 6 months of broken legs.

[themacalu]

Will really try to get a second opinion from a vet that specializes in orthopedics but not really sure I can find one here in Manila, Philippines. We're hoping the splints, calcium supplements, and TLC help him heal faster.. will post scans of the xray soon.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

[lillymae]

3 years ago I had a little yorkie poo who got a broken foot at the groomer. She was put in a cast, and because of her age (16 yrs old) The vet wanted to X-ray her in 1 week to see if anything was happening or not in there. He said she would probably need calcium . Well her FAVORITE food was Broccoli and I know it's full of calcium so I gave her about 1/2 tsp of Broccoli 2 times a day. When I took her back in a week for the X-ray the vet could not believe his eyes, he called all the employees into the room to show them her 1st and 2nd X-rays. He asked me if I had put her on calcium and I told him about the Brocccoli. He said that had to be why she healed so fast because old dogs normally need calcium supplement to heal a broken bone. He told me to come back in 3 or 4 days , and he took her cast off. So total she had her cast for 11 days and never had any trouble with that foot for the rest of her life.

[smartpuppiepets]

One of My Girls broke her back leg in December 2007, bad timing, same day my dad was admitted in the hospital very serious.
She is not even 5 pounds.
I called my vet, we know him forever... explained the situation and brought her in for him to care and decide what was best to do. He had an orthopedic surgeon come to his office and do the surgery and pin implant? Well, something was screwed to her leg bones. The surgery was done just a week after the broken leg happened. She was healed in no time, i remember we had to keep her in the crate most of the time for the first 10 days, then no jumping... short walks... she is totally healed. She likes to stand in her back legs, she still does that for longer than 5 min at a time some days, she does the ballerina dance to call my hubby's attention. She is perfect !!! I am Glad i did that and i am so thankful i have the best vet around !!! I recommend him to a lot of our puppy owners and they also love him... He made the right call... I am not sure what i would have done my self if i was given the chance to choose between a cast or the surgery ... i had my mind totally in my human family ...
I hope this will bring you something to think about ... and i wish you well and your baby too...

[Roxy_Mom]

I couldnt have found this post at a better time! Today while my dad was "watching" Roxy she jumped off of the bed. We have to take her to the vet at 4 but we are sure she has broken her leg. I am so scared for her and I feel like such a bad mommy. UGH!

[blancla]

My Ellie broke her front leg when my son was trying to take her outside. She decided that she wanted to jump out of his arms. We took her to the vet right away, and the put 2 pins in her leg, gave us some antibiotics and pain medication. She healed up fine in just a few weeks, can't remember how many. Today you can't even tell that she every broke one.

I would seek a second opinion regarding the splints. I would hate to see your baby have a limp the rest of it's life because surgery wasn't done (if it needs it).

[Ladymom]

I agree with everyone else about getting a second opinion from an orthopedic vet to see if pins would be a good idea. Your best window of time for healing is right away. As time goes on, especially with not putting weight on the leg, bones soften and healing is less likely. At that point, amputation is the only choice.

[cynsir]

My Max went 6 months before his surgery to put pins and plates in he legs and the vet had told me he would have had a full recovery. Unfortunately he had a heart attack during surgery and passed away. If not for the heart attack, Max would be dancing at my feet. So it just depends on the vet and the location of the breaks. The vet said that I should have brought Max to him right away and he would have been dancing 5 months sooner.

[oopsmyhalofello]

One of my dogs had a front leg fracture, it was splinted and the vet gave it a week to see how it was healing and if it wasn't doing well then we would have been off to see an ortho vet. She healed really well fortunately and we didn't have to have surgery. She was in splints that were changed weekly for about 8 weeks. One think you need to be careful about it making sure the splits do not get wet, if you have to go outside for potty pop a baggie over the splint.. if you need help keeping the baggy on a toddler sock will hold it on nicely

[Tinksmum]

Welcome.

When my Belle broke her leg, she was healed almost completely in 2 weeks and the break was invisible in 4. She was a bit younger than yours...

If the xrays are electronic (lots are now) you may be able to speak to your vet about getting a consult remotely as well. My specialist is Richard Whitelock at Davies Veterinary Specialists, Dedicated to animal welfare, specialist veterinary referral services in the UK - they have a vet section to liaise with other vets....no idea if they work overseas!
Good luck

[themacalu]

Just got back from the vet. Maki's x-ray showed a complete recovery thank God! she recommended that we put the splint on for another week just to be sure... we're so happy thank you for all the advice YT!