Jana
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Amybody using nerve growth factor (NGF) inhibitor injections for dogs?
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Rottweiler, female, 11 years old.
Vertically split nail; under vet care but I think we need to get more decisive.
The vet trimmed the nail half way with local (dog has bad reaction to sedation protocol, narcotics, etc). Still hurt and vet said it would cause undue pain. However, the nail continues on splitting.
How common of a procedure is cutting the nail off all the way to nail bed? How does that improve outcome? How much faster is the recovery?
By what percentage is anesthesia risk lower with such a short procedure? (Has to be anesthesia as explained above). Last time, after anesthetic procedure, she had heart rhythm problems and other problems; became critical and almost died. But was also full of drugs and had pancreatitis as complication of splenectomy. I’d assume the shorter the time under, the lower risk of complications?
I’m concerned about putting her under but I’m also concerned about dragging this out for weeks, taking valuable time from her, and having to do it that way anyway eventually.
I really don’t know what is the best thing to do for her. Hubby leaning toward waiting if it heals but I’m not seeing it healing any time soon if at all. (Photo of the present state of the nail attached.
I’m sad, depressed, concerned, and don’t know what I should decide for her.
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Krista Magnifico Hello,
First I will admit that I have had cases like this and they are frustrating. So I remind my clients this.
Next we take it in small steps. I do start with trimming the nail as much as able and start toe/foot soaks to keep the area clean and place an ecollar to stop the patient from licking and further traumatizing the nail and seeding infection from the mouth . I ask them to give it a week or two to heal.If it doesn’t or other nails start cracking we talk about oncodystrophy. And start talking about what to do if that is the case. The treatment options are not great so the decision to treat needs to be made with a great deal of thought or referral to dermatologist is recommended.
In one case I had a dog who was placed under general anesthesia and the nail was ground to the base to allow a new nail to grow back.
Risk of anesthesia is something discussed on a case by case basis and usually has little definitive concrete information to allow predictive measures or reasoning. That would be a conversation for an anesthesiologist.
Also I have had some cases with underlying nail bed infections so antibiotic’s, foot wrap and medication or culture and sensitivity testing might be helpful.
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Jana Post author It’s already been three weeks now. It appears the nail was vertically cracked from the beginning with the first part in the middle (which is now the end)
How well did the grinding to the nail bed work and what was the recovery?
The other nails appear to be fine.
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Krista Magnifico Grinding the nail was a last resort for a difficult chronic case. It worked but it was a last resort treatment.
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Jana Post author Actually, it looked quite bad and hurt every time she brushed it on something. We had the nail entirely removed last Friday. Anesthesia was a risk, but I didn’t want her to spend whatever time she has left trying to get that damn nail healed–she already lost months with the first one.
The upside–48 hours of bandage, some pain meds, and all done. It looks good now and doesn’t bother her at all. She can now get on with her life and have fun.
I hated taking the risk but I”m glad I did.
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Rottweiler, female, spayed, 11 years old
Just recently lost a toe to nailbed squamous cell carcinoma (hind foot). And now this has cropped up on her front foot. Not limping yet, but some weight-shifting away from it and licking at it. What are the odds that it’s the same thing again? 🙁
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Krista Magnifico Hello!
So nice to hear from you.
This is tough for me to answer because I don’t know enough about the way the scc was diagnosed nor how it presented. I also don’t know if there were surgical margins or amputation of the digit? Was an oncologist seen?
I have not had any patients with scc of the toe. But I have had scc patients have multiple areas affected. This is really best answered by your vet and an oncologist. I hope this helps. And very best of luck
Krista .-
Jana Post author It kind of started the same.
– her licking at her foot for a couple of days and were unable to figure out why
– then she misstepped and became lame and there was bleeding
– vet determined it was likely a nailbed infection at the first visit
– wasn’t healing with topical treatments
– in the meantime, the toe came off completely
– the next visit, a different vet, figured it was potential cancer
– while we were organizing a biopsy, there were many cock-ups so we decided to take a step back and revisit with another vet
– that one convinced it was infection–long-term antibiotics (that trashed her digestive system)
– continued for weeks and weeks
– then, when I no longer believed dysbiosis was all there was to the diarrhea and insisted on imaging, they found a splenic mass
– I insisted I wanted the spleen out asap and agreed to biopsy at time of surgery
– surgeon looked at it and convinced it is cancer so I agreed to toe amputation at the time of the splenic surgery–it was confirmed to be SCC. Bone margin was clean, not enough soft tissue to judge.
– x-rays and all clean–no metastasis
– that toes is no perfectly healedBut this is starting the same way. Last time she lost weeks of life and in pain. This time, I definitely don’t want to loose all that time again. Don’t want to put her through surgery for nothing either, or have another pop up in a couple of months again 🙁
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Jana Post author Seemed to look better this morning; been doing Epsom salt soaks; vet appt tomorrow
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Jana Post author Just saw a vet, and she says it is a nail injury, and everything looks good to her/that’s the one to be the first to suspect cancer the first time around. So HOPEFULLY, that’s correct, and it will resolve speedily. *sigh of relief.
Also did a wellness check, and everything else looks good too. My little girly looks like she’ll be well and able to finally have the fun she deserves once this thing heals.
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Gastropexy with splenectomy yay or nay?
11 years old female Rottweiler, spayed, on smaller side of the breed. Splenectomy going to be done due to incidental splenic mass finding while diagnosis non-resolving diarrhea and inappetence. I wanted to look for obstruction but instead, this was found. Larger mass, >6cm. Surgery Tuesday.
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Krista Magnifico Hello,
I would ask your surgeon for their thoughts. If everything was going well during the splenectomy and if it weee my pet, or I was the surgeon, then my answer is yes. I would pexy for any and all abdominal surgeries in at risk breeds.
Good luck.
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Jana Post author Yeah, my thinking. Unfortunately, can’t discuss before hand due to holidays. I hope it can be done. Thank you.
Curious if it is known what amount (percentage) of digested blood needed for stool to clearly look black and tarry.
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Krista Magnifico Hello,
An internal medicine specialist might be able to provide a more specific answer, but, I would presume this is dependent on multiple factors like: age, species, overall health, inciting cause to the problem causing the clinical sign, temperature of the individual, gi transit time, diet, etc. etc. There are too many things that cause and influence this clinical sign. Also, dark tarry stools can occur without blood being present or the cause. I have seen it occur with toxin ingestion, drinking really nasty pond water, etc. -
Jana Post author From what I gather, unfortunately it takes quite a lot of blood to make stool black and tarry; way more than for fresh blood to be apparent. It’s not always an emergency but I’d consider it one.
Couple weeks ago JD came with swelling above his eye; figured it was a sting so treated with Benadryl. It went away. Now, two weeks later, almost,the same area above the same eye swollen again just like last time.
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Dawn Ferara, DVM It is possible that he got stung in the same general area, however, I am concerned about the lump reoccurring in the same area. I would recommend getting the swelling examined by a vet because it is better to be safe than sorry.
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Jana Post author I know, right? So weird. It’s coming down again. If it was below the eye I’d suspect a tooth. But this is above the eye brow … I’d also expect infection from a foreign body or something like that last longer than that without some targeted treatment as Benadryl doesn’t treat infections. I bet it will be gone before the day is over today. So it’s just strange. What other types of swelling would Benadryl treat for good? (I wouldn’t assume one day of Benadryl would treat anything for two weeks)
Anything found around the house, not very smelly and not something that would sting which could be use to soothe skin itching and irritating after being shaved for a procedure? (neck area, dog)
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debra yuhasz I use pure cocoa butter.
since last night I’m detecting this strong odor around Cookie; seems it’s coming from urine (as I detect it when I sniff stains on her pee pads as well when sniffing around her rear end. It is strong enough that I caught a whiff even as she just walked pass me.
Here is the thing – it is strong but not really a stink and not anything I’ve ever smelled before which I’d know what it might be. Smells kind of sweet and the closes thing I can compare it to is the way my hair spray used to smell like (back when I still had hair and was using hair spray) when particles dried and mixed with dust.
That is very confusing and I don’t know what to make of that. I imagine infection would have BAD odor whether bacterial or yeast …? I don’t want to just assume it might be from the meds as assumption is the mother of all f*** ups. Friend’s dog was on chemo so when her urine reeked they assumed it was from the chemo. Meanwhile it was a massive UTI and went under the radar until the dog exploded with blood from her bladder. (potty accidents and other issues were chalked up to the original issue the dog had, massive brain and brain stem inflammation).
So I don’t want to make the same mistake and assume one of the meds are behind the smell when something else could be going on.
Thoughts?
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Anonymous honestly…i would get a vet involved. sometimes they can identify a malady based on the smell, but they’d want to do further diagnostics.
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Jana Post author I AM getting vet involved but no vet in today; doesn’t look like an emergency and tomorrow she’s traveling “to the other end of the world” for physio appointment. So trying to see if anybody has any experience or insights.
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Jana Post author Quite sure it’s coming from the urinogenital area, as that’s where strongest when I sniff her all around as well as stain on pee pad also had this odor. Only slight actual urine odor mixed in with it.
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Anonymous has she been tested for diabetes?
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Jana Post author Blood work and urinalysis about a month ago. Clean. No signs of an issue other than the strange odor which started yesterday. No increased drinking, no increased urination, no other signs.
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Anonymous weird. good luck figuring it out!
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Jana Post author Weird is the word. It is possible it’s from one of the meds she’s on I just don’t want to make faulty assumptions.
Normally, Cookie needs minimum of 3 hours of high activity (running through the bush, chasing critters, playing …) daily, otherwise she climbs the walls (pretty much literally). Ortho suggesting a month or more of rest. I voice that it is impossible unless Cookie sedated. (Because the more energy she stores up the more she’s likely to go crazy regardless of environment, confinement and situation. As I mention, literally bouncing off the walls. Plus the frustration and feeling unhappy that would come with that I’m sure does not facilitate healing either.
So we discussed it and ortho prescribed the Trazodone as effective and safe. What is your experience with this products? Side effects? Interestingly I specifically asked about side effects and was told there were none. However, when one looks it up there are side effects listed. Of course, side effects such as sedation are desirable. Others, such as vomiting, diarrhea, agitation, hyperactivity, panting, shaking and restlessness are NOT.
Ortho vet also said drug doesn’t not affect either kidneys or liver but infor says should be used with caution if liver, kidney or heart disease present. Cookie does not have those but if it doesn’t affect those organs, why the precaution?
I am not a fan of drugs but I feel that in order for Cookie to be able to undergo the period of restricted activity some chemical management to help her feel more aloof is necessary. Thoughts?
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Jana Post author Thank you, would you? Because the other tranquilize options aren’t all that attractive either, particularly Acepromazine … *sigh
First do no harm, right? But I feel that without some chemical help she will be very miserable and a danger to herself … -
Lindsey Knouse Hi, I definitely understand your worry. I have personal experience with trazodone and it’s actually been extremely positive. I worked with a board certified veterinary surgeon who used it on pretty much all of his patients post-op if he was worried about activity level. For my dog, I’ve used it for anxiety in the car (as recommended by a board certified veterinary behaviorist). In my opinion it’s a lot better than other sedatives post-op because it really is fairly safe and also reduces anxiety (a lot better than something like Acepromazine). One of the main things you will read about is serotonin syndrome when it is used with other drugs. However, the surgeon I worked with used it with pain meds like tramadol, and just used the lower end of the dose range because he was aware of that risk (I’m sure if your vet uses it frequently they are as well). Most of side effects you listed, while I know they are concerning, are pretty easy to recognize and are side effects of many other medications too…and if you recognize them after starting, you can always just stop the medication. I think that the minor risks of this medication greatly out weigh the alternative risk of her high energy level after a orthopedic surgery, in order to prevent the risk of her needing a repeat surgery.
Since your baby is healthy and I’m sure they will be doing bloodwork pre-op, I don’t see any reason to be overly concerned about the organ adverse effects. My own dog had a history of acute renal injury after use of NSAIDs and is very sensitive to a lot of drugs (he’s MDR1 positive) and it was safe enough to use for him. It’s a medication that was actually developed for people with insomnia and is newer for use in vet-med but I don’t know of anyone who has experience with it that would say bad things. I think it’s great that you care so much to ask.
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Jana Post author Thank you, Lindsey, I’m very happy to hear about such good experience(s)!
Can having eaten a whole bunch of grass (about a handful as it seems) be a sole cause of an upset gut? (dog, whole blades)
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Jana Post author She wasn’t vomiting, just had pad poop. Started out normal and then got soft and liquid at the very end, with a bunch of attempts and a bunch of grass came out. Her stomach wasn’t upset yesterday at all, when it is, she’ll eat grass but refuse breakfast. She ate her breakfast with enthusiasm and everything else she got to eat yesterday as well.
So to me it seems that the grass must have come with some extra flavor or something yesterday, because while she routinely likes to eat SOME, or she eats some when upset stomach, she doesn’t normally gorge on grass; this is the first time such amounts came out of her.
Hubby was upset about the diarrhea which her morning poop ended up with but upon close inspection, after the normal size chunk of normal poop, a bit of pudding which already contained a bundle of grass, what came out after was mostly grass with a bit of “snot” on it; not even any major amount of mucus.
As over-concerned as I usually am, I do feel that the grass is the reason why the gut had the need to purge so vigorously. It appears that large bowel is the only thing that’s not happy.
All our dogs always ate grass; usually just nibble on it a bit in the morning, when the grass is young or when there is fresh dew on it. Boys usually eat enough to throw up, girls typically don’t eat enough to cause any upset other than sometimes having poops strung together by a blade.
We don’t feed table scraps, though we do feed “human” food, such as turkey breast, steak, roast etc. Always plain and lean, no fat and nothing on it that could upset stomachs.
So I’m really just wondering whether the grass alone could have upset the large bowel to this degree or whether there could be something else going on at the same time unrelated.
Hello.
I haven’t. Nor do I have any patients at the clinic with the other doctors who do.
What are you considering it for?
Cookie’s vet is recommending it for arthritis. I’m sure she’s got some, she’s 11 years and one-month-old Rottweiler now, but I don’t know how bad she has it–I don’t feel very bad. I think it’s quite interesting, but my question is whether it might inhibit something that shouldn’t be inhibited and so on. Very new around here, a little longer in use in Europe …
While I think it’s an interesting idea, I’m on the fence. I’m much more partial to things that are more natural such as PRP or stem cells, but nobody does that up here.
So it’s one of the things that sounds great on the paper, but is it really? Jasmine’s vet down South uses it on cats, but mostly because there are much fewer treatment options for cats, so more worth the risk.
Cookie’s PT has a couple of patients who get it and apparently, it helps them markedly. But will it eventually crop up some unwanted effects? So that’s the question.