Chin with a broken pelvis

[AZChins]

Poor baby! It doesn't look like it's been healing up much, like Claire said. It had to have been a recent break, I would think. You'll have to post x-rays of her maybe a month from now...if you get them. I'd love to see how it heals. No jolting jumps for this chin for awhile... It's just awful...I'd be woozy, too!

 

[tunes]

Ick - She must be in horrible pain when she moves. No wonder she was dragging that leg. Hopefully confinement will help, although honestly if the two parts of the bone aren't even touching, I don't know how great the healing will be.

 

[CJR]

Here's the million dollar question... how do you dust a chin with a broken pelvis??? Do I let her roll around? Do I rub it in her fur? Something else?

 

[AZChins]

With a break like that....I don't know if you want her rolling or trying to roll. You could rub it in her fur, that's probably what I would do.

Chins do heal up from bone breaks...but like Peggy said, the healing up from this could be messy and not heal up so great. That's why I am interested in what it looks like in a few weeks. I don't even know how something like that could be set so that it could heal up properly. It would probably have to be pinned, but that's a scary thing to do because it would require some pretty gnarly surgery.

 

[tunes]

I was thinking pinned too Susan. But the bones are so small, is that possible?

I agree, I would not let her roll. I would have rub it in gently. It'll give you both some time to interact and it'll get her out of the cage for just a little bit.

 

[CJR]

With a break like that....I don't know if you want her rolling or trying to roll. You could rub it in her fur, that's probably what I would do.

Chins do heal up from bone breaks...but like Peggy said, the healing up from this could be messy and not heal up so great. That's why I am interested in what it looks like in a few weeks. I don't even know how something like that could be set so that it could heal up properly. It would probably have to be pinned, but that's a scary thing to do because it would require some pretty gnarly surgery.

Yeah, I figured rubbing it in would be best... there really is no other option.

I am definitely going to get another x-ray at some point. Whether it's in six weeks or eight weeks, whatever. I will need to know how it healed (if it does at all).

The pinning would probably work, but... to be painfully honest... there is no way I could afford something like that.

 

[CJR]

I agree, I would not let her roll. I would have rub it in gently. It'll give you both some time to interact and it'll get her out of the cage for just a little bit.

When I wash her towels & fleece that I use to line her cage, I put her in a small hamster cage and we eat dinner together, listen to music, watch tv together, I read to her, tell her the news... she's actually sitting here as I'm typing this.

You know how some people are way too into their animals? I'm one of those people... but I am willing to bet that a lot of people on these forums are...

 

[Claire D]

Pinning it would be a horribly complex & fiddly procedure - I am not sure many vets would want to try it. It would be a specialist exotics/orthopaedics (if such a person exists). I would suspect the risks would be pretty high & I am not convinced it would work TBH.

Good luck with Tia - when do we get to see piccies of the chinny in question?

 

[menagerie]

On further thinking about the dust, I would forgo the dust for the time being. Even rubbing it in to most chins will illicit a rolling response. I guess it really depends how she reacts.

 

[CJR]

Well, now that you mention it... I've been so busy worrying over this and trying to keep her (and myself) calm that I haven't even thought about pictures... so here are some.

Her cat carrier is on the left, and the TV that I set up for her is on the right... she really loves it, especially the cooking channel!

This was right after I first put her in the carrier... she was so angry, she wouldn't even look at me...

She's gotten better though, she's starting to accept this "terrible punishment"... this is where she sits when her towels are being washed, and this is what I keep her in when we eat dinner together and the like.

She apparently has never seen a camera before, because she was really intrigued by it!

Hee hee, and she gives the sweetest kisses.

 

[sublime5981]

On further thinking about the dust, I would forgo the dust for the time being. Even rubbing it in to most chins will illicit a rolling response. I guess it really depends how she reacts.

I was thinking the same thing. My chins smell the dust and start rolling even before I put it in the cage.

 

[AZChins]

Awww...poor little buhbuh. She gets to watch TV, so it's not too bad.

An operation to pin the pelvis break would be more risky than just letting it heal...that's for sure. I only know of a couple vets that I would trust to do it...and they'd probably refuse to do it.

I definitely agree..even just rubbing in the dust may get her to roll. It's too bad that there really is no way to set this...chins are just too bendy! Maybe lay off on the dust for a couple weeks?

 

[CJR]

Okay... but won't she get icky?

 

[AZChins]

She will...but you want for the bone to start to heal up if it can. A break like that needs all the immobilization it can get. Originally I thought it was maybe just a crack or a small break...but that is just broken clean through! The best case scenario at this point is that it will heal up in a very crooked way...the only way to do that is to make sure that she doesn't twist too much like with rolling in the dust or bouncing around.

What I would be scared of is that the bones will heal but not together at all. I don't know how a chin could have managed to do this! They just figure out any way to get hurt and go for it.

 

[CJR]

Very true. I hate picking her up and handling her at all now because I know about the break... Every time I watch her wiggling around in her cage, I just cringe... she bends all over like crazy and I'm just like, "TIA! You can't heal if you do that!"

-sigh-

**edit**

I just don't get how she doesn't seem to feel any pain? I've given her two dust baths since I've gotten her and she just rolls like it's nothing. She hops like it doesn't hurt... I just don't get that... I know they're good at hiding pain, but daaaaaang.

 

[starleomach]

Poor baby...I hope she heals quickly

She will look a little rough without dusting but better to look Greasey for a bit then do physical damage, She will recover her looks quickly once she can dust again. I would skip dusting or even rubbing it in

 

[tunes]

Just because the break was so bad, I forwarded your pictures to a vet I trust - this was the reply I got:

Animals are amazing!! I can already see a bit of a callous starting to form in those x-rays. You cannot pin a pelvis, you have to plate it and I don't think there is a plate small/light enough to use in a chin pelvis. If this patient came in to see me, I would prescribe metacam twice a day and put her in a very small cage or carrier for 4-6 weeks. As long as she is eating and pooping, she will probably heal. It won't be perfect, but it will work!
It looks to me like the pressure that broke her pelvis was from the leg, so either she fell onto her side or was kicked on her side. It is a common fracture that we see in dogs that get hit by cars running across the road. I would be curious to see her follow-up x-rays in 4-6 weeks.

So just keep doing what you're doing, confine her, give her Metacam, and hopefully you'll see good things in 4-6 weeks!

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

Poor little girlie -- "kicked on her side"???

She's lucky to have such a committed and loving Daddy as you to care for her!!!

Sending good wishes and prayers for a complete recovery.

 

[AZChins]

Wow, really, Peggy? That's awesome! To me it looks so bad...that is great that a vet gives a good prognosis like that. (That makes me happy to hear!! I love good news...)

 

[CJR]

Tunes, I can't even begin to thank you! I thought about calling other vets for second opinions, but I don't like to bother them and I know they don't like it when you do that.

I am so happy to hear that, you don't even know!

I do have a question though... where does one get Metacam?

(She is eating and pooping like it's her job, btw!)