Surgery or PTS I need help :(

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dragsil

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 21, 2011
Messages
316
Location
Sweden
Have not posted here for ages since all has been well with my chins.... However I am back home in Australia and my partner is in Sweden, he today transported the chins to their new home but when he arrived my darling Silver was not putting weight on his back leg... They rushed him to the vet who says he has broken his shin bone (could be bad translation, but it is high up on his leg) and they are wrapping it in a support until Monday and giving him painkillers..... Apparently if he goes until Monday without ripping off the support he can have surgery which would have a month recovery time.... Silver is eight, so not the youngest chin and I was wondering if anyone had any advice or a similar story? The vet gave it a 50/50 chance of success and the operation will cost $600 (the other $2000 will be covered by insurance thank god)

I am a wreck, half the world away from my favourite baby in pain :(
 
$2600 to amputate a leg? Are you sure that's correct?

Sorry, I'm just stunned by the price. If it's his shin bone, that's below the knee joint, not high up in the leg. Maybe he meant the thigh bone? Either way, it's usually better to amputate high rather than low because of the stump that would be left behind. When I have had legs amputated, they always go as high as possible, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that. I'm not sure what waiting until Monday will do other than just cause him prolonged pain. Is he talking about pinning the leg? If he is, I would tell him no and get it amputated. Chins do VERY well on three legs, even older chins.

As far as his age - how is he physically? Is he in good shape? Healthy, active? If he is, and you can afford it, then I personally would go with the amputation. It doesn't take a month to recover, just until the wound heals. You keep him confined to a small carrier, make sure he's eating, drinking, peeing, pooping (I kept mine on white fleece or thick paper towels to keep better track of this), and provide analgesia as needed. Any chin undergoing any surgery is a risk, but I've never lost one due to having surgery, no matter what their age.
 
I also agree with Tunes. I am sure for that price the vet is thinking of 'fixing it'. That is highly unlikely. Chin leg bones do not nit together very well. The best thing to do is amputate. There is less pain for the chin and a lot less money for you.
 
I thought that amputation would be the best option as well, I think the vets logic behind waiting until Monday it is to see if he leaves the bandage alone (also, this is in a pretty isolated area so no surgery times until Monday) Do they tend to pick at the site of amputation?

I will try to send an email to the surgery or get my partner to call them, it was all very muddled and confusing trying to find out what happened over phone whilst beng so upset so I didn't ask about amputation...

Likewise for the price, rough translation into Aussie dollars that sounded too high to me as well, maybe he was upset and quoted it in krona instead :S
 
And yeah Tunes he is fine physically, super active and weighin in at almost 800g making him the biggest of my boys.... Never had any problems in pooping and eating before, his only other health complaint was a case of bumble foot that we manage by using lots of fleece in his cage and sometimes using cream on it.
 
I've not had to face this decision,thank God, but I would amputate at hip also.Lots of chinnies are around with 3 legs and do fine.As far as him bothering the site of surgery,that is what they make lampshade/collar of shame/cone for so IMHO the vet should have put one on already if he is concerned about chin messing with dressing.Prayers for peace of mind and good results!
 
I spoke to my partner, after reading everything here we are going to say that we want it amputated. The people who are taking him have said that they will support whatever we choose, so hopefully a clean chop would have the least complications. Going to order a probiotic from the US and have it shipped to Sweden since there are no proper probiotics there really.

Trying to co ordinate all this from Australia is exhausting, I have hardly slept.
 
Just found out that the painkillers he is on are injectable, so really hoping that his appetite stay healthy. This new owner is such a champ for taking all of this on, we are paying the vet stuff but she has learnt how to inject him and is giving me updates about his well being and is committed to keeping him if he pulls through. Could not have wishe for a better home even though I am still heartbroken that stupid Australian laws wouldn't let me bring them with me.
 
My chinchilla had a leg amputation about 2 months ago now, like you I was really stressed but it all turned out okay in the end! About 10 days after surgery, after the vet gave us the thumbs up, she was having her usual play time out of the cage and jumping all over the place. She didn't really chew her surgery wound at all. I caught her giving it a curious nibble/lick a few times but nothing that caused any serious damage, so we never needed a cone or anything like that. Hope all goes well in the surgery.
 
Just an update....

My partner took Silver Chin in to the vet clinic at our allotted time of 11:30 and told them that we have definitely decided on a high amputation.... the vet on duty was not prepared to do it (or didnt have experience, I am not sure on this point yet) so his surgery has been changed to 7:30am tomorrow (swedish time, so not sure what that is everywhere else) He was given a shot of painkillers and will get another at night and then is heading straight into the vets office in the morning to have his amputation. My partner said that he looked alert, active (hating his small cage) and is eating, peeing and pooping normally and the vet remarked on his good condition (apart from his dead leg, of course)

A few more questions about amputees....

How long would he need to be confined to a small cage after the surgery?
Are there any special cage modifications that could be made to make his life easier?
Did anybody have any photos of a cage setup they have done for their own amputee chin?

Thanks so much for the support guys, the input here is what gave us the confidence to insist on amputation rather than trying to set the bones.
 
Confinement will depend on the wound. Once it is healed, you can take him out of the small cage. I think it took around two weeks for mine. He will be craaaaaaabby while in the prison cage, so be prepared for it. After mine got out, life went back to usual. Same cage set up, same stuff in the cage. You might provide a few more shelves for him to use so that if it's a tall cage jumping and landing won't be as hard.
 
I used a soft fleece (white, to check for blood just in case), for a few weeks, just to be on the safe side. During recovery I also rolled up a fleece to give her something soft to lean against to take the pressure off the wound when she slept, and she seemed to really like that as she was always cuddled up next to it! Added one extra ledge to the cage to help her get up to the top level slightly more easily, but apart from that you could hardly tell she only has three legs.

I kept my chinchilla confined in a small cage for 10 days. At 10 days we had an appointment with the vet who said it was okay to return to the normal cage setup.
 
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Had a very, very anxious day waiting but he made it through surgery without any problems! Fingers crossed that his recovery goes as smoothly and that we are hopefully out of the danger zone.

Off to sleep now, might actually be able to tonight, lol.
 
Making it through the surgery is great, and a pretty good sign you have found a good knowledgeable chin vet.Recovery will probably be harder on caretaker than on chin.Monitor food/water intake,alert for change in poo(none,smaller,soft) everyday.He may need syringe feeding to keep weight on/prevent gut stasis from surgery/stress/meds.Be ready with critical care,probiotics, and a feeding syringe if needed.Prayers for everyone with this little one!
 
Tried to attach a picture of the amputation site, hopefully it loads (I am computer illiterate, lol)

He is in very capable hands now, his new owner is lovely and very experienced with chins and has knowledge in handfeeding, so I am confident that he has a good shot at recovery since he is being monitored and nursed so well.
 

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That's a good high amputation - hopefully he will heal without any complications & be bouncing about like a nutter in no time. :)
 
A week in from amputation and he has not chewed the wound at all, is eating and popping and moves around without any problems at all. Amazed by how quickly he is recovering, just so glad that we took the advice here rather than causing him prolonged stress and pain by attempting to set it.

This might be a silly question, but are hind leg amputees still able to wall surf? He used to wall surf every single time I let him out of his cage and it would be cool if he is physically still able to.
 
It took my chinchilla a couple of weeks after her amputation but she still likes to wall surf! I remember the first time she wall surfed again I got all excited so I understand why you're asking. I think it just took my girl some time to grow accustomed to the new balance and build up some strength in her leg.
 
I had a rescue that had just had his hind leg amputated a couple of weeks previous to my taking him in. (he is now in a wonderful home) Anyhow, this little guy would surfs and is EXTREMELY fast... Faster than the four legged fur butts.

So, my opinion would be that he will do juuust fine. :)

I will say, he also has no fear.
 
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