Chin Chewing on Leg - Abcsess (Graphic pic)

[Inca-bink]

You might want to look into Tramadol for the pain - meloxicam/metacam is great for swelling (it is an NSAID) but it is only moderately good for pain. Tramadol can be used in conjunction with the meloxicam, unless your vet has specific concerns. If your vet writes you a script, you can get the generic stuff at the "human" pharmacy for under $10. Grind the tablets and mix with a fruit juice of your choice in the concentration your vet gives you and voila - you can manage your chinnie's pain much better.

Also, if you can see bone, you need to get to your vet ASAP and at the very least get the wound covered. Bone can dry out and the tissue can die if it is not cared for properly. It may not need amputation at this point, but if you delay treatment, you may have no choice. Antibiotics prevent infection but won't keep tissue from devitalizing. Now that you have a collar that helps, you can get your vet to help you dress the wound appropriately without worrying about the chin ingesting fibers or other bad stuff.

Last, look into chlorhexidine (aka Nolvasan or Dermachlor) - betadine can do more damage than good if it isn't diluted properly and the wound may be a little deep for salt washes at this point (they can also be incredibly painful). Flushing the wound with dilute chlorhexidine is the best way to keep it clean, ask for an irrigation syringe (they have curved tips, I cut the tips off and use them for force feeding critical care since they are wider at the end than regular syringes) from your vet and ask how to use it properly. Just rinsing or soaking won't get deep enough into the wound to do the most good.

Good luck, and if you or your vet want dosage or concentration for the Tramadol, PM me.

Steph

 

[kathiva]

As for the hay racks, I was given a couple, and my friend told me that never use those hay racks, they are quite dangerous, because they cannot only get a leg stuck, they could also get their heads stuck, and maybe die from trying to come out of it, the space it is so small, and it is in an angle, that I am sure that must make it harder to come it if they get stuck, I attempted to use them, but thank god my friend told me it wasn't a good idea, I thought that it made sense anyways the way they could get stuck in those hay racks, the one you have now, it's much better.

Hope everything works out for your girl.

 

[Claire D]

Having seen that photo I would strongly recommend a high amputation. I will be honest & tell you that IMHO that is not going to heal.
Your chin would be far better off, will heal much faster, & will feel so much better if that leg is gone. Chins do incredibly well on 3 legs & although there are risks to any surgery, they are outweighed by the benefits in these types of cases.

It is highly likely that there is nerve damage or deep tissue damage (plus possible fracture) from the type of injury you have described. Yes an abscess can develop over a little while under the skin, especially if there is trauma & possible foreign body involvement. A tiny piece of hay which penetrates the skin can cause an abscess for example......... There are a number of possibilities & I suspect you will never know what really happened.


I would do your best to keep that wound infection free for now - saline is not painful if mixed to a proper solution (usually 0.9%) but if it makes you feel better to use Chlorhexidine then that's fine. Personally I do not use it because of sensitivity issues but I know lots of people do - in is type of situtation the aim is not wound healing but prevention (or minimisation) of infection while waiting for the surgery.

Please let us know how you get on with talking to your vet. Good luck.

 

[AZChins]

I agree, it will heal a lot faster and the chin won't have to be on antibiotics for months. Poor little thing...

 

[tunes]

Yeah, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon with Claire and Susan and agree with an amputation. That is just a horrible wound, and it looks to me as though your girl was trying to do the job herself - chew the limb off. I just don't see how that can heal, and if it does, that the leg will be usable anyway. The amputation will be quicker, cleaner, and a whole lot less painful than that mess.

 

[AZChins]

They will self amputate if you ignore bad wounds or breaks long enough. I've had chins brought to me, who have done this...and it isn't pleasant. Head it off at the pass and get it amputated.

I've been thinking about this chin the last couple days...

 

[StevieP]

I just wanted to add that chinchillas do well with amputations in regards to adapting to only having one leg. I'm not saying there aren't any risks with the surgery but I agree with the above posts that having it done sooner than later would be the best bet.


Post #6 in my thread is a video of my chinchilla. Towards the end she is running and you can see how well she adapted to having 1 rear leg.

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16693

 

[Shahna]

I just got back from the vet. They say that there is no bone exposed and the tendon that is visible is completely intact. They think that the wound should heal fine and should start "granulating" within a few days.

I was told to utilize a "wet/dry" approach to bandaging. Saturate the bandage underneath and cover with vet wrap, changing the bandages daily.

Today she was actually standing up on both her hind legs, which I haven't seen her do in days. She's a tough one!

The vet told me if I saw any signs of infection to come in immediately, but they were fairly confident if I did what I was suppose to she would heal up, so I will keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Inca-bink]

I'm really glad to hear that there is no bone exposed... whew! That certainly makes things less complicated! I know from experience that really scary looking wounds can heal really well, but you definitely want to watch it carefully.

Were you able to get any better pain medication for her?

 

[Claire D]

Exposed tendon should never be allowed to dry out - a wet/dry approach is not the best way to treat that wound.

I would find another vet TBH - one that is prepared to amputate at a high level.

 

[Claire D]

Sorry - looks like my iPhone cut off half my post. My apologies.


How is this chin doing now?

 

[Shahna]

So far it's looking a lot better. The Manuka Honey is good stuff. I have attached a pic, but it didn't come out that great. The new tissue is growing around the sides of the exposed tendon and so far no sign of infection.

Her energy level is much better and she is drinking water and eating hay some on her own, even with the cone on. Her weight is still not dropped any.

I have another vet lined up at UC Davis should she take a turn.

 

[ruoc]

Fingers crossed, the wound does look better. It still looks like she has a long way to go, what a lucky girl to be so well cared for.

 

[Claire D]

:thumbs: I am so glad you did not go down the wet-dry route suggested by the vet.

The wound looks surprisingly good considering how deep it is but it still has a long way to go (as I am sure you already know) - it is encouraging that your chin is behaving more normally & her weight is stable. The Manuka looks to be keeping her leg nice & moist & I do agree that there appears to be some healing tissue developing.

Please do keep us posted on her progress - I hope she continues to heal without any problems.

 

[Shahna]

I have included an updated picture of her leg taken today... still no sign of infection or swelling and I think it's gotten alot better. The empty spot left behind by her chewing has been "filled in", however there is still some dead tissue towards the top of the wound that hasn't fallen off yet.

I did notice she started having soft poo today. What do you think is causing it? She is still taking her medication, although her 14th day is tomorrow, so I have an appointment with her vet to see if he thinks she needs to be on them for longer. She has been taking in about 60cc's of CC per day and I give her 1 capsule of acidophilus with her midday feeding. Is there a period of time where the CC feedings become hard on the system? or am I giving the acidophilus to frequently? The capsules are Culturelle Priobiotic 10 billion CFU's.. (dairy and gluten free).

 

[Shahna]

Well... 7 weeks later and well over 200 CC feedings later... we have a successfully healed wound.

Thank you to all that helped me through this.

Now to take the cone off and see if she'll leave it alone.

 

[Snickers]

Good job. Hopefully she leaves her leg alone.

 

[Essentia]

Wow! It looks fantastic! Fingers crossed that she will leave it alone.

 

[addictedtochins]

What a cute little chicken drumstick, congratulations!

 

[ETC]

Persistence pays! Good for you for the 200 cc feedings, the end result is surely worth it....you are a very good chinnie mommy...