Hey everyone, it’s Ryan (Eddie’s Dad) and like the title says, this is Eddie’s post-op update.  Bare with me, this will be long and I must make the disclaimer that I have attached a photo of the amputation site and, while there is no blood/exposed tissue/etc., the surgery was yesterday (3Mar2014) so it is fresh and may be gross, depending on your personal tolerance.  I only include the photo to document the before and after of Eddie’s story, so if you have a soft stomach, please don’t wander below the GRAPHIC IMAGE spacer that will be above the photo.

Anyways, if you’ve been following our story, you’ll be familiar with what we’ve been through so far.  For those that haven’t been following or are new to the site, allow me to recap.  Eddie is a pure-bred Blue Great Dane that was born on June 26, 2013 to a friend of ours (who missed her female Dane coming into heat, but her male Dane didn’t. . .).  Our friend is not a breeder, and wasn’t planning on breeding, but ended up with a litter of 12 puppies anyways.  Eddie is the runt and from birth, everyone could tell something wasn’t right.  At birth his right hind leg was twisted with his pad pointing up and after some discussion with a vet and a simple attempt to correct a “misdiagnosis” (not really but no one had any idea how complex an issue it really was), Eddie was taken to have X-rays where it was discovered he had Tibial Agenesis, which basically means his right tibia never formed.  For anyone that doesn’t know, the tibia is the main supporting bone in the lower leg.  We received Eddie at 7 wks old, under the conditions that he have a loving home and all the care that he needs for his leg.

Fast forward a few months, normal vet appointments for shots and checkups, and a couple surgical consults, we were still searching for the right vet/surgeon for Eddie.  Most of the problems we had were not with surgical experience or capabilities of any particular vet, but we were looking for a capable surgeon with the right equipment for a reasonable price.  We had spoken with 8-10 vets/surgeons at 8 different facilities and received estimates that ranged anywhere from $1000 to $4000.  We were referred to and finally decided on a general practice vet that had 30 yrs experience, including being a Great Dane owner, and uses a cold laser for all surgeries.  We chose this because after some research into the laser, we found that there are many advantages to using this and that most lasers are used by surgical specialists, not the “everyday” vet.  Aside from this, he only spoke of what was best for Eddie and never once mentioned that it would be easier for the people if . . ., which we liked.  The vet did care about our input and our concerns about what Eddie needed, but when we discussed the procedure, he constantly went back to what’s best for Eddie, no matter how hard it may be for Sarah and I.  We set an appointment and the nervousness began (mostly me, the “big, bad, tough firefighter” that I am).

Yesterday, Sarah was working, so I had the task of taking Eddie for the appointment.  After a loooong shift, I left work and hurried home to pick up Eddie and was able to get to the office a little sooner than planned, so I got to hang out while Eddie was adjusting to the office.  I brought Eddie’s bed and some toys to (hopefully) make his stay a little better.  After filling out the paperwork and all the other necessities, I left Eddie with the vet to head home and hopefully get some sleep.  The vet told me that they would call as soon as the procedure was completed and let me know how everything went.  Unfortunately, when I got home, I found out my phone wasn’t working, so I had to contact the vets office to have them contact Sarah instead.  The phone issue wasn’t really a big deal, except for now I was so nervous that I couldn’t nap, even though I had been up for almost 36 hours straight.  Around 3pm, Sarah got a hold of me and let me know that everything was done and went better than the vet expected, so naptime commence!!!

Sarah got home from work around 430 and had to do some running around, but around 6 we got the best call from the vet that we could have gotten, saying that if we wanted to come pick him up, Eddie was ready to go home.  Sarah woke me up when she got home and to the vets office we went.  When we got to the office, I had a nervous tic because all I could think about was Eddie being mad at me for leaving him to deal with the evil people all by himself.  The vet told us that he performed a “Proximal Third” amputation, which means that the top 3rd of the femur was left intact, but everything else was taken.  The vet said it was the best option at our first meeting and was his basic game plan, but may have changed depending on how the leg appeared while doing the surgery.  This was best for Eddie because it means that nothing in the hips had to be touched, helping to prevent complications both now and in the future.  Eddie was brought from the back just as happy as could be, even having to be held back by the vet so that he wouldn’t run through the office and pop the stitches.  After loading up, the trip home became interesting because all Eddie wanted to do was cuddle Sarah and I, but from the back seat of a VW, it’s slightly impossible.  We made it home alright, Eddie made it into the house unassisted and we all proceeded to go to bed after the stress of the day.

This morning, Eddie seems to be doing GREAT.  He hasn’t had any issues getting around, but we didn’t expect any because he’s never been able to use his right leg, so no real adaptation/adjustment is necessary.  Other than taking the gross pills that have to be stuffed down his throat (we’ve tried everything we can think for pills and force is the only thing that works), not much is different from our day-to-day routine.  Eddie has slowly began to eat and drink again, after some coercion with broken up treats mixed into his food and a little bit of patience.  And other than being slightly mopey, he seems to be in good spirits and has even considered re-claiming his spot on the couch,but hasn’t quite worked up the energy to try, being as sore as he probably is.

So thanks for taking the time to read our update and follow our story.  I have included a before and after picture below so that everyone can see how much easier it will be for Eddie to get around post-surgery.  Thanks again!! – Ryan

Before – So this picture is old (I think Eddie’s about 3 months old) but it’s the best one I can find showing the ineffective right leg

AFTER – ***WARNING – GRAPHIC IMAGE***  (No Blood, No Exposed Tissue, Just a Picture of the Amputation Site with Stitches)

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