Amputation

AmyMay

AmyMay

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Thankfully not my dog.

But does anyone have any idea of the costs involved in amputating the leg of a Bichon sized dog?
 
dont be too horror struck about the idea - dogs adapt incredibly well to having 3 legs, honestly :) I see you've established costs now, it was around £600 for my greyhound a few years ago (although the total bill was around £3k as we didn't go for amputation straight away, bad mistake for the dog :( )
 
Depends on where you are in the country and what extras the vets have ad their basic anaesthetic costs-some practices give surgical fluids as std etc.its a relatively cheap and easy procedure on a young dog....

We have done it as a salvage procedure(dog to be pts otherwise and my boss hated to pts an otherwise healthy dog) very very cheaply in the past.but the dog would only have recieved injectable anaesthetics and 2 days of pain relief. Cost around 100 to 150 euro.but in those cases we were not making any profit at all and doing the op at a loss to the practice...so not commonly done.

To do it right-premed, full ga with surgical fluids.charging for surgery time,pain relief for 5 days and hospitalisation until the dog can manage on 3 legs...400-600 around euro would be more accurate.....and ireland is much much cheaper than the uk.

Its generally cheaper than advanced orthopedics but unless the break is so severe it has no chance at mending I would always advise to try orthopedics first on a young dog.yes they manage very well on 3 legs but old age muscle loss and arthritis affects the tripods so much more.especially if it is a front limb.
 
Aru said:
……. .yes they manage very well on 3 legs but old age muscle loss and arthritis affects the tripods so much more.especially if it is a front limb.
Click to expand...

Not that I've seen many, I'll admit, but those dogs which I have seen and which have had a front leg removed, have never made old age. The remaining leg has always collapsed, eventually with the strain on the remaining front tendons and ligaments being too great. It isn't a procedure which I'd go ahead with, and it seems to me to be a delaying of the inevitable. Still, each to their own, as they say!

The last dog of which I had any experience was a very smart young sheepdog which I sold as a well grown pup, the guy who owned her worked her from his truck, and one day she slipped across in front of him, and though there were no broken bones, the damaged leg simply didn't function. The leg was removed, complete with the whole shoulder, scapula included, and without any sign of the work, not a stitch mark, the effect was remarkable in that she looked as though she'd never had a front leg. Two years later she was put down as the remaining leg couldn't stand the strain and became so weak that she couldn't stand. The owner also came to regret his decision.

Alec.
 
Its because dogs load bear on their front legs.
Roughly 70 percent of the bodyweight is bore by the front limbs the majority of the time.

Hind limb amputees do much better as the load bearing on the hind legs is less.

They are essentially just holding up the pelvis and lighter portion of the abdomen.

Compared to the forelegs that are bearing the chest cavity, head and the some of the weight of the abdomen.
 
Your poor friend what an awful shame.
My dog is an amputee I have only had him a few months but he seems to cope well and is a happy and very active dog. I'm glad I didn't have to make the decision it was done by the dogs home but I suppose I have condoned it by taking him on.

I've put a picture but not sure if it will work. I have not got the hang of picture posting.

attachment.php
 
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