Phoebe ...... before cancer
Her story started in June of this year. She began limping and after an initial exam, her doctor thought it was a nail bed infection. We started on antibiotics and after a full round there was no improvement so we took xrays and still nothing abnormal could be seen. Pain meds and a stronger antibiotic still didn't show improvement so 2 weeks later another xray was taken and we learned she had squamous cell carcinoma. In those 2 weeks, the cancer completely destroyed the bone of her 2nd toe on her right paw. The next day (July 1) she underwent a toe amputation. Chest xrays were taken prior to surgery and it showed no metastasis. Recovery was uneventful and easy for her, as the source of her pain was taken away. The pain of surgery was far less than the pain of the cancer. She was totally walking on her bandaged foot the next day and not even limping.
You can see the destroyed bone on the 2nd digit
After suture removal ... 14 days post op
Approx. 21 days post op you really couldn't notice a difference.
Sometime around August 22 she started limping again and I was worried. No inflammation was noted and xrays showed no bone lysis like before. When limping turned into not using the leg at all I knew there was something really wrong and we were referred to a surgical oncologist. Xrays still appeared normal so they did an aspiration of the firm swelling. Cytology report showed some bacteria as well as suspicious cells. Hoping it was infection, she went on an aggressive round of antibiotics (Baytril) but after 5 days there had been no improvement at all so it was determined to be in fact tumor and based on the cytology it was suggestive of squamous cell carcinoma again. The location was in her metacarpals and we were then looking at amputation, either partial with a prosthesis or full leg.
Before scheduling surgery, chest and abdomen xrays were done to make sure there was no metastasis, and also xrays of her hips and knees to make sure she didn't have any issues that could prevent her from being a tripawd. Everything came back fine, so another consultation was done with the orthopedic surgeon. Surgery was scheduled for 2 days later (last Thursday, September 11). Phoebe spent 3 nights in the hospital and came home 6 days ago.
Here are pictures from our visit, less than 24 hours after surgery:
Phoebe was so happy to come home. She seemed kind of depressed in the hospital and I was thinking omg, what have I just put her through. But last Sunday morning when we picked her up, she was like a completely different dog. Here's some pics of that day:
In the car, ready for the drive home :-)
Home Sweet Home .... sacked out under her favorite table on the nice cool floor
(it was 108 degrees outside !!!)
So here we are 9 days post amp and she is doing FABULOUS !!!! I really don't think she even misses her leg. She uses her doggy door, goes out to potty by herself, she can go up and down our stairs, she's eating & drinking well, takes her pills like a champ (we will be weaning her off pain pills this coming week), and tonight she figured out how to hold her rawhide with just 1 paw.
Mastering the rawhide like a pro. She uses the left foot to move it around :-)
