"is it possible to get muscle back that has been lost?"

[admin]

Got this in the contact us form for GDF. Any vets or other dog experts care to weigh in?

I need help. I have a puppy that broke her hind leg femur up high on the leg and straight through. Unfortunately, she was 10 weeks old when the break happened and the hospital we took her to put a hard cast on her for 6 weeks. When we took her to our normal vet after 6 weeks my vet looked at xrays and found the vet who fixed her leg originally set it overlapped and crooked. My vet had to rebreak the leg so he could set it right with a pin, but now the leg atrophied so much my vet is saying they have to amputate leg. There is a lot more to the story, but is it possible to get muscle back that has been lost?

[labmom23]

I'm new and not an expert but have experience with this. When tank lost almost all his muscle I was not sure he would gain it back. After talking to my vet and a family member(who has experience) this is what I did. On a leash swimming for about ten minutes daily. Then a 20 minute walk two times a day. He also got time running in the yard. Then after about a month I added ten minutes to everything. The swimming really helped. It takes pressure off of that leg and it helps with the muscle. With the walking it depends on the dogs age and how bad the leg is. But I would definitely suggest hydro-therapy. I could not afford to let a trainer do it so I just took tank to the lake with me and let him swim. I hope this helps and again I am no expert but that is what helped tank who has almost all his muscle back but will never get 100% because he is 8/9 years old.

[Sharon]

Got this in the contact us form for GDF. Any vets or other dog experts care to weigh in?

I need help. I have a puppy that broke her hind leg femur up high on the leg and straight through. Unfortunately, she was 10 weeks old when the break happened and the hospital we took her to put a hard cast on her for 6 weeks. When we took her to our normal vet after 6 weeks my vet looked at xrays and found the vet who fixed her leg originally set it overlapped and crooked. My vet had to rebreak the leg so he could set it right with a pin, but now the leg atrophied so much my vet is saying they have to amputate leg. There is a lot more to the story, but is it possible to get muscle back that has been lost?

Normally you can get muscle back almost fully after trauma. However , if the vet is recommending amputation , this can't be a normal situation. I'd ask the vet what risk the dog will be entertaining if you decide to go the route of extensive, long term, physiotherapy. It is not cheap. My dog had common TPLO leg surgery , and took 4+ months to regain good muscle.

[Cajun Casey]

I would suggest they contact a vet who has a full rehab setup or access to one. Laser, tank, Fittiballs and equipment for SAR and agility dogs. Personally, I would probably amputate if the bone is compromised.

[doco]

If you post some before and after X-Rays, I'm sure it would make this situation a lot clearer. Kind of like telling a Dr. over the phone that you have a cough, what is causing it. The symptoms do help clinically, but the picture is worth a thousand words. On a side note, dogs can overcome alot of things and puppies do heal well. Dogs don't whine nearly as bad as a man with a splinter!


Doco

[Doc E]

Cold Laser might just be the ticket. it's truly impressive.
Go to http://www.vomtech.com/ --- They have a "Find a Practioner" page so you
can find one closest to your home.
Otherwise, just email vomtech and ask 'em.



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[mountaindogs]

I would suggest they contact a vet who has a full rehab setup or access to one. Laser, tank, Fittiballs and equipment for SAR and agility dogs. Personally, I would probably amputate if the bone is compromised.

+1

At least get a second opinion at such a vet. Often it's more an issue of how much you are willing to spend. (Both $ and time) Dogs do well with 3 legs, but also rehab has come a tremendously long way!

[marysburg]

The amount of nerve damage and scar tissue will affect the outcome. We had to do rehab on one of our Britts, and the distances involved were prohibitive, so I went on abe books and bought 'Canine Rehabilitation & Physical Therapy' by D. Millis, D Levine, and R Taylor. It was about $100, but worth every penny. Good luck with your pup.

[Fireside]

The leg being atrophied is not a good enough reason to amputate the leg, there must be something more going on there. If the only problem is atrophy, then PT and strength training should get 90% or better of the muscle rebuilt. Be prepared for it to be a long term project, 18 months or more to know exactly how much rebuilding can be done.

Saying the dog needs his leg amputated because he broke it is like saying my arm should have been amputated because I broke it... not gonna happen LOL My 95% is better than most people have at 100%!!! And my orthopod and trainer will attest to that!

[buckeyebowman]

Wow, that's tough, man! I sincerely hope you can save the leg, but if you can't at least there's an option that allows you to save the dog's life. I've seen quite a few 3 legged dogs, cats, deer, and other critters in my day and, funny thing, they don't seem to consider themselves handicapped in any way. I suppose that's too "human" a concept to introduce here, but they seem to go about their business and live their lives just like the 4 leggers do.

My friend had this happen to a young GSP pup. His wife went out to feed, got all tangled up in the gang of pups around her feet, fell on one of the pups and broke it's hind leg. Well, the pup healed up just fine, but it is noticeably smaller and more slender than all the other pups from that litter. We've nicknamed her "The Flea". There's no way to tell if this is because of genetics, or using energy to heal that bone robbed her of some growth. Anyway, she runs just fine, loves to hunt, and may have the best nose in the bunch. She also loves to swim, as we took her swimming a lot once she got back on her feet. she makes Michael Phelps look like he's stuck in quicksand! We've actually clocked her at 45 continuous minutes in the water without touching land!

I hate to say this, as we're an overly litigious society as it is, but might you have a legal action against the first vet who misset the leg the first time? It might help to defray future costs as you try to save this dog.

anyway, wish you the best and hope all goes well.