Another update on Syd since we dropped him off this morning. After we took Syd in, we kept bugging the vet to see when we could come down and see him after he woke up. He said he had just started 30 minutes prior and to give him another 30 minutes. They called us to tell us they were stitching him up and to come on down. The clinic was closed for lunch at this time, so no one was there, so the receptionist took us in back to the surgery room where Syd was still under and he was 1/2 through stitching his leg up. They then had my husband help move him (the big lug) to the wash stand so they could wash him off. While doing this, they removed the intubation tube and took him off the gas. I had told the vet that there was what felt like a fatty tissue tumor that developed to the side and bottom of his left jaw. My husband asked if he was able to determine about that tissue and the vet had forgotten to look at it, so Syd had not woken up yet, so he just put a mask on him and put some lidocaine into the jaw and incised it and removed a fatty tissue about the size of a shrimp. I was telling him that it was kind of unusual that a vet would let an owner watch their dog getting stitched up and cut on (with the fatty tissue) and he said a lot of vets don't like it, but if the owners are comfortable with it, he doesn't mind and doesn't have anything to hide. He said he would have preferred I NOT be in there when he amputated his leg because it does involve a lot of blood and more intricate, but other than that, he didn't mind if I didn't. I asked him if he had a chance to look at the affected area of the amputated leg yet and he said no, he waits until the patient is stabilized first, then does his exam. I asked him if he was going to not only take samples, but dig around in the joint area where the swelling was and see what he could see. He said yes, he had planned on doing that, just out of curiosity, since he doesn't deal with cancer everyday. So he stitched his jaw back up and tried to get him to wake up. When the vet and my husband picked him up to carry him to a kennel run, he woke up real quick but wasn't fighting too much. They laid him down and he said we could spend a few minutes with him. He was still trying to wake up, but kept looking at us and when I came around the vet where he could see me, he started wagging his tail! Of course, he was still a little groggy, but his muscles around where his incision was kept twitching, like he was trying to "move" that leg. He rolled over from lying on his side to a lying up with his head up position and kind of plopped that incision side on the concrete floor. He also was whining a little which caused me to cry. I had that "oh god, why did I do this to my boy" feeling and a feeling like I don't think he'll ever forgive me. I just put my arm under his head and he laid his head down and I stroked his head and told him to please know that I did it to try and save his life, or at least take the pain away. As I was stroking him, he seemed to relax a little and close his eyes. I asked my vet about the fluids and what I should do when I get him home (again questions that I asked because of what I learned from this list!). He said because large breeds are prone to bloat and gastric torsion, he said that's why he uses a sedative first, then just a little bit of propoflow (that's what it sounded like to me) for deep anesthesia. He said he's learned that this helps keep the amount of anesthesia down, but does the trick for surgery and helps them wake up quicker and have less in their system to get out afterward. He said this also has been found to be less inclination for bloat. He said he wouldn't recommend giving a lot of water, but maybe ice cubes and more smaller amounts of food, then wait until later on to start letting him have water. He expected him to not want to do much of anything right away and would give him some deramaxx before he went home to help with the pain. (I thought he said he would give something else, but he felt deramaxx would be okay).
The vet went back in to take some tissue samples of the bone. I laid with Syd for a few minutes, then went in to see if the vet was examining the leg. He was and I opened the door and he asked if I wanted to be there when he was doing the tissue sample collection. I said it didn't bother me if he didn't mind and he said he didn't mind at all. He had already opened up the leg and taken off the mass that was growing on the side (the knot) and was taking bone samples. He took bone samples, cartilage samples and bone marrow samples. He then said K-State definintely wanted bone samples as well so they could do their own biopsy to determine what protocol to use. So he sliced off some bone in various places for them. He also asked if I could perhaps pick up the samples and take them to the airport Fed-Ex office so they could get them tomorrow. So I'm getting ready to pick those up and take those in for shipping. He commented that he couldn't believe I could stand there and watch him dig in my dog's amputated leg. He said I really must not be squeamish. Again, I told him that while I had NOT a clue as to what I was looking at, that it was just interesting to me as to what was going on inside of my dog's leg.
I went back where my husband was lying down with Syd. The vet followed me back there to see how he was doing. My husband said he had tried to stand up, but then didn't. He said he kept looking back at his shoulder as if he knew something was missing. My husband said he had not been crying at all (Syd, not my husband), just looking around. The vet said we could come back in an hour to pick him up as well as the tissue samples. On the way home, my husband did not make me feel any better when he told me that Syd kept looking at his shoulder where his leg used to be and hasn't figured out that he had been "butchered" yet. I don't think my husband really wanted amputation/chemo, but reluctantly supported me in whatever decision I made.
By the way, the incision was straight across (at a diagonal) about I'm guessing 12 inches or more long. The vet said there was a little "nipple" (a little bit of skin) on the end that won't look too pretty, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Once the hair grows back, I'm sure it will cover it some. I told him that some people on the list had said the incision site looked like it was stitched up by 5 yr olds. He chuckled and said that their surgery probably involved taking the scapula, because that would require an up and down incision as well as a crossways incision and might look more like railroad tracks. So I told him I'd have to pass along to my group that his incision looked very nice! I also plan on taking some photos of his incision tonight for those interested in what it looked like. I also asked about oozing and he said if it went into the scapula, he might have to put in a drain and would have to wait until he got in there. He said that he made three layers of stitching to ensure it was secure, but did not put in any drain. He said there might be some usual oozing after surgery, but not like a drain. He said we'd keep an eye on it for seromas (I was so thrilled that I actually knew what he was talking about since people on the CBC list had talked about it!!!...not sure if I spelled it right, but I'm talking about the swelling of fluid build up).
It's late afternoon and I'm getting ready to go down to pick up the tissue samples to Fed-Ex them and get Sydney home. I hope they don't think it's too gory to take pictures of him as he tried to walk out of the clinic, but I want to document as much as possible. I started to take a few photos of the tissue sample collection, but thought that was a bit much, even for me, so I didn't. Again, thanks for everyone input on what to expect. I'm sure I'll cry a few more tears tonight when we get him home and try and watch him attempt to walk, but I'm sure just being with us will make him a bit more comfortable. And having him here to start his new journey is the most important thing. I will keep you posted to see how things progress. Again, thanks for EVERYONE's private e-mails and for your continued support and sharing of information. Knowledge is power and I was not about to take this thing lying down. You all helped me make an informed decision. I'll let you know in a few days and after chemo if I still feel I made the right decision. |
