Thread: Dr. wants to chop off part of dog's toe

Here's a link to some information on the dangers and treatment of bone infections. Hope this will help you to be better prepared when you see another vet for the second opinion.

http://www.gopetsamerica.com/dog-hea...omyelitis.aspx

I had a dog that had a benign tumor growing under the nail bed that was causing bone to die off. It was very painful. The vet removed the toe, and dog recovered uneventfully. No problem walking.
Bone infections can spread and cause a lot of serious problems. Get a second opinion if you need to, but if the second vet also recommends it, please do it.

hi all,

I wanted to post a picture of his toe, but don't have a working camera
at the moment. The thing is, it really has gotten better over the last
month. The swelling went down, the fleshy part shrunk. The remaining
toenail bits do smell _if_ he does not get his anti-biotic, and if he does
not get an epsom salt soak, at least on the simplicef. On the cephalexin,
the anti-biotic alone was enough to knock out any smell. That is one
reason I liked it better. The skin around it is slightly red, but certainly not
sick-looking. He does not lick it much, and he walks just peachy fine. I'm
going to keep doing the epsom salt soaks even after he goes back on the
cephalexin, which is tomorrow. it has bled slightly a couple times since
I started the soaking, and I think that's actually a good sign.

The thing is, she proclaimed it had gone into the bone without doing any
kind of testing. Before, she had said the swelling was because of scar tissue
and granulation. Now that it is doing better, suddenly she's saying it
progressed?

Come to think of it, there was another weird thing: as she was trimming
his nails, she said to me that the dew claw she happened to be trimming at
the time was just about to grow into his skin. It most certainly _was_
_not_! I don't know what her problem is. He goes in every month for
an adequan shot, and he always gets a nail trim along with his shot. I'm
starting to feel like switching to another animal hospital entirely.

to applesmom: my b/f and I both read the article, thank you, but that
does not look or sound like what it is. I guess I'm just going to have tp
get a second opinion.

From what I describe, doesn't it sound like the first veterinarian has
an off-kilter perception of things? Geeez....

Wolfie is 8 years old. I most cetainly would not have an operation just
to make the toe look more neat.

Originally Posted by lovemygreys

Aw...toes are so much fun to deal with

We had a recurring injury keep popping up in one of our greyhounds toes. He had surgery last Friday to remove the dead tissue and stitch back together the healthy tissue. We did one round of antibiotics seemed to clear it up, but then it came back several weeks later. Sometimes the dead tissue deep in the toe, debris or just deep infection can keep it from healing properly. Since dogs use their feet/toes all the time, every day that tissue constantly has pressure on it so it can be hard to heal.

One of my other greys may need two toes amputated due to severe dislocations and some arthritis that's developing. We are really trying to avoid that. If it were one toe, no problem - go ahead and lop it off. But two toes in a young, still very active dog I'm much more hesitant to be hasty with amputation. She goes back to the orthopedic specialist next week for a reassessment after two (very loooooong) weeks of crate rest and leash walks.

We adopted a dog once and she was missing a back toe...never realized it until I went to trim her nails and came up one nail short! Dogs can live just fine with a toe missing.

I would want an xray done - If it's purely an issue with the soft tissue you probably aren't going to see much, if anything. But, they're relatively inexpensive ($60-$75 around here) and will give you a more complete picture of what's going on with the bones inside the foot.

If you've now done three rounds of antibiotics and that hasn't resolved it, it's very possible there's now infection in the bone. At the very least you have some seriously infected tissue there. I would most likely opt for surgery to remove the toe without too much hesitation. Bone infection is not something to mess around with.

However, if you do not feel comfortable with your vet - get a second opinion. They may be able to refer you to a orthopedic specialist...I really prefer to have my dog seen by a specialist with toe/foot issues if it's anything more than a soft tissue injury.

Good luck...keep us posted!

hi lovemygrays,

somebody gave me this article back in February:

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/gro...conditions.htm

It sounds to me like it's this bacterial onyxis it mentions:

"Bacterial onyxis exists in the dog but is much rarer in the cat. In the latter, it is usually associated with an immunodeficient state (FeLV and/or FIV infection, diabetes mellitus etc...). In the dog, it may be idiopathic or secondary to an underlying disease (such as hypothyroidism, or even Cushing's disease). Perionyxis, onychoschisis, onychorrhexis and onychomadesis are usually seen on several nails, with pain as the primary complaint. Diagnosis is made by cytology-which reveals a bacterial pus (degenerated neutrophils, phagocytosis), bacteriology and the response to therapy. Treatment must be based on the removal of broken nails, topical antibacterial therapy and long term systemic antibiotic therapy (based on bacterial cultures and sensitivity testing, Staphylococcus sp. and Gram negative rods often being cultured). Months of careful therapy are needed, until the distal abnormal part of the nail has disappeared. In all cases, and particularly in chronically relapsing ones, an underlying disease should be suspected and, if found, treated. Bacterial pododermatitis, whatever the cause, often leads to bacterial onyxis. Good examples are interdigital pyodermas due to demodicosis and allergic skin diseases. Perionyxis is a prominent feature in such cases. Therapy appropriate to the causal pododermatitis will cure the nail problem if carried out for long enough."

Months, it says months of treatment with antibiotics. I think I'd better
take him to another place, and just have them take a culture, as a
starting point. I have severely limited funds, so this is not a good situation.

here's an update, for anybody who actually thoroughly reads:

Wolfie is now on an antibiotic called baytril. The vet took a
culture and sensitivity, and said there are 3 kinds of bacteria,
and yes they are resistant. He said this is the only one
he feels confident will kill all three.

The x-ray is in the works, but he's been on it 2 days so far,
and this morning when I looked at his toe, I saw an accumulation
of pus. So this is good, the pus is starting to come out of the
toe after only two days. He's set to be on this antibiotic for
2 weeks, then go back to vet to see if he wants to be on it
for longer, or if we need to change the plan again.

Thanks for your comments and support!

Glad to hear it is only a infection