Help Needed! Need Advice- Inverted Tail Removal

[santinomom]

ps.......you will be shocked at how quickly they recover and get back to acting normal......much quicker than humans! lol Santino had lots of stitches but they were dissolvable. I must also tell you that I had absolute confidence in my vet as well which helped me to make my decision to have the surgery. You can't even see any scar or anything now

 

[RaRett]

Thank you so much for the input!! Was it a bad recovery for your guy? Chunky's tail is so bad- and I'm starting to think that the lack of care for the 1st 2 years of his life probably has irreversible damage- because it's really not getting any better. It doesn't seem to be painful for him, but it's smelly and gross. Did the vet simply cut his tail off, or was it a very invasive surgery, leaving him with a big wound?

Do you possibly have any pictures to share of what his "after" tail looked like during the recovery process??

Thanks again!

here is a link to 'post op' picture of Gizmo you will have to cut and paste the link, as it can be a bit graphic for some, so I wont embed it.

I was shocked, and was totally unprepared, however, my wife was better at dealing with it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rettinger/6726455097/

BUT it was the best thing we did for her, and their recovery is remarkable !

 

[BeeGee]

We had ours done yesterday. She gets to come home today. I stopped by yesterday to check on her and took some pictures if you'd like to see. (They are pretty graphic so let me know if you want them posted here or I can send them to you.) The vet said it was worse than she thought when she got in there... she had to dig in about 2 inches to get to it all. Belle was in a lot of pain and cried when I stopped by- broke my heart to leave her for the night. They are sending us home with antibiotics and a pain/anti-inflammatory med. The vet said she had no doubt that this would make her feel so much better when it heals. The drain get to come out on Thursday and then stitches next week.

 

[xtina615]

here is a link to 'post op' picture of Gizmo you will have to cut and paste the link, as it can be a bit graphic for some, so I wont embed it.

I was shocked, and was totally unprepared, however, my wife was better at dealing with it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rettinger/6726455097/

BUT it was the best thing we did for her, and their recovery is remarkable !

Oh, that just makes me so sad!!!! But, I'm glad to know that it has helped. Just breaks my heart. I totally just thought they'd "snip" the tail off, and it wouldn't be a big deal- so I'm glad I'm getting more prepared for this. How long did it take her to get back to normal?

Thanks a ton for the pics!

 

[xtina615]

We had ours done yesterday. She gets to come home today. I stopped by yesterday to check on her and took some pictures if you'd like to see. (They are pretty graphic so let me know if you want them posted here or I can send them to you.) The vet said it was worse than she thought when she got in there... she had to dig in about 2 inches to get to it all. Belle was in a lot of pain and cried when I stopped by- broke my heart to leave her for the night. They are sending us home with antibiotics and a pain/anti-inflammatory med. The vet said she had no doubt that this would make her feel so much better when it heals. The drain get to come out on Thursday and then stitches next week.

Hey there!!!
I am so sorry you're having to go through this! How long have you dealt with it, and what made you finally decide to do the surgery? I would like to see the pics you took of her, if you don't mind. I really want to know what to expect. Can you message them to me on here? If not, let me know and I'll send you my email address!
I'll be praying for your girl!

 

[BeeGee]

She's 5-1/2 months and we noticed it at about 3-1/2 to 4 months old. It's been a constant battle against infection. We would get one cleared up and a few days later it was back. Vet said that we would be battling it her whole life and she'd be unhappy and irritated if we didn't do the surgery. I'm hoping it will improve her quality of life as she wouldn't even sit on her behind before. She did say she was glad we did not spay her at the same time as it's such a big surgery on its own. I've added pictures to the album "tail surgery" under my profile. Let me know if you can't see them. Thanks for the prayers!

 

[Tooleysmom]

I would not wish it on anyone but if the vet is a good knowledgeable Bully vet and recommends surgery I would seriously consider it as an option. Miss Tallulah's inverted tail was so severe the vet brought it out after he amputated to show me what the poor little sweetie had gone through. It was a rough couple of nights but she is so much happier now that she doesn't have her tail. She is pain free and infection free. It was a horrible surgery. She could not get comfortable the first night and I slept with her on the floor to comfort her. In a day or so it was as if she had never had surgery she was just her normal self. I miss her little tail but am happy to see her pain free.

 

[xtina615]

She's 5-1/2 months and we noticed it at about 3-1/2 to 4 months old. It's been a constant battle against infection. We would get one cleared up and a few days later it was back. Vet said that we would be battling it her whole life and she'd be unhappy and irritated if we didn't do the surgery. I'm hoping it will improve her quality of life as she wouldn't even sit on her behind before. She did say she was glad we did not spay her at the same time as it's such a big surgery on its own. I've added pictures to the album "tail surgery" under my profile. Let me know if you can't see them. Thanks for the prayers!

Oh. My. Gosh.
Wow. Those pictures are just heart breaking. It actually makes MY butt hurt just looking at them. LOL!
Thanks so much for sharing.
The original vet had recommend that we not only do the tail amp, but also his elongated soft palate surgery, as WELL as his neuter- all at the same time. He wasn't the specialist- which, we don't get to see until July 15th (due to schedule conflicts), but I'll follow his recommendation, most likely. I believe the original vet had recommended doing them all together to reduce the amount of times we put him under anesthesia.

 

[RaRett]

Gizmo was acting like a nut a few days post surgery... unbelievable as it was... and the cut was extensive, because our Vet also lifted up the skin to remove the tail pocket, where the infection was, and in order to balance it out etc. that is why such a long incision. I have seen others smaller than Gizmo's

I am not a specialist, but my Vet would NOT do multiple surgeries on her - too much time under anesthesia and multiple things to recover from all at once. We wanted her Spayed and tail at the same time. so we had to have her Spayed, wait 6 months and then her tail.

Good luck and just get as much information as you can, and even if you have to drive a distance for someone VERY Familar w/ Bullies and this surgery. Its not a 'simple tail dock'

 

[Borrisnspike]

I had mybull's tail pocket removed and the vet was not a bulldog specialist because we live in a place that doesnt have that many bulldogs. i thought it would be no biggie and very routine type surgery. When they put him under, he never recovered from anaesthesia. Make sure you go to a vet that has dealt with a lot of bulldogs and braecephalic breeds. I miss him so much he was only 3 yrs old.