Help Needed! After tail amputation care at home

Jonel

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Sherman is scheduled to have his pesky tail removed next week and we are very hopeful that he will be a much happier boy without all the infections, pain, and itching. I know many of you have experience with your bully's surgery and I was wondering if you could tell me what to expect after we bring him home. Will he be able to climb stairs, stay in his crate, get up on the furniture? Will there be a mess and should we cover our furniture? And, how long until things return to normal. I am sure I will get all this information next week, but I am a planner so I need to be prepared. Thanks!
 

cali baker

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hi [MENTION=9213]Jonel[/MENTION] ! I hear you when you say you're a "planner"…that's how i am too. It's good to be ready and prepared and you have some great questions here re. Sherman's upcoming after-care. Finn had his tail amputation in Jan. In his case, a good portion of his corkscrew tail was removed but he still has some of his tail left…sort of like a stump. So his after care may be slightly different (not sure) in cases where the entire tail is removed. Still, the basics are the same. I made sure to put a mattress down on the living room floor so that Finn (and I and Tate) could sleep there with him as I didn't want Finn jumping up on the bed or sofa. He normally sleeps in my bed. If Sherman sleeps in his crate and that's where he is most comfy in, then i'd have him in there right away so he can rest and not aggravate the surgical area. You just don't want him jumping or running as this can loosen the stitches as well as cause other probs. He probably will be tired when you pick him up, from all the meds and the procedure itself. Finn was a little agitated b/c they had him on a Fentanyl patch which i suspected was causing the agitation. Talk to your vet about which pain meds Sherman will need to take. I took about 10 days off from work after Finn's surgery so i could make sure to be home with him and to monitor him since he's usually home alone w/Tate as i'm the only pet-parent and work outside of the house. Not sure of your situation but if you can plan to be home w/Sherman for a few days post-surgery, that would be recommended. Your vet will fill you in on how to slowly re-introduce food back as Sherman may not be hungry right away and you don't want to give him too much food at first since he may have effects from the anesthesia and can vomit. I believe Finn became more and more like himself after 4 days. I didn't have any messes to deal with but I've heard of some bulldogs having a drain when they come home and in that case, the suggestion is to have lots of towels and blankets laid around. I didn't take Finn out on walks or anything for at least 72 hours after the surgery. It's best to just have them as "relaxed" as possible but that could be challenging with our crazy bullies.

If i think of anything else, I'll add more but that's all i could think of at the moment. All the best to Sherman and you next week. I know he will do just fine and feel so much better afterwards !
 

2BullyMama

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Henny has you coved.... Two other members have experience too. [MENTION=572]Libra926[/MENTION] and [MENTION=4706]RaRett[/MENTION]


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Jonel

Jonel

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Thanks for the great information. I know this is for the best but honestly as the date approaches I am getting a knot in my stomach. I work part time from home so I will be here for Shermie until he is his old self. Thanks again!
 

RaRett

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Gizmo had it done. Mess? Some she has 2 drain tubes ... I would keep furniture stuff covered. Keep up with pain Meds, watching for infections. Their whole butt will be shaved and large incision.. I wasn't ready for that personally

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Libra926

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We had LOTS of seepage. So cover everything. Like Rarett said....the incision was brutal. I wasn't prepared either. We never got the fentanyl patch. We just got Rimadyl and Vegas was miserable. They added Tramadol and it was a lot better. Make sure they cover you with the pain.....because the hardest thing to watch is your baby crying.

Vegas was trying to climb on the furniture after 3 days and it was hard to keep him settled. He was only about 8 months old at the time.
Before surgery...little nub.

full (2).jpgfull.jpg

Day of

full (9).jpg

5 days after

5 days after surgery.jpg

16 days after

16 days after surgery.jpg

18 weeks after

18 weeks after surgery.jpg
 

mzza111

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I adopted Gypsy about a week and a half after her tail was amputated so my experience is a bit different.

Either the day before or the day I picked her up, her foster mom removed the stitches. There was never any seepage (sp?) and she wasn't bothered by it at all. She's doesn't get up on the furniture but she didn't have any issues with the steps going in and out of the house.

Honestly, I was surprised at how much she had healed in the short amount of time between surgery and adoption.

Ami
 
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Jonel

Jonel

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Today we are picking up Sherman from the hospital for the second time. He did not handle the surgery well. Kinda went bonkers running all around, hiding, was in a lot of pain. They put him on additional meds for pain and infection. He still has draining from the incision. It's been almost 6 days, how long does that last? Hopefully this time returning home will be better.
 

Vikinggirl

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I'm sorry I don't have any experience with tail amputation or tail pockets, as my guys don't have a tail pocket, but you have been given great information from above members, and they seem to have you covered as to what to expect. I just wanted to wish Sherman a good surgery, and hope he has an easy and quick recovery. I hope he gets relief from his infections and discomfort. Sending positive thoughts, love hugs and prayers your way.
 

cali baker

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[MENTION=9213]Jonel[/MENTION], i'm sorry that Sherman was having a tough time with the surgery. As far as the drainage goes, i don't have experience with that one but [MENTION=572]Libra926[/MENTION] might be able to give you more insight on it. Hopefully the vet will give Sherman the pain meds he needs so he's comfy during the recovery stages.
 

Libra926

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Today we are picking up Sherman from the hospital for the second time. He did not handle the surgery well. Kinda went bonkers running all around, hiding, was in a lot of pain. They put him on additional meds for pain and infection. He still has draining from the incision. It's been almost 6 days, how long does that last? Hopefully this time returning home will be better.

He should have been okay by now. In my experience....the pain meds were the only thing to keep him calm that first day. We had to go back for an additional pain med (tramadol, which isn't even really a narcotic) but it helped him out a lot. He was always calm as you can see in the photos above. He really wanted to climb on the furniture by the 3rd day....but after the seepage stopped (3 to 4 days that I can remember) all was well.
 
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Jonel

Jonel

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Thanks all. Sherman is home a doing better. He has some bleeding but it's from a wound under his stitches. Guess he rubbed against something. Not sure. Hopefully that will heal up and he can mend. Pain is much better and redness is going away. Doc told us he started to poop in the middle of surgery. Not exactly sterile, so that could have been a factor too.


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cali baker

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I remember Finn had some bleeding coming from scratching his shaved butt area, so i wonder if that's what happened to Sherman too. The whole area was just irritated and red and he was uncomfortable from that. In a few more days I know Sherman will be back to his normal self again.
 

Tooleysmom

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Miss Tallulah had the surgery and was miserable for about 4 days. I slept on mattresses on the floor with her and she was whining, agitated and in some pain even with meds. No drainage, but so many stitches. No redness or bleeding. After 4-5 days she was trying to run and jump hard to keep her from being active. She would just whimper if you accidentally touched the tail area. The whole backside was shaved and stitched and looked so terrible. It took almost a year for the fur to grow back. Really awful surgery but the results were so worth it. My heart goes out to you. This is a difficult surgery.
 
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Jonel

Jonel

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So, a bit of an update. Sherman is back at Penn. A couple of days ago he started bleeding really bad, although the stitches were intact. He was taken back in surgery and he had a very serious puss pocket under his incision. They cleaned it out and cultured and Sherman is in the open wound area. They sedate him every day and clean it out again. They will stitch him back up when infection is completely gone. He could be at the hospital for 5 or more days. They said that because Sherman has been treated so often with antibiotics for his tail pocket infections it is possible that a lot of the meds will be useless in fighting off the bacteria. They are optimistic about a good outcome but seriously this has been so stressful.
 

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