Broken Leg Disaster!!!!!!

[GOATDADDY]

I write this with a heavy heart. I am ashamed of what I have done and I know I will get plenty of criticism. I just want to pass on some information that I learned the hard way and my poor little nannie goat has paid the price. Some of you might remember that on an earlier thread I sought help with a goat with a broken leg. I contacted 3 or 4 vets, etc. Bottom line, I unwrapped today to put new wrap and to see how it was doing. It was horrible, much, much worse than when I started out. In desperation I called someone I hardly know but I thought would no the low down on livestock, especially goats. He told me that he had also learned the hard way. That if the leg is broke and the skin is broken, you should not wrap the place where the skin is broken cause it will drain at that point and the flesh will necrose and eventually there will be no flesh there. It must me exposed to the air. He said often times they will heal if you do nothing. Probably the leg wouldn't work right but it could still get along. I gotta stop.

[mawalla]

Hang on for others, but I intend to be gentle. You need to remember your nurses training when you attempt to treat another one of your animals that is injured. Wound treatment protocal would be very similar.

Is this nanny too far gone to save or will you clip, clean and continue to treat her?

[dale anne]

Howdy goatdaddy...if I remember the before threads the break and cut were at the same site which means you had to wrap it or the goat would drag a leg around that would never heal...if I am wrong correct me.....if yer nanny has not been put down then I would still give it a go...clean the wound out good...if she can bare weight on the leg and she isnt bleeding all over the place leave the wound open...but keep it cleaned out and make sure she doesnt chew at it...I mentioned once before that fly's may lay eggs at the wound site but dont panick in fact they are benificial they only eat rotted dead flesh so I would leave them be if they do arrive in the wound....If the wound is huge you can pack it...take sterile guaze after cleaning the wound and pack it into the wound...depending on the drainage you may have to change it a few times a day...anything bigger then the size of a quarter should be packed....it may take a long time depending on the size of the wound but the skin will begin to close and heal.....also give positive bacteria and anti biotics...worse case take her to a vet and tell them to pretend she is a dog with a broken leg!...you may also want to call your local collages that have vet classes and ask if they need live animals for the students to treat...also the Ag/FFA teacher of any highschool may be able to help....dale anne

[debitaber]

we always give pen g, in these cases, and just try to keep them comfortable , and let them heal, it can take a while. good luck, and don't give up.

[cricket]

{{{{hugs}}}} I'm sorry....for both of you. Keep working at it. The up side is that they don't feel pain like you and I do.

[JoyKelley]

Goat dady,

You can only do what you can do, You asked professional advice, you sought the advice of those on the board , you tried everything possible and then you did what you thougth was best and you did it with a good heart. Even the goat couldn't ask for more than that and you've done more for her than alot of folks would have. Forgive yourself

[outofmire]

I know it's hard, but try not to beat yourself up too much. I've recently learned why the old timers used to just put an animal down if they got a leg wound. We had a dog who got attacked by some other dogs and it quickly got gangrenous (sp?) We took him to the vet, spent $800 trying to save his leg. I had to flush it and do hot and cold presses twice a day for about 3-4 weeks. Then the vet said the scar tissue was just too extensive and that it would probably get infected again. He said we should have it amputated. We didn't believe him and kept keeping it clean and did compresses daily for another month, until it did get infected again....almost overnight. So after about 2 months of continuous treatment, we had to have it amputed afterall, another $700.

To wrap or not to wrap: My vet did wrap for the first 1-2 days, but that was after the animal was sedated in order to thoroughly flush with an antibiotic fluid which they spray out of a pressure hose. And he was getting antibiotics intraveneously, plus his wound was kept open with rubber tubing in order to flush it twice a day with antibiotic fluid. The wrap was a medicated wrap designed to draw out the fluid. I don't know how much of that would relate to a broken leg which has further complications of it's own.

If I knew then what I knew now, this is what I would have done for my dog.....clip the area and clean it out extremely well by flushing twice a day from the beginning and give Pen-G. But I can tell you, it probably would have turned anyway. And if it did, I'd have put him down. It's hard but it's just not possible to take animals to the vet all the time. I don't mind doing it if I'm going to learn something from going to the vet...like the time our goat had anaplasmosis and I couldn't figure out what it was. Now I can recognize and treat anaplasmosis.

I guess what I'm saying is that leg wounds are just hard. Sometimes it doesn't matter what you do. I really beat myself up when I had to take my dog back to get amputated because I thought I didn't do something right. My vet instead commended my care for the animal! He said they just turn like that no matter what you do sometimes.

[westbrook]

Treat it like you would yourself. A goats vital signs are similar to a humans. Nothing wrong with squirting a little antibiotic in the wound area either, tastes pretty bad and the animal usually won't lick it.

I am very surprised the leg wasn't set, the leg then stitched up with a drain put in for a week. You could always pack the wound with furison (the salve not the spray) at least once a day.

If flys are a problem.. gotta place in the house? I have an X-pen ( exercise pen for my dogs ,, measures 16' by 4' high, can be configured an any shap you need as each pannel is in a 2 foot section) that I put in my dining room with a huge tarp I place inside and clipped to the sides. It is a small area so the goat can get quiet time.

I have playpens for goat kids too! I am so greatful my husband loves me!