DISLOCATION OF THE RIGHT HIP
A female poodle keeps licking her malodorous Ehmer sling area. What to do?
Veterinary stories by Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow) 26 Dec 2022.
On 5 Nov 2022, the poodle dislocated her right hip. Vet 1 from another practice put an Ehmer Sling and asked the owner to return in around 10 days for review and X-rays. But on 12 Nov, the dog kept licking furiously and frequently his right belly area under the sling. What to do?
The owner consulted me since the poodle was spayed by me some 13 years ago. The Ehmer sling was done by another vet nearer to her home around 7 days ago. Now that the owner was worried about the dog's odour and licking, the vet would not see her on the same day. She gave her an appointment 3 days later. She could not wait and hence contacted me.
"There is a bad smell," I told the couple in their 40s. "It is better to remove the sling and check as old dogs have poor immune systems. With the stress of licking non-stop despite your E-collar, bacteria could spread to the blood and whole body."
"The dog has another 4 more days for a review by the Vet 1," the wife said. "Can you take it out, wash the area and replace the Ehmer sling? In this way, the sling would "cure" the lameness of the dislocated right hind leg?
A rancid smell wafted up from the right hip area. A large
triangular wound exposing the abdominal muscles of 1.5 inches showed
up after removal of the bandages of the sling.
"Not
advisable to put back the Ehmer sling as the wound needs daily
cleaning to heal up. It needs to be exposed to air to heal by
granulation.
“Bandaging will cause more infections of the
skin. Septic shock and death as the dog is really old.
He has full
mature cataracts. He was losing appetite and was stressed out. I will
not do the re-slinging as the dog may pass away from infections and
malnutrition.”
The wife reluctantly agreed. We had
several free tele-video consultations about her dog care for the next
few days to save medical costs for the owner.
On 27 Dec 2022, the dog is no longer limping and can bear weight
on the right hind limb as well as any normal dog. The gait was not
perfect but the dog was not hopping or limping.
The owner is
very happy. This video is the evidence.
Another video of the
history is at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ4Rx1Zrzug
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Toa Payoh Vets or me at
+65 9668-6468
UPDATES AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2022/12/4530-success-of-ehmer-sling-in-one.html
MORE PHOTOS AND X-RAY AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2022/11/4405-old-female-poodle-keeps-licking.html
CONCLUSION ON 26 DEC 2022:
On 26 Dec 2022, the owner sent me a video of the poodle walking as normally as
possible. Unlike 5 Noc 2022, the dog did not limp or drag her right hind leg. The poodle had almost recovered from her hip dislocation. No X-rays of the hip are done to save on medical bills.
This is a case where I did not do what the owner wanted. She wanted me to clean up the inflammed inner thigh area and wound. To put back the Ehmer sling so that her dog would not be walking with a limp due to hip dislocation.
The Ehmer sling must be removed as there was a big wound infection on the inner thigh. The wound had to be cleaned with disinfection and permitted to dry normally. The wound healed by granulation. The dog recovered from itchy groin area, after more than 6 stressful weeks for the owner.
MORE DETAILS OF NURSING CARE AFTER EHMER SLING REMOVAL ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Video shows Ehmer sling applied and causing itchiness and licking
Videos show
1. Day 3 and 4 after Ehmer Sling removal
16 Nov 2022
2. Day 9 after Ehmer Sling removal on 19 Nov 2022.
19 Nov 2022
[0:27 pm, 19/11/2022] David Sing: Video today 19 Nov shows poodle is ok. Eats, drinks, able to squat to pee (female, 14 years) and poo. Under treatment by Toa Payoh Vets and follow up
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12 Nov 2022. Owner complained dog was
Ehmer sling was put in by Vet 1 for around the past 7 days
and there would be a review some 4 days later.
However Vet 1 was off duty on 12 Nov 2022, hence
contacted Dr Sing Kong Yuen who had spayed this
CONCLUSION ON 26 DEC 2022:
The lady owner sent me a video of the poodle walking as normally as possible. The dog did not limp or drag her right hind leg. There cannot be perfect movement but this video shows that the hip dislocation is minimal. No X-rays are done to save on medical bills.
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