infection after toe nail clipping

[secretwomensbiz]

since having cauterisation to his 20 toenails 5 weeks ago my 7 year old very healthy viszla is still on anitbiotics from acute infection to 2 of his toes. on x ray today it shoes the bone has separated at the tip, there is gangrene and swab grows e coli. i am very upset as all 4 vets in the practice keep insisting its not their responsibilty. i have asked for secind professional opinion. has anyone heard of such a complicaiton? they said they do not autoclave the clippers in between clippings. i believe the infection ws form the clipping as he was limping 12 hrs afer the cauterisation and had develpoed cellulitis. both nails appear hollow now. what should i do now? he is still on anitbiotics.

[dogmom192]

Hello.  My dog had a split toenail, and the vet cut off the entire thing with pruning shears right up to the paw!  And she didn't cauterize, she put on septic powder and sent me home with amoxicillin.  Well, surprise, surprise the nail was infected within the week. After amoxicillin ran out we put her on Clavamox.  Anti-biotics for 3 weeks, and still infected. I finally took my dog to my previous Vet who gave me Cephalexin anti-biotic, and told me to soak her toenail in a hot/warm Epson Salt solution twice a day- 1 cup of Epson Salt : 1 cup hot/warm water.   That Epson Salt totally did the trick- dried it right out within 1 week. Also kept the foot covered, (wrapped in folded paper towel secured with masking tape with end open for air, but also positioned to keep dog from licking the toenail).  The whole infected toenail episode lasted just over 4 weeks- its a real pain, I understand.  Hope this helps.

[doggymom1]

My dog was having her teeth cleaned by the vet.  Because she would already be under anesthesia we decided to have her nails cut back behind the quick.  I have worked on getting the quick to recede with frequent nail trimmings to no avail.  Within 7-10 days of the procedure my dog was licking her nails all of the time.  In retrospect I wish I would have asked for a provalactic antibiotic dose.  On post op day 21 I took her in to find some discharge around the nails of 3 of her feet and testing positive to bacteria and fungus.  We are now on week 8 of cephalexin and have just switched to baytril.as we saw no results with the cephalexin.  What should I do?

[secretwomensbiz]

Hi again
specialist was very concerned as hugo has osteomylitis in all the toes of his front paws. he has to have antibiotics for 6 weeks and then re x ray to see how the bones have healed. best case is all healed , worst case may be to remove damaged bones. he went under ga to have a benign cyst removed and i asked the vet to trim his nails while he was under. he says he routinely cuts thru the quick and cauterizes. i told him that i never asked for that and that it was barbaric. my normal vet is back on monday so i will take it up with him. i'm thinking positively!

[secretwomensbiz]

thanks so much, will let you know how we go on friday, he seems happier today!

[Jaybay]

Of course you're upset!  This whole thing should never have happened.  You trusted your vet to take good care of your dog, and the opposite happened.  I'd be screaming for blood myself, but again, the first priority is getting your dog proper treatment.  I'm very glad to hear you found a specialist, and hope they can get her through this with minimal trauma.  Keep us posted on her progress!

[secretwomensbiz]

woops, jaybay!

[secretwomensbiz]

hi jaybar, as you can tell i'm new to this, so couldn't find your original post, henc the new one. i have an appointment on friday to see a specialist surgeon at a specialist clinic, as they're now talking amputation of the two affected toes. i'm so upset about the whole drama, so i  really do appreciate your input. i live in sydney australia, thanks again

[Jaybay]

For now, you need to forget about trying to figure out what went wrong and who to blame, and focus instead on getting your dog healthy again.  Since she has gangrene present and bone separation, I think that toe needs to come off.  However, I don't think I'd let this particular vet practice do it.  Will they refer you to a specialist hospital?  Do you have access to a large university with a veterinary program?  Aside from the possibility of losing a toe or even a foot, this infection is very dangerous if it crosses into her blood, which is entirely possible.  

What part of the country do you live in?  Maybe another member can recommend a different practice for you.  If you do nothing else, at least have another vet examine her for a second opinion.  The whole situation has been suspect to my mind since you posted about the initial surgery.  I can think of no reason for a dog to be knocked out to have long nails clipped.  It's true that the quick extends in overgrown nails, but the solution is to trim them a little at a time and the quick will recede over time.  There was absolutely no reason to knock out your dog and whack away at those nails deep into the quick.  As you now know, that's a great invitation to infection.