How to afford orthopedic surgery for my Chihuahua's broken femur?

Depending on the severity of any fracture, Cheap may require anything from a soft padded bandage to a splint or surgery for serious injury. It is difficult to determine the appropriate treatment by just an image. Ideally, Cheap should be physically examined by a veterinarian and the paw should be x-rayed. Pain medication may also be indicated and OTC human pain meds are not recommended as they can be toxic. Discuss payment plans or alternative financing options, such as CareCredit ( www.carecredit.com ), with the vet. Friends and family as well as local charities may also provide assistance. Left untreated, a fracture may heal improperly causing chronic pain and lameness.

If his leg is broken, he will need veterinary care. At the very least, he will need antibiotics and pain medication to treat or prevent infection and to manage discomfort. Do not medicate him without the advice of your veterinarian. Many OTC medications can be very toxic to dogs. Discuss payment plans or alternative financing options, such as CareCredit ( www.carecredit.com ), with your veterinarian. Friends and family can also be asked to help out.

I am so sorry to hear about your puppy! Unfortunately it appears she has a tibial crest avulsion, and the treatment of choice is surgery if you want to have Bailey have the ability to use her leg normally. Unfortunately orthopedic surgeries do cost a great deal of money to perform and so vets have to charge accordingly. You can always see if there is a veterinary school in your area that may offer the surgery at a lower cost, but that isn't always a gaurantee.

I am sorry to hear that your pet has an injury to his leg and paw. Unfortunately, how to treat injuries like this depends entirely on the extent of the injury itself. This would require a more in depth conversation so that an appropriate wound management plan can be devised for your pet and this is not easy to do at home without any medical treatment (pain mediation, antibiotics if needed, or anti-inflammatories). Not to mention it could be a very painful and prolonged situation for your pet. Generally if there are broken bones then a fixture device such as a splint or cast are best used to help keep the bones stable for long enough (typically 4-6 weeks) until they are healed. However this would require splint/cast changes every 1-2 weeks depending on how fast the pet grows. Also the fracture must not be an open fracture (through the skin). If there are no fractures (sometimes can only be ruled out with an x-ray of the leg), then proper shaving of the hair and cleansing of the external wounds using chlorhexidine solution 3% or iodine (diluted 50:50 with warm water) is needed. The hair itself carries a lot of bacteria so clipping it is essential. Then depending on the extent of the skin damage bandaging this area may be needed and changed every 2-7 days. Then once the wounds are seen to be healing well and the top layer of skin is intact the bandages can finally be removed. As I mentioned before typically if there is extensive damage then your pet should get proper medications to a) prevent infection and b)ease discomfort and pain. I just don't see how any of this can be achieved without getting a professional involved unless you are knowledgeable about managing wounds in pets. I do have a couple of financial resources that you can try if the wounds seem too severe and your pet is in need of professional help and guidance so that this is treated appropriately for your pets overall care and well being. Here they are: www.carecredit.com redrover.org www.youcaring.com GiveForward  God's Creatures Ministry Harley’s Hope Foundation Hopefully some of this will be helpful for you to make the best decision for your pets care.

I am so sorry to hear about Brandy but happy that she seems to be doing well. Your options will really depend on the type/severity of the break. Some breaks can heal if bandaged/splinted without surgery if the bones are aligned well enough. If that is the case, you may be able to manage her under supervision of your vet with strict confinement and pain management and regular rechecking. If the leg is shattered into too many fragments for the leg to heal this way, you may have to make the tough decision of going ahead with surgery knowing that there is a risk. Even though she is an older dog, if she is otherwise healthy and has no known kidney/liver/heart disease she may do fine with surgery as long as she has good monitoring during anesthesia and supportive care after. If your vet isn't comfortable with this you may ask for a referral to a hospital that does more surgeries or a veterinary college that handles this type of case.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, Dolla has a broken femur. The best treatment is a surgical repair. I recommend discussing the surgery with your vet. After surgery she will need 6-8 weeks to heal. Luckily she is young so she should do well with the procedure and recovery. Good luck and kisses to Dolla!

Much more information including the nature of the original injury/complaint, current physical exam findings (including mobility and pain assessment), response to treatment and recent x-rays would be required in order to assess such a case properly. I recommend you seek referral to an orthopedic specialist to assess all possible options if she is painful or her natural mobility has been affected by the injury