John Wick
Well-Known Member
This post is informational and is not asking for any advice/guidance, though if anyone wants to share thoughts or experiences, please feel free!
Below are radiographs of the same front left paw, spanning 03/18/21 to 02/21/22.
All assessment and treatment recommendations were conducted by an exotic veterinary practice's rabbit-experienced veterinarians.
No treatment (i.e., surgery, splinting, wrapping, etc.) outside pain medication as needed was done.
After initial identification of the fracture (complete fracture of the 3rd digit), pain management (meloxicam and tramadol) and cage rest looked promising to a smooth, albeit crooked healing. Wick was not lifting his paw and appeared to be using it as normal after staying on pain medication for one week. Pain medication was not administered after the prescribed course due to no signs of pain from Wick. Plans were to follow up in a couple months to confirm good callous formation while Wick was on cage rest throughout. A splint placement was not done due to the location of the fracture and the likelihood it would cause fixation on the injury, as opposed to Wick's ignoring of it.
A follow-up visit was conducted after observing paw lifting. It was discovered Wick injured his second digit, potentially due to weight redistribution since his 3rd digit set lifted and rotated (i.e., not as weight bearing). Pain medication was given for a week and cage rest extended-- one month saw a healed original fracture (3rd digit) and a healed, not swelling 2nd digit as well. Plans were to stay in cage rest for the long-term to ensure a strong healing and try limited free-roam if no complications arose. Additionally, daily checks of the paw were started to monitor for swelling again.
For a separate reason, Wick was taken to the vet for a stomach x-ray, and in a "two birds with one stone" manner, a follow-up x-ray on his paw was done. Unexpectedly, it was discovered Wick's toe fractured again and there is now significant bone loss compared to initial x-rays. This was very much a surprise because there was no swelling and behaviorally, Wick was normal. The expectation was the paw would be healed and Wick could free-roam more often (at this point, he was cage-rested for for 4+mo and was just starting to get free-roam privileges back; no indications of pain or recurring fracture present). After confining him back to cage rest (now completely floored with Sheepette) and a one-week course of pain medication, the most recent x-ray looks identical to Dec. 2021.
As of today, veterinary consult determined Wick may require some more time to heal this particular fracture due to age and circumstances. Based on a now long history free of inappetite, movement challenges, lethargy, and other signs of discomfort/pain, it has been decided that, unless a skin break, swelling, or other signs of complication arise, Wick will likely just navigate life with a toe which may or may not recurrently fracture and pain medication will be administered as needed when such signs are observed.
With the exception of paw-lifting when the break first happened and during the 2nd digit complication, Wick has very much been normal throughout this entire process. He will be housed permanently on Sheepette with heavily monitored free-roam time. Here is his current state, showing a characteristically patchy-molt:
Below are radiographs of the same front left paw, spanning 03/18/21 to 02/21/22.
All assessment and treatment recommendations were conducted by an exotic veterinary practice's rabbit-experienced veterinarians.
No treatment (i.e., surgery, splinting, wrapping, etc.) outside pain medication as needed was done.
After initial identification of the fracture (complete fracture of the 3rd digit), pain management (meloxicam and tramadol) and cage rest looked promising to a smooth, albeit crooked healing. Wick was not lifting his paw and appeared to be using it as normal after staying on pain medication for one week. Pain medication was not administered after the prescribed course due to no signs of pain from Wick. Plans were to follow up in a couple months to confirm good callous formation while Wick was on cage rest throughout. A splint placement was not done due to the location of the fracture and the likelihood it would cause fixation on the injury, as opposed to Wick's ignoring of it.
A follow-up visit was conducted after observing paw lifting. It was discovered Wick injured his second digit, potentially due to weight redistribution since his 3rd digit set lifted and rotated (i.e., not as weight bearing). Pain medication was given for a week and cage rest extended-- one month saw a healed original fracture (3rd digit) and a healed, not swelling 2nd digit as well. Plans were to stay in cage rest for the long-term to ensure a strong healing and try limited free-roam if no complications arose. Additionally, daily checks of the paw were started to monitor for swelling again.
For a separate reason, Wick was taken to the vet for a stomach x-ray, and in a "two birds with one stone" manner, a follow-up x-ray on his paw was done. Unexpectedly, it was discovered Wick's toe fractured again and there is now significant bone loss compared to initial x-rays. This was very much a surprise because there was no swelling and behaviorally, Wick was normal. The expectation was the paw would be healed and Wick could free-roam more often (at this point, he was cage-rested for for 4+mo and was just starting to get free-roam privileges back; no indications of pain or recurring fracture present). After confining him back to cage rest (now completely floored with Sheepette) and a one-week course of pain medication, the most recent x-ray looks identical to Dec. 2021.
As of today, veterinary consult determined Wick may require some more time to heal this particular fracture due to age and circumstances. Based on a now long history free of inappetite, movement challenges, lethargy, and other signs of discomfort/pain, it has been decided that, unless a skin break, swelling, or other signs of complication arise, Wick will likely just navigate life with a toe which may or may not recurrently fracture and pain medication will be administered as needed when such signs are observed.
With the exception of paw-lifting when the break first happened and during the 2nd digit complication, Wick has very much been normal throughout this entire process. He will be housed permanently on Sheepette with heavily monitored free-roam time. Here is his current state, showing a characteristically patchy-molt:
