Introduction

• Amputation of the forelimb including the scapula.
  Print off the owner factsheet Caring for the amputee dog to give to your client.

Uses

• Neoplasia distal to the scapula Osteosarcoma: axial skeleton Bone: neoplasia.
• Incapacitating neurological disease, eg brachial plexus avulsion Brachial plexus: avulsion.
• Severe soft tissue damage, eg degloving injuries and ischemic necrosis.
• Fractures/luxations where financial constrainsts preclude repair/reduction.
• Osteomyelitis Osteomyelitis unresponsive to appropriate and prolonged medical treatment.
• Incapacitating and medically unresponsive degenerative joint disease Arthritis: osteoarthritis.
• Incapacitating congenital/acquired limb deformity.

Advantages

• The procedure provides an acceptable 'salvage' option when no possibility of retention of a functional limb exists, due to failure of other treatments or due to the expected course of a neoplastic condition, and for patients where financial constraints preclude other treatment options.
• Usually satisfactory long-term functional outcome.
• Gives more cosmetic result than forelimb amputation by proximal humeral osteotomy Amputation: forelimb.

Disadvantages

• Appearance and/or the functional locomotion of the amputated patient may be unacceptable to some owners.
• Certain patients, eg large breed dogs with orthopedic disease in other limb(s), may not be good candidates for amputation.
• Injury to another limb may subsequently be a more significant problem.
• The patient may subsequently be more susceptible to blunt trauma of the chest wall.

Requirements

Preparation

Procedure

Aftercare

Outcomes

Prognosis

• Depends on the reasons for amputation.
• If the primary disease is treated successfully, most small and medium-sized dogs cope very well with forelimb amputation.

Further Reading

Publications

Refereed papers

• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
• Harvey C E (1974) Forequarter amputation in the dog and cat. JAAHA 10 (1), 25-28 VetMedResource.

Other sources of information

• Weigel J P (2003) Amputations. In: Textbook of Small Animal Surgery. Ed. Slatter, pp 2180-2190.