So.... some bad news.
Smaug got another xray on his swollen arm. The vet had a radiologist confirm that there's progression of infection in his hand.
We're doing a tap next week to determine the best treatment since antibiotics aren't working. He's been on cipro since his amputation in November (which is doing great, he just got his stitches out!) and the xrays between October and now show progression in the front arm.
Obviously a second amputation isn't an option, so my vet is doing some research on a couple experimental options. One was injecting a more concentrated antibiotic into the joint, and the other was a little more complicated and I can't recall since it was discussed over the phone.
I'm hoping to find a grant that can help out since we're going into uncharted territories, but we're having no luck finding anything on a small scale. Most of them require multiple reptiles being studied.
Hopefully the experimental options work. If not I'll just have to make him as comfortable as possible because I refuse to go through with another amputation. The vet agrees that he probably wouldn't do well with a stump and a missing leg. Quality of life definitely comes into play if it gets to that point.
Smaug got another xray on his swollen arm. The vet had a radiologist confirm that there's progression of infection in his hand.
We're doing a tap next week to determine the best treatment since antibiotics aren't working. He's been on cipro since his amputation in November (which is doing great, he just got his stitches out!) and the xrays between October and now show progression in the front arm.
Obviously a second amputation isn't an option, so my vet is doing some research on a couple experimental options. One was injecting a more concentrated antibiotic into the joint, and the other was a little more complicated and I can't recall since it was discussed over the phone.
I'm hoping to find a grant that can help out since we're going into uncharted territories, but we're having no luck finding anything on a small scale. Most of them require multiple reptiles being studied.
Hopefully the experimental options work. If not I'll just have to make him as comfortable as possible because I refuse to go through with another amputation. The vet agrees that he probably wouldn't do well with a stump and a missing leg. Quality of life definitely comes into play if it gets to that point.