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need tips on removing part of fractured leg

Joined Apr 2009
1,562 Posts | 0+
cental Pennsylvania
one of my does came in heat late this year and the buck ran her around hard today, this evening i saw that her leg is fractured badly, halfway down the shin. the bone is shatterd, I got 2 feet away to evalutate her, it appers only the hid and a small piece of flesh is all that is holding the fractured leg on. There is no chance of healing, I would like to remove the dangling piece of leg. My plan is to sedate her , cut off blood supply right above the fracture, remove the portion with a sterile scalpel and give 5cc of pennicillian, 3cc or Banamine for swelleing and pain, and then i wanted to wrap in gauze to avoid dirt getting in the wound, i have to dart her in 2 weeks for tb testing, so i can remove the gauze then. Any other thoughts or imput? I have never had to do anything like this before, so i appreciate our advice.
 
Pennicllian is ok. but it only will last a short time, I would use a longer lasting antibiotic unless you can give her a shot every day.? If the opperation goes well she should be put somewhere alone or at least with no buck trying to chase her around. Just me...
 
There is a long acting Pennicillian (available at Tractor Supply)....but I would dose her with 3.5 cc banamine and 10cc of pennicilian. I have found that loading doses for antibiotics are most effective. After the second day, I would give more pennicilian (5cc) and continue that for a week. Additional banamine will also be appropriate.
 
Don't be shocked if she tests false negative on the Tb test......I have heard that a deer that has had truama can definitly throw off false negatives on the tb tests.......good luck with her.
 
Twin penn, it last 48 hours . If your gonna remove a piece of it , leave the skin long enough to over lap . So you can stitch it together. Your gonna run into like three arteries . Make sure you close them before doing final stitching. I did it once and worked !!! Goodluck !!!
 
You guys are all a blesssing, thanks for taking the time and sharing you responses, I will keep you all updated after tomorrows operation, Thanks.
 
Are you sure that you cannot get a Vet to insert pins and plates to attempt to save the leg? I have found some amazingly kind DVMs who are willing to do such operations at reasonable cost. Please try first to save the leg. Draxxin is a longer lasting antibiotic, and there are others like Excede that target skin infections/wounds. Good luck, I am hoping for a happy outcome for both your doe and you.
 
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Here she is waking up this morning, all went well, I tied off the arteries, removed the piece of shattered leg, which was easy considering it was barely on, i left a little extra hide for stitching her up, which worked out well, it was not a pretty stitch but it was done the best i could in the limited time frame. I constantly sprayed the area with wound wash, then i sprayed some iodine and finally i wrapped her all up. I then moved her to a small pen with only a couple bottle babies in it, so she will not be harassed by the other breeder deer, the bottle feds have been leaving her alone completely which is nice. She got 10cc peniccillin, 3 cc banamine, I will be continuing these , but in smaller doses for the next few days. Last i checked her this evening she was wide awake, but not ready to stand up, I dont blame her, she must be really sore. I took a small dog dish, put some deer feed in it and offfered her some. She accepted it well, ate alot. She is not normally petable, but she will allow me to stay beside her and scratch her ears and pet her, i think she realizes i am trying to help, lol. I thank you all for the advice, and the good Lord for the answered prayer, he allowed her to make it through ok so far. I will continue to update you on her progress, Good night
 
Be sure that the wrape is not to tight and you haven't cut off circulation or it will get infected also I would keep the penicillin dose the same for a week and watch her very close.If you see her not responding go to another antibiotic don't wait once infection sets in it;s almost to late. Hope she dose ok.
 
Antlershed,

She is beautiful. I hope she does well, I'm going to pray for her :) Bless her heart, and bless your heart too, your update was very touching. It's obvious you care for her greatly, and that is awesome!



God Bless You!

Keep us updated on her recovery please!

Gail
 
my2girls said:
antlershed,

she is beautiful. I hope she does well, i'm going to pray for her :) bless her heart, and bless your heart too, your update was very touching. It's obvious you care for her greatly, and that is awesome!



God bless you!

Keep us updated on her recovery please!

Gail



gail are whith apple creek ????
 
she is looking stronger and better these last few days, she is eating and drinking more of her normal rations already, she is really growing on me more now than ever. the last few days we have bonded, being that i have been spending so much time with her making sure she is comfortable and recovering well. The bandage is off now, it think she pulled it off, she had been licking her wound, it looks fantastic, looks to be healing really nicely, she is keeping it clean now with the licking so no need to wrap it again. The Lord has put a special touch of healing on her, the Lord cares, even though she is just a deer, she is part of his creation and he decided to heal her nicely so far. I know she is no where near offically recovered yet, but I am confident she will make a fully recovery. Gail (and others who may be) thank you so much for your prayers.
 
Matt, this is good to hear. Sorry I haven't been in touch. (very busy) I'll try and give you a call this week. Take care. Allen
 
Allen, please give me a call some evening, would love to hear from you , i got a spot for a white doe fawn if you have any left for sale. God Bless
 
Hi all its been a long time but just wanted to give an update here. i took this pic two weeks ago, just to show you all how she is doing. When i had her down in the last week of December for tb testing the vet looked at the wound and was pleased with the work. The leg is completely scabbed over.

Now i am just anxiously waiting to see if see gets a big belly here soon, im not sure if she bred and concieved with all that went on, but i'll find out sometime in the next 2 months!

Thanks again for all the advice

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Glad to hear all went well , I have a doe the same as yours and same side of the front arm removed. She did bred last year and had a set of twins.
 
Another update, she did have fawns! about 2 weeks ago she had twin bucks, one however was not real healthy at birth and did not survive his first night, but thanks to the Lord, he allowed her to have one fine huge bodied buck to raise this year. he re is a video, let me know if it works, if it dosent i will post pics