Advice please! Broken foot + degloving injury

[casportpony]

Has he been inside or outside during all of this? I ask because both feet look frostbitten.

 

[CatWhisperer]

It looks like he may lose both feet.

 

[KsKingBee]

Has he been inside or outside during all of this? I ask because both feet look frostbitten.

Yes they are, but one is not as bad as the other. I would give the better foot an Epsom salt bath so that you can see how bad it is, some of that is dried poo. Then treat both feet the same with salve and bandages. Have you found Fura-Zone yet?

 

[StPaulieGirls]

@casportpony He's been inside in the comfort of my bathroom (the nice bathroom, with the skylight and the heated floor) since last Sunday night, January 26. The blackened foot was degloved when I found him. The skin/scales from the other foot mostly came off in the epsom salt soak. It would make sense that both of his feet got frostbitten, because we had terrible temps and he probably couldn't perch to cover his feet.

@KsKingBee The Fura-Zone will arrive tomorrow. No one local had it, but I got it shipped. I did clean up that second foot and did both with Hibiclens and did more Neosporin for now.

I put new dishes right at the bottom of the cage, since its clear that standing is very painful for him. He drank a lot of water right when I put it in there. He's still surprisingly strong and has some fight in him. I'm going to let him go a day longer in between bandage changes to reduce the stress and let things dry up a little more.

I hope it's not cruel to work to keep him alive when it's clear he'll probably lose both feet. I'm not sure what his life will be like, but we'll provide him with room and board if he has the will to survive.

Thanks, all for weighing in. I'm really out of my depth with this one.

 

[KsKingBee]

You are on the right track, stay the course and he will have a good life living in your yard. He will learn to hop about and fly when he wants to go longer distances. He will also learn to be friendly taking treats from you and come to you when you come out of the house. It just takes time.

 

[StPaulieGirls]

Update, Day 12

Got the Fura-Zone on him after soaking with epsom salts and washing with Hibiclens. In spite of the splinting, his feet are seizing into useless positions. I did notice a little blood in one degloved claw, which surprised me a lot. He's experiencing more pain with these treatment sessions than he did before, based on his trembling, flapping and tucking his head.

Looking at this photo, folks, do you think he's going to lose the legs all the way up to the hock joint? The scales came off the shanks of both legs and they look pretty black and dead to me. Losing the legs up to his hocks would be a lot worse a scenario than just losing the feet.

Another question: At what point is it likely that dead parts will start to just fall off?

He's growing new feathers on his head, poor thing.

Thanks for any advice.

- Kerri (and Pascal) in Minnesota

 

[KsKingBee]

Looks pretty bad, poor guy. He is going to lose everything all the way up to the scales. What happens next is the bone dies and gets brittle then breaks off. I would be very tempted to assist the process by cutting off just above the ankle but you need to be sure that the blood supply has been shut off so there is no bleeding. Keep the salve on the legs and anywhere the skin has not atrophied until it falls off. If you are bandaging only change them when they get really soiled. At this point I would not do any more Epson baths, just keep the legs moist with the Fura-Zone. I have seen some regeneration below that scale line so don't cut too high on the leg when/if you remove the feet.

 

[Folly's place]

This all looks pretty grim to me. Skin can grow back, but frozen body parts don't. If he's loosing both feet, what are your plans for him? Is this all doing him any favors?
Who's in line to make him two artificial limbs, if that's what he needs?
Where's the veterinarian in all this? How about a zoo veterinarian?
Mary

 

[StPaulieGirls]

Looks pretty bad, poor guy. He is going to lose everything all the way up to the scales. What happens next is the bone dies and gets brittle then breaks off. I would be very tempted to assist the process by cutting off just above the ankle but you need to be sure that the blood supply has been shut off so there is no bleeding. Keep the salve on the legs and anywhere the skin has not atrophied until it falls off. If you are bandaging only change them when they get really soiled. At this point I would not do any more Epson baths, just keep the legs moist with the Fura-Zone. I have seen some regeneration below that scale line so don't cut too high on the leg when/if you remove the feet.

Yeah, that's the bad news I was expecting. I won't fuss with the bandages on a schedule any more, then. I probably won't do any cutting myself at this point - going right through bone is probably more than I can handle. Thanks, as always, for the guidance.

Comments on his quality of life?

 

[StPaulieGirls]

@Folly's place
I'm open to a good death being the best path forward. It's hard, though, because he's doing relatively well with a lot of care. He's alert and fiesty, but that's only because I'm tending to his needs. My neighbors will come and help to kill him quickly.
I'm also willing to care for him by providing food, water and a safe outdoor place with big flat platforms as roosts, but he'd be separated from his feral family and unable to live out the essential peacock-ness of his nature.
I really struggle with the ethics of this.