Persistent bumblefoot, going crazy

[pothospathos]

Hello, a couple weeks ago I discovered a pretty big bumblefoot on Gwen, my two year old Welsh Harlequin. I did a surgery exactly a week ago and dug out lots of hard white bits of infection. I couldn't see very far inside her foot but I was confident that I had gotten everything. Where before the surgery the bumble was very firm and hard, afterward it felt softer and deflated. I changed her bandages and took all the sanitary precautions. A couple days later I changed her bandage and found another black scab. It was hard for me to tell if this was bumblefoot returning, or a healthy scab as her foot is also pretty much black. It did look different from the initial bumble scab, though. I just kept monitoring her. (the purple is from blu-kote)


But yesterday and today she has not been walking any better and the bump seems to have gotten harder. I opened the scab back up and pulled out a sort of plug which I suspect was the return of infection? But beyond that "plug" it was all blood and I couldn't see a thing. I soaked up some of the blood and dug around as much as I could without messing up her foot, but didn't dig out any white infection bits like I had before. I just cleaned and wrapped her back up and have her in the shed laying down.
here's the plug, and then what was underneath:

I'm completely at a loss and I'm hoping I didn't just completely mess things up. I've had to do bumblefoot surgery before but this was my first time doing it on my own.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sometimes we have to go back in and you did good doing that looks like this time you got it all. I'd just pack the wound with antibiotic ointment and wrap to keep the foot clean and dry and hopefully this time it will not come back. Don't dig any more.

 

[pothospathos]

I have some updates: she's not getting any better. She can still walk but barely and she's still eating and drinking vigourously so as long as she's doing that I'm happy. But here's her foot a couple days ago,

and today:



Clearly somethings still wrong. Before, I had her outside isolated in a clean bedding but now I'm keeping her inside where I can keep it clean all time. I just want to cut the whole thing open but I've only read about cutting just around the scab. Any help would be great thank you. Two of my previous bumblefoot cases ended fine but this one just escapes me.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Have you taken the scab off already?

 

[Red Horse]

It likely is much deeper than the scab, I had to cut pretty deep into my poor girl to find the kernel. I'm definitely not an expert but I managed to get it out successfully... I cut an X over the scab into the fleshy part of the foot where the swelling is, then cut a little at a time over each line to open it up slowly. This should eventually expose the kernel, then if you work it a little it may pop out in one piece. You'll need to clean it and change the bandage once daily after that (and you'll definitely want to scrub her up with something like betadine solution before you start). If it's swollen that bad again there's definitely a good sized piece still in there, mine was almost thumbnail sized and I also had to do surgery twice.

 

[pothospathos]

Have you taken the scab off already?

After I took that picture I took off that scab to see what was going on inside again and there was a plug like the one I pulled out before but a little smaller.

 

[pothospathos]

It likely is much deeper than the scab, I had to cut pretty deep into my poor girl to find the kernel. I'm definitely not an expert but I managed to get it out successfully... I cut an X over the scab into the fleshy part of the foot where the swelling is, then cut a little at a time over each line to open it up slowly. This should eventually expose the kernel, then if you work it a little it may pop out in one piece. You'll need to clean it and change the bandage once daily after that (and you'll definitely want to scrub her up with something like betadine solution before you start). If it's swollen that bad again there's definitely a good sized piece still in there, mine was almost thumbnail sized and I also had to do surgery twice.

So it will be okay if I cut into the skin, and not just the scab? That makes me feel a little better. I'd only been advised before to cut just the scab off but there is no way for me to solve this if I stick to just that. I'll probably have to do it tomorrow since I did just remove the scab again. and I'll do it very carefully. I'm glad your girl ended up okay!

 

[Red Horse]

So it will be okay if I cut into the skin, and not just the scab? That makes me feel a little better. I'd only been advised before to cut just the scab off but there is no way for me to solve this if I stick to just that. I'll probably have to do it tomorrow since I did just remove the scab again. and I'll do it very carefully. I'm glad your girl ended up okay!

Yes, you can cut into the skin and flesh. It's not easy because we aren't vets and we don't have blueprints but it's doable. You have to make sure to clean the foot super well and sterilize your tools first (I used a brand new sharp exacto knife to cut plus tweezers to take out the kernel pieces). There will be a fair amount of blood, so you'll want to keep a roll of paper towels with you for blotting. This thread might help and it's got other helpful links in it too... the chicken chick one was really helpful but I don't like the way she cut out a huge chunk of the foot, I like the X method better.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ment-for-bumblefoot-footpad-dermatitis.76278/

 

[pothospathos]

I just finished the surgery! I had to go deeper than I would have liked but I pulled out three rather large infected pieces, it was quite satisfying. The outside doesn't feel so hard or firm now. I'm much more confident that I got everything this time. She was a very brave girl through the entire thing and happily ate some worms right after her foot was wrapped up. Will check her foot tomorrow evening. Thank you for the guide!

 

[Red Horse]

So glad to hear it went well! I remember my chicken's foot feeling completely deflated, like it had no flesh left in it even though I didn't cut any flesh out/off, and the fleshy part of her foot was so much smaller than that of the other just because that's how much room the infection took up. The pressure must have been so painful, what a relief when it was gone. Well done!!!

You'll want to clean the site and change the bandage every day, and keep her from swimming till it's healed. If she has even a bit of a scab left it will absolutely take up bacteria when she walks/swims and get infected all over again, so keep her clean and bandaged till the skin is smooth and looks like nothing happened (that's the best advice anyone gave me about this, because mine did get reinfected and I had to do the surgery a second time). It's tedious but I know I never want to have to do that again.