# Infection/cancer of 1st digit (dewclaw)



## JackieM1982 (Jul 21, 2005)

Hi all,

Three weeks ago Treck injured his dewclaw, split it in half. I was keeping it clean and hoping it would grow out and heal on its own. However, about 6 days after the initial injury it became infected and swollen. The next day he was at the vet's and she prescribed him 2 weeks worth of antibiotics and removed part of the claw after applying some topical lidocaine. 

After 2 weeks on antibiotics some of the swelling had reduced and it was less inflammed however it's still twice the size of his other dewclaw. So, we returned to the vet's (this was yesterday) and took some radiographs. The images showed that the three bones of the dewclaw digit are, in the vet's words, "moth eaten", either from a bone infection or cancer. She also prescribed an antibiotic that fights anaerobic bacteria (i.e., bone infections).

After his bloodwork comes back (which should be Mon., 6/14) he'll be set in for surgery to amputate the entire digit and have it biopsied, probably on Tuesday morning. 

I wanted to know if anyone has had experience with something similiar? With either cancer of the toe (either bone cancer or squamous cell carcinoma), bone infections, or benign tumors of the toes.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

From the sounds of it, Treck probably had the issue going on, so the claw was already compromised?

I have a friend with a greyhound and her dogs nails are just deteriorating. Happened about 6 weeks ago, an auto-immune disorder. Here is a link on it. Supposedly GSD's are one of the breeds prone to it.
If you notice more than that claw acting odd, then this may be the reason. The vet my friend used had no idea what it was until they went to MSU vet teaching hospital for diagnosis. At this time the claws are healing, but the pain and discomfort has been bad for the dog. She has been on Rimadyl for a long time.
I hope all goes well for Treck. At least it isn't a nail that he puts pressure on to get around.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Bone cancer or a bone infection are not good things. It's not terribly common to have osteosarc in the toes, but it can happen. Bone infections are tough to treat, but amputation of the digit can help so long as the infection hasn't spread further. I'm not sure about the other cancer in the toes.

It's not good that there are radiologic changes of the bone. I'm glad you are getting on this quickly so you can find out what's going on so you can make appropriate treatment decisions before it gets worse.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

So sorry to hear about Treck's problem. 

Currently Mac is being treated for an e.coli infection in his ankle (I'm honestly not sure if the bone itself is infected this time or the area around the bone). He's now on his second three week course of Cipro. He had a nasty ankle bone infection a few years ago where he was on clindamycin for six months before it came back clear.

Sounds like you and the vet are on top of Treck's infection ... GOOD LUCK!!!


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## JackieM1982 (Jul 21, 2005)

Thanks for the info. 

None of his other claws are involved.

I'm assuming that his dewclaw was already compromised in some way (either infection or cancer) and that's why the claw broke. (I think he broke it jumping up at a squirrel in a tree.) 

I just hope it's nothing more than an infection, or if it winds up being cancer that it's a less-metastatic type. 

Arycrest: How did Mac get an e. coli infection of his ankle?? Treck is currently on Clindamycin too.

Onyx'girl: Yes, I'm very thankful it's a non-weight bearing toe! It seems very painful to the touch.

Warning ... graphic pic:
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b310/JackieM1982/011.jpg


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

JackieM1982 said:


> ...
> Arycrest: How did Mac get an e. coli infection of his ankle?? Treck is currently on Clindamycin too.


According to my vet, the only way he could have gotten this type of e.coli infection is that he had some type of perferation in his intestines that contaminated his bloodstream (it's not the same type of e.coli found by eating bad meat). The only thing I can think of that might be sharp enough to do this is the quill from a trespassing chicken's wing feathers (one of Mac's favorite treats he catches in the yard).


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Been there! Here's the thread, somewhere in there is the biopsy report.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...99787-what-do-about-dew-claw.html#post1354965



We thought he had just damaged his dew claw, until a growth started appearing. Then we figured it broke because it was compromised. We then had to amputate it...came back as reactive bone and some weird immune system cells. We had first thought cancer too. We were very concerned, because often cancer in a digit is pretty aggressive 

Here are the pics that were moved when I reorganized my photobucket album:

normal dewclaw:









after nail split:









It just got worse:



























After amputation:


















It still swells sometimes, there is some weird immune system something going on.


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## JackieM1982 (Jul 21, 2005)

Thanks so much Lisa for the link to your thread. Treck's situation seems very similiar, except there is substantial boney involvement. I'm really hoping it's just an odd auto-immune response and not cancer. 

If you click the link in my last thread you can see the similiarities between their dewclaws. I can't wait to get this thing removed and biopsied! His bloodwork came back completely normal yesterday ... I don't know if that's good news or not, perhaps an elevated WBC count would have indicated an infection? 

I had to apply for a credit card in order to cover the cost of surgery. So, as soon as it arrives in the mail he'll be set-in.

Thanks again. Here's hoping. :fingerscrossed:


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## JackieM1982 (Jul 21, 2005)

Oops, forgot to ask Lisa ... were all three bones of his dewclaw digit removed or just the first two? Thanks.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Oh wow, it looks very similar. I will tell you that I put Max on doxycycline, both since it's good for bone cancer and immune modulation, and he does very well on doxy anyway.

His bloodwork was also completely normal for Max too!

I have no idea which bones they took, I didn't know enough to ask it seems. The hardest part is waiting for that biopsy report - do keep us posted!


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## raysmom (May 22, 2004)

Kaiser had to have both of his dew claws and digits removed last year. He had split both nails playing with his hard plastic Egge toy. The one nail was at a 90 degree angle and he was in a lot of pain so we took him to the ER vet. They cut both nails way back and put him on pain meds and antibiotics, and told us there was a chance the nails might not grow back properly.

A few months later I was looking at his dew claws and noticed that it looked like the quick of one of the nails had fallen out! I could see pink deep down in the nail/digit, so we went back to our vet. He said both nails were damaged at the nail bed and would never be normal, and recommended removing both "thumbs". I had heard that the surgery and recovery can be problematic, but Kaiser did fine - he even left the surgical wraps alone!

We didn't have any x-rays done, so I don't know how the bone looked.

Good luck to Treck!


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## JackieM1982 (Jul 21, 2005)

Well, Treck has his surgery scheduled for tomorrow morning. I can't wait to just get this infected thing removed. It is not healing at all, no new nail growth despite the antibiotics. I hope to have the biopsy results soon after. I still have a lot of hope that it's a bone infection.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Best of luck for an easy surgery and a positive biopsy :fingerscrossed:


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## AvaLaRue (Apr 4, 2010)

Wow...sorry to hear this. Good luck and keep us posted about his surgery!


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## JackieM1982 (Jul 21, 2005)

Still waiting to hear that Treck is out of surgery. Very surprisingly, at least to me, his pre-surgical chest x-rays showed that he has an enlarged left atrium of his heart. However, the vet said that his heart _sounds_ fine, with no detectable murmur. She either said I should postpone the surgery and get an echocardiogram or go ahead with the surgery. I elected to go ahead, since #1 I really can't afford the $500 echo then the $1,000+ it's costing me for this surgery, and #2 even if his heart is questionable, he _has_ to get this toe off, especially if it is malignant. I will have an echo done a bit later on. Anyway, I'm just sitting by the phone now.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

So how did the surgery go??????

I would have done the same thing, going ahead with the surgery, though you'll have to deal with the heart issue for the long term. There are supplement programs as a start.

Hope your boy is doing well????


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

Any update????


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## JackieM1982 (Jul 21, 2005)

Hello all, thank you for the concern. Well, things did not go as planned on Monday. There were more questions raised then answered.

After general anesthesia was administered and the surgical site prepped Treck's heart rate started to drop dramatically. The surgeon gave him Atropine to try and raise it enough for him to get through the 30-45 minute surgery. But, it wouldn't come back up and then started to beat irregularly. She felt that if she continued then he was going to go into cardiac arrest, and it wasn't worth him dying on the table for a toe that may or may not be cancerous. She quickly took a good a sample as possible for submission to the lab and then woke him up. The lab should be receiving it tomorrow, Thursday, and then hopefully some results soon after. 

What a harrowing day! I really was hoping to just get this toe off and biopsied so we could get some answers and move forward from there. But now, I'm scheduling Treck for an echocardiogram to see what is going on and to see if he can tolerate surgery in the future. I'm so upset.

He's the picture of health besides the toe. No coughing, exercise intolerance, etc. I just hope this left atrium enlargement (probably involving the mitral valve as well) is something that can be treated!! 

The cost of all this is overwhelming me, but I have no other choice. I'd do anything for this dog. He has a couple of re-checks of his bandage in the next couple of days. I'm scheduling his echo two weeks out, hafta wait til I get paid again. 

Thanks again for your guys support. I appreciate it, and any positive thoughts you can send our way.


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

Jackie I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope everything turns out well for Treck.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

Gosh, I'm so sorry to hear this, how frightening. Glad the surgeon didn't attempt to perform the full amputation. Please let us know what you find out from the echo and also the biopsy. 

Sending lots of cyberhugs to Treck.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Well crap. I'm so sorry. How very scary. Good thing you didn't know about the heart until after it was over!

Keep us posted on the biopsy report and the heart. I hope that the toe turns out to be nothing but trauma, and in the process you get the heart diagnosed as something very manageable.!


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## JackieM1982 (Jul 21, 2005)

No cancer!! The biopsy results came in early last week. Just a gnarly infection. He's still on antibiotics.

And, Treck's cardiology appointment was yesterday. While he has four leaky valves and an irregular ekg, nothing too severe enough for medication or a change in his activity.

So, *great news* overall! :gsdbeggin:

Dewclaw on May 25th:











Home from surgery on June 28th:











Bandage change on June 30th:










July 17th:


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## Zoeys mom (Jan 23, 2010)

Wow it looks great all things considered good luck on no more issues for awhile


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Great news all around :happyboogie:

Must be one heck of an infection!

How old is Treck? Did they say exactly what type of heart disease is causing the leaky valves?


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## JackieM1982 (Jul 21, 2005)

Whoops, a bit late with my reply. His leaky valves and enlarged left atrium are a result of age, he's 9. His irregular ekg is a symptom of Athletic Heart Syndrome, something human & canine athletes develop through physical conditioning. Treck has always run long distance with me, many sled dogs develop this too.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Interesting, thanks for the reply, I hadn't heard of that before.


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