*klaxon* severe dogbite - lost nail - warning: pic inc

[nonail]

Dog bite to right thumb three weeks ago, two night stay in hospital, theatre under GA for washout and exploration and removal of nail remaining. IV antibiotics, then oral when discharged for ten days. Under the plastics team.

Initially bone was showing and the chunk out of the thumb meant the thumb looked triangular. Scar tissue appears to be filling out the shape of thumb. Consultant hopeful nail will grow back.

"Shortening" of the thumb was considered, but left to heal under "secondary intention" with weekly dressings. Dressing changes are exceedingly painful.

Question - anyone else had a dog bit to fingers/thumbs? How long did it take to heal and how long for nail to grow back?

Very emotional and upset, a small thing compared to what some people have to deal with but the body image thing, and that my dog of many years did it is hard to cope with still :-(

Ohhh poor you that looks so very painful, I'm sorry but i don't have any help for you. Hopefully someone will come along with some advice, look after yourself though

"and that my dog of many years did it is hard to cope with still :-("

The worrying thing is that so many people still think that their docile family pet is incapable of doing something like this.

I don't think any pet is incapable of doing this, I am sad because it leaves me with having to make a decision about what to do with a pet I have had since a pup, for 15 years - to me the pet is a big part of the family. The dog is showing signs of dementia and up until this incident had never been anything but a "docile family pet"!

I expect that canine dementia must present similarly to human dementia. My lovely MIL has alzheimers and has changed from a loving mother and grandmother who would do anything for anyone to a bad tempered, selfish individual. I still love her, but the disease has really changed her, and I expect that this has happened to your dog.

Isn't 15 pretty old for a dog anyway?

She has done well for her age, and is healthy in all other aspects,except her sight is failing a bit.
She is a terrier, some people have said theirs have lived to 18 and beyond!

Not a dog bite but my dd had a very similar injury.
Same treatment. Op to stitch the nail bed and dressings changed weekly at hospital for a month. She had a granulation of the scar tissue and was referred to plastics 5 weeks post injury. On day of op, surgeon doing the op, who had not previously seen her, decided on a unbandage, let in breathe and see how it goes.
10 years on, she has a nail but the thumb is slightly deformed, it tapers towards the end. The nail bed isn't flat and it gets a lot of dirt under it.
All in all, I am happy with how it looks. When it looked like yours does now, I had little hope it would ever look normal again.
We only had masses of tears on first bandage change, so I'm not sure if it gets easier with subsequent changes. She was only 3 at the time.
Hope it heals nicely and I'm sorry about your dog. We had one who lost her mind with age but she'd just wake at all hours and bark to see us. It's not nice to see them deteriorate in that way.

Thanks Angeldive, that's very helpful, your poor DD having that at just 3, it's so painful, and that first dressing change was horrendous, must have been awful for you too

Oh dear , it must be very difficult for you. Not the same but I lost my big toe nail in October to a v bad fungal nail infection. It's only just reached a ' normal' nail size now. The process to regrow was : spent a few weeks drying out, then went a little scabby and nail started to grow from bottom and also reform further up. It's a bit bumpy now but generally ok.
Yours looks very sore & weepy