[RP_kiwi]

Hi there, I'm really new to this forum and I'm hoping you all might be able to help me out a little. I don't have a lot of dog experience. Kinda long, sorry.

One month ago almost exactly, our 1 year old Husky was struck by a car after slipping out of her collar (wasn't ours until the injury, the owner was going to immediately euthanize so we adopted her). We were told that she had a simple fracture in her femur which was repaired by the vet with 5 pins down the shaft of the bone, with four wire ties to keep it together. No cast was put on. Once the surgery was complete, we were told that the pins were a little too long for the bone, and that they may cause "irritation".

Two weeks later, she began having severe muscle spasms/cramps said to have been caused by the head of the pins poking the injured muscle. They seem to be triggered whenever she gets excited, although she spends 95% of her day laying down, getting up only to go to the bathroom. The vet told us basically not to let her move...ever. These cramps happen up to 3-4 times a day.

These muscle cramps don't seem right, and I'm basically wondering if this was a poorly done procedure? The pain she is in is unreal.. I have never in my entire life heard a dog scream like she does when these cramps hit. It's ear-splitting. I'm honestly getting tired of being told that they are "normal", and would really like to know if they messed up and are just trying to cover their tracks. I work with vets a lot (horses) and I feel like I'm being lied to. Maybe I'm not, but the whole situation doesn't feel right. The vet has been mentioning another surgery in order to remove the pins, but can't tell us when it'll happen. He also has no advice on how to make her more comfortable. Basically just told us to "ride it out".

Any information you can give me about this would be greatly appreciated. Advice on how to help her through these cramps would be great, too. We've tried heat pads, massage, stretching and getting her to move around- nothing seems to make a difference.

Thank you so much in advance!

[CorkyMax]

I think your suspicions about your vet are correct----Sounds like a very uncaring vet to me. He should at least do something for the pain! The way you describe this pain--How can you stand it!? MORE IMPORTANT---HOW DOES THE DOG STAND IT!!! And for the vet to say to wait it out----Is this humane?!! I think you need a different vet that is going to do something and I mean like you needed this 'yesterday'!!!!! Help the poor dog. How could he say to never have the dog move! This sounds so terrible that I am having a hard time believing it---I hope this is not a person trying to pull a horrible joke here!!! If not---Get your butt to a vet with this dog and I mean now---This is not humane!!!

[Lara's mom]

I'm no expert but, that does not sound normal to me. I would get a second opinion a.s.a.p.