Dear Vanessa I'm sooooo sorry to hear of Samson's accident. I'm sure it must be agonizing for you. How is he doing today???
I'm a vet as well as being a devoted Berner mom, so thought I might be able to give you some info about your boy's injuries. Pneumothorax is a condition when air escapes from the lungs and is free within the thoracic (chest) cavity. As long as his lungs are not collapsed, and he's able to breathe OK, we usually leave well enough alone and let the air slowly be resorbed. If there is lung collapse or great difficulty breathing, then the free air has to be removed from his chest (ie. via chest tube or a needle thoracocentesis). It's very important that Samson be kept nice & quiet until the pneumothorax resolves. Right now that's probably not too big a problem as I'd imagine the poor boy is pretty sore, but it may be an issue in a few days when he's feeling more perky! The brachial plexus avulsion is a serious injury. What all those big words mean is that the front leg has been suddenly and forcibly pulled away sideways (avulsed) from the body. The armpit area of the dog (the brachial plexus) is a mass of blood vessels and nerves. This traumatic avulsion stretches these structures, often causing secondary nerve damage (they get stretched too far). One the most important nerves to the front limb is the radial nerve. This is the nerve that controls extension of the entire front leg. Without this nerve functioning, the leg is unable to bear weight, the leg just collapses on itself. Unfortunately, radial nerve paralysis most commonly results from brachial plexus avulsion. Don't despair yet!! Samson is a young guy and the paralysis you see now may be temporary due to local inflammation. Give it some time before making any permanent decsions. If the damage does end up being a permanent thing, then we do usually recommend amputation of the affected limb -- for as long as the useless leg is present, he'll continue to try to use it as a crutch, which actually hinders more than it helps. Besides, because there's no or impaired feeling in the lower extremity, risk of damage to the leg is great -- he'll end up with nasty ulcers on his carpus from dragging it around. Three-legged dogs get around amazingly well! They usually don't even seem to notice they're missing a leg, especially when it's a front leg. I know one 2-legged dog that can run nearly as well now as when he had 4 legs! Hope Samson's feeling better soon!!! sue(Aeryn with Devyn & Rowyn)
