Dew claw issues

[Ellen]

Our Penny came to us at 8 weeks with her dew claws already removed. I was not familiar with this practice, but wasn't unhappy, as we had another dog with persistent issues with snagging and pulling her dew claw and requiring trips to the vet! 

Our vet noticed within a few weeks that on one claw, there was some regrowth, so they must have left a few cells behind. When Penny was spayed at 6 months, they went back in and removed that. 

It has been 2 weeks since that procedure, and we knew that it wasn't healing that well. I took a pic and sent it to my vet - her stitches had failed and it wasn't healing as it should. Per her visit yesterday, the remaining part of the joint is now shifted and protruding in that area (this was my husband's description, I wasn't able to go to the visit). He wants to do another procedure to fix that, and to ensure that we get some solid stitches in to heal this up. He says that only requires "light sedation" and he will have her one hour. Has anyone had any experiences similar to this? We love our vet and I trust him completely, and to be honest, I think we do have to do something as the leg is not healing well and looks a little off. Just was hoping for some reassurance from others! 

[Stacy]

I don't want you to think you're being ignored, I just have no idea about dew claw removal. My girl who had hers removed came that way, and the other two have theirs. I've never had any problems with them, and I wouldn't choose to have them removed if someone asked my opinion, but I know there are different ideas about dew claws on or off. I wish your girl speedy healing. If you trust your vet then I would go with their opinion.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jasper's breeder also had the dew claws removed on his litter. One of his sisters did have one grow back, and that was removed during her spay, To my knowledge, there were no complications from that surgery. 

I've been on this site for 11 years and I've seen just about every single post related to health issues, but I have never seen an issue similar to yours, so I have no help or advice either. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Since you trust your vet, I'd go with his advice if it hasn't healed properly - unless it would be okay to just leave it alone.  The dew claw area is like your thumb and when they are remove past infancy, it is an amputation, so recovery probably is painful for a while. I'd make sure to follow the recuperation instructions exactly.

[Ellen]

Thanks everyone. I had a bad case of the mommy worries over this, but she came through with flying colors. She has 4 stitches, and he does not believe it will be painful for her in recovery, thankfully. She has a more restrictive bandage which is likely to help restrict her mobility in that area, to promote healing. Whew. I am not a big poster but I really appreciate the kindness and experience of people here! 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

So glad to hear this, Ellen.  Keep us posted on her recovery.