Abused Cat Gets Adopted And Has Successful Surgery To Fix Broken Leg (Viral Thread)

• 01

  "I'm a vet. I adopted this injured cat whose owners couldn't care for him. His back leg is in a splint until his surgery tomorrow."

  
  via thecomfycat
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• 02

  "Someone put a rubber band tightly around his back leg for a few weeks, causing significant trauma and eventually severing his Achilles tendon."

  
  via thecomfycat
• 03

  "Tomorrow a surgeon is gonna see if the Achilles can be repaired. Otherwise she'll amputate his leg. The rubber band was cut out already, now it's just a matter of whether or not his leg can be saved."

  
  via thecomfycat
• 04

  "He's a very sweet and cuddly boy. Hope his surgery goes well tomorrow, one way or the other!"

  
  via thecomfycat
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• 05

  "A few days ago I posted about Sweet Potato, who I adopted after someone put a rubber band tightly around his back leg, requiring surgical repair or amputation."

  
  via thecomfycat

  "I'm a vet and another vet had taken him in and removed the band and asked if I'd adopt him and get him the additional care he needs.  

  His Achilles tendon was severed by the rubber band, which prevents cats from walking normally and causes pain! If the Achilles can't be repaired then the leg must be amputated. Repair is a challenging procedure that generally requires a specialized veterinary surgeon. They suture the tendon back together and place a screw in the bone to stabilize the tendon while it heals.  

  We weren't sure if his leg was too damaged to repair since the band had been on there for weeks."

• 06

  "But his surgery went really well! The surgeon was able to repair his severed Achilles tendon, remove the dead tissue, and piece his leg back together. Hurray!"

  
  via thecomfycat

  "There's three units of the Achilles, and two of the units (the tendon of the gastrocnemius muscle and the superficial digital flexor tendon) were completely severed while the last part (the common tendon) was only *mostly* severed. All units were repaired."

• 07

  "He's very happy to be home and just wants to sit on us and purr."

  
  via thecomfycat
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• 08

  "He's not out of the woods yet of course, and recovery will take about 12 weeks."

  
  via thecomfycat

  "He'll need lots of rest and many bandage changes, and eventually he'll need the stabilizing screw removed as well. But he's got all his legs and seems really comfortable and happy :)"

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