Izzy's Leg: Update 16

Things got so busy around here (finishing up the school year ... being out of the country) that I forgot to give you an update on Izzy's leg. The last one was a month ago! No, it's not completely healed, or maybe it is, but I am just being ultra cautious this time as I think about how to finish with the bandages.

When I left for vacation three weeks ago, the wound looked really good, but it still needed a bandage. I don't have a photo from the day before I left, but here is one from May 21st, one week earlier.

May 21st

It was tough leaving such a big job for someone else to handle, but my oldest friend in the world stepped up to the plate and re-wrapped it every other day while I was gone. I didn't take a photo when I got home last weekend, but it looks the same today as it did on Sunday.

June 19th

Earlier pressure bandage

As of now, the wound is completely epithelialized, meaning there is skin across the tissue. It is still a bit "scabby" in the middle, which is where it burst open when I quit wrapping the first time, but everything is dry and tight. 

To help Izzy's leg cope with the loss of pressure that the big bandage created, I am following a new wrapping protocol. Since there is no longer an open wound, I have ditched the white lotion soaked telfa pad. I am now wrapping the leg with three or four layers of thin cotton bandage followed by three or four layers of Vetwrap, wrapped just tightly enough to keep everything from falling off.

This bandage is not a pressure bandage like I was doing before, but it does apply some pressure to the leg. To "re-teach" the leg to function without the pressure, I take the bandage off each morning for three to four hours. This gives the leg's circulatory system a chance to function "normally" without the pressure of the Vetwrap. But since I replace the bandage after several hours, the circulatory system isn't over-whelmed by the increased blood flow.

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Mini-Bandage with no telfa pad

Since the bandage is off when I ride, I wrap both hind legs with polo wraps to protect the delicate tissue that has epithelialized. Dr. Tolley is on board with this bandaging protocol. My plan is to continue the daily wrapping/unwrapping through the end of the month. Ideally, I would like to eventually remove the bandage for twelve hour cycles, but that would mean twice daily trips to the barn. If it's only for a few days, I think I can manage it. 

It's been almost six months since the original laceration happened. The end is finally in sight (again!).