Who all does 3D printing? Questions.

[Cburd61]

Looking for someone who can 3D print a prosthetic leg for a small dog. I replied to Shadowspapa’s post about losing his cat, and how I would be lost if something happened to our baby. Two days later, my 13 year old Chihuahua was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour on her leg. They will reassess it in 2 weeks, but basically left us with 2 options. Try to remove as much of it as they can, and still leave enough skin to close it up, or amputation. It’s by what would be her ankle, so we don’t know yet how far up it would be, if it comes to that. My wife and I are devastated. We just had to put our lab down a few weeks back, due to an inoperable tumour. Anyway, is there any of you that would be able, and willing to print a limb, if it comes to that? And, what would be involved, or what would be needed to even do this? Thanks.

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[legacy_etu]

Looking for someone who can 3D print a prosthetic leg for a small dog. I replied to Shadowspapa’s post about losing his cat, and how I would be lost if something happened to our baby. Two days later, my 13 year old Chihuahua was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour on her leg. They will reassess it in 2 weeks, but basically left us with 2 options. Try to remove as much of it as they can, and still leave enough skin to close it up, or amputation. It’s by what would be her ankle, so we don’t know yet how far up it would be, if it comes to that. My wife and I are devastated. We just had to put our lab down a few weeks back, due to an inoperable tumour. Anyway, is there any of you that would be able, and willing to print a limb, if it comes to that? And, what would be involved, or what would be needed to even do this? Thanks.

Jeese man, so sorry to hear. We had to put our Lab down last year too. We’re trying to not get another dog as it’s just so painful to lose them.

While I do have access to 3d printers at work, I couldn’t slip in a limb. Maybe a small part, but that’s it as it’s all tracked pretty closely and account numbers are needed to charge against.

The bigger issue, do you have a STL file of a limb you would like printed already? If not, that will be your first step getting one either custom made for your dog or possibly if someone has a generic one you could print.

As for printing, if no one here can help you out you can always go the the marketplace as there’s tons of print houses that will take your job. Protolabs being one house I’ve use a lot. They have plenty of materials to choose from but they can get pricey depending on size and material. https://www.protolabs.com/

How would one attach this limb when done? I’m picturing some sort of leather straps Maybe……..

Someone on here will probably chime in. Someone here has got to have a printer.

 

[metalry101]

First off, I'm very sorry for your rough time with furry friends lately. Losing one and having another get with this sort of diagnosis is brutal.

I have a printer and plenty of filament, but like @legacy_etu said, the .stl file is the hard part. If you're not familiar, that's the 3D drawing that the printer software reads and can work with. My initial thought is that because there are so many variables involved, a generic file is going to be hard to find and/or not particularly helpful. That said, if you find a file or get someone to draw one up, I'd be happy to print it for you for free.

 

[ericw.]

Same, I can also print for you but someone really needs to be there in person to create an accurate file that will work for your dog.

 

[Cburd61]

I appreciate the responses, very much. They were able to remove all of the tumour, with very little skin left to sew together. 3 stitches, and we are still having to treat it as an open wound. If it heals right, she should be ok. It all depends on how it heals, and if the tumour comes back. The biopsy hasn’t come back yet. She’s not out of the woods yet. Anyway, here’s a picture of what I was thinking of having made. I’ll update after she’s been to the vet again, a the 18th. If worst comes to worst, and we have to proceed, maybe you guys can guide me as to what I would need to do. 3 D scan? Or whatever. Thanks again so much.

 

[Cburd61]

Update: The Vet called this evening with the biopsy results. He said it was cancerous, and suggested blood tests to see if it has spread. He gave us some options, including amputation, but said even then he couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t spread, if it hadn’t already. She’s close to 14, so, at this point, that’s not an option. We can’t put her through that. He says she could have a couple of months, to a year left. We’re going to try to keep her happy and comfortable, as best as we can. When we get her stitches out next week, we’ll talk about any other treatments, but not a lot of options. We don’t want her to be miserable the rest of her life. She’s been a one of a kind. She alerts me when my wife’s blood sugar drops, waking me at night, or finding me and drawing me to wherever my wife is. She sat in my lap and wouldn’t leave me when I had Covid. I’ve had a lot of dogs in my 65 years, and loved every single personality. But, this baby is just so different. Hard news for us, especially since just losing our lab a little while back. Anyway, thanks very much for the responses and advice/ offers of help.

 

[ericw.]

I'm sorry to hear, some dogs really are special and seem to be furry little angels. Hoping for the best.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I, also, would be happy to help, but I believe you'll want a scan of the dog and a few trial fits to get it right.

I have a scanner, but I'm in Michigan, I'm sure you could find someone local to you through social media.

Or there are companies offering this service, 3DPets

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