Worst Bumblefoot case I've seen and I'm about to do surgery (& also use Oxine). Opinions?

[PoultryPedia]

We got two new hens this week, and the one we named Summer has severe Bumblefoot.
There is a huge hard bumble in her foot pad & smaller one on top of the foot between the toes. She walks on the foot quite well, so the infections have obviously been able to be isolated by her body thus far and hardened.

Removing the bumbles will probably leave two big empty pouches. I'm wondering if parts of those need to be cut off, too? I've read that's sometimes needed for feet on birds of prey.
I'm going to have to make a judgment call when I'm in there. I'm attaching photos & want to know what others might think?

I've been doing lots of studying about Oxine disinfectant. Its active ingredient is chlorine dioxide and I saw that chlorine dioxide has been tested to be safe on chickens' skin and is excellent in helping heal large wounds in people. So I'm going to use it in diluted amounts on the wound and dressing, and hopefully it will really help Summer's foot.

Side note: Oxine is the chlorine dioxide disinfectant many of us chicken people have used in humidifiers for treating birds' respiratory illnesses. It has been put on the EPA list of disinfectants to use against COVID-19 on hard, non-porous surfaces, and it's a super inexpensive option! (about $1 gallon when activated at high-strength 500 ppm). If you are interested, I'm posting things I learn about it at CoronavirusCD.org.
I also hope to post a video of Summer's surgery after I do it.

 

[coach723]

I have never used oxine so can't say about that. I would give the feet a really good soaking and cleaning to remove any dried on gunk and get a better look. Very hard to tell from the pictures, I've never seen one that swollen and large before without a very obvious scab/lesion.
Rather than cut (if you haven't already) I think I would do this, see how it looks.
https://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment.html/?spref=pi
See how much you can remove by soaking, softening, and manipulation first. If it's all encapsulated well, then cutting might not be necessary.
I recently treated a nasty bumblefoot with sugardine, pictures here in post #16:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...e-major-swelling.1419956/page-2#post-23466292
Info on sugardine:

https://www.americanfarriers.com/ar...-mess-that-works-when-treating-wound-injuries

 

[PoultryPedia]

It's hard to see, but there is a plug near the top in photo 2.
That's a very good point to soak it well before working with it. I was planning to start by teasing the plub out with fingernail scissors (similar to what's on Tilly's Nest) & then keep teasing out whatever else I can find. But don't know if I actually need to cut a whole section of skin. I hope not, but am not sure.
I had a horse before with a basketball size abscess on her chest that we drained & tried to let heal. But skin couldn't reattach. Had to cut off entire area & then debride daily by spraying with hose.
She can walk well but center toe can't reach ground. It is worrying me that it getting bumped around in her new home could dislodge things such that the staph infection could spread to elsewhere in her body.

 

[Eggcessive]

She has some swelling in her ankle that could be related to a bacterial infection in the joint, but also could be from an injury. Does the right ankle appear swollen to you?

 

[PoultryPedia]

@Eggcessive I'll look when I hold her next. I know she is dealing with scaley leg mites, too.
What exactly does it mean when an infection is in the joint? Would that be in bones & cartilage?

 

[PoultryPedia]

Update: As I did surgery. I was reminded bumblefoot spreads as branches of infection through toughened tunnels in the foot. Her foot looks deflated now, but not in a particular central location.
I did make a quality video. Which hopefully I'll get posted some year before too long, lol..... I'll add a note on this thread when I do.
Bumblefoot this severe takes enormous amounts of time to remove. You have to gently cut it loose and tease it out so carefully so the branches of cheese-like infection stay in large pieces as you remove them so tiny bits don't get left behind as much. (There will ALWAYS be some left behind, so don't push yourself too hard for perfection!). On this surgery, I spent over 30 hours, including gathering supplies, bandaging, and clean-up. I did it in 4 or 5 sessions. On projects like this, a good case of OCD will definitely be to your advantage, LOL!
In future I will not operate on a case this advanced. Too much time for me, a lot of anxiety and stress for the bird--though not tons of serious pain as long as you don't do cutting through live flesh or squeezing (but I did have to do painful massaging in some deep sections with this severe case).
It REALLY helped to use the Oxine as a diluted wound wash/rinse as I did surgery. You can squirt the liquid into the wound with a spray bottle or through a thick needle on a syringe. (Just use the needle as a tiny "hose" for squirting. Don't actually poke the bird.)
The wound stunk with rotten infection the first two surgery sessions, so I was glad to have a disinfectant rinsing through it regularly.
If you ever have a wound on your body that just stays sore & infected, chlorine dioxide would likely be very helpful because it is one of the few things that penetrates biofilms, which sometimes protect bacteria and preserve infection.
The Oxine made me confident that even junk I couldn't get out of Summer's foot would still get disinfected. I'd recommend 25-50 ppm concentration for frequent rinsing, and 200 ppm as a final rinse, and to moisturize the bandage.