The verdigris-like green deposit induced by the (barely) alkaline electrolyte of electrolytic caps does indeed need to be removed so that you can be sure that no traces have been severed during its formation. Had that been so your linguistic response might well have included Quel dommage, or something even more piquant. The possibility that traces have become friable after etching is a good reason to rely on solution of the deposits rather than friction (with, eg a toothbrush). Board-washing and recovery has already been done to death in these forums, so there is no lack of guidance available for you.

Do, however, remember when you psych. yourself up to cap. replacement, that our very own trag makes tantalum cap. sets available to members of this Army at very reasonable cost. Quote the numbers (quantity, not type) and capacitances (in µF) to him and he will most probably be able to cook you up a mess to suit.

As Unknown_K points out, even broken traces can be repaired by bridging with a single strand (for signal-traces) from stranded cable, or a heavier-gauge strand or wire for supply traces.

de