TPLO surgery today

[LvnSgtFoley8541]

Today is the day Cyrus heads in for his surgery. I have been reading as much as I can on the procedure and made the mistake of looking at the surgery pics another poster put up yesterday :( I try to be as informed as possible yet find myself feeling confused, I truly hope we are doing the best we can for Cyrus. I am a horrible worry-wart and tend to what if most decisions but deep down I feel like he is going to be fine.
DH is dropping him off at 730 and surgery is scheduled for late morning. I ordered a cooling ortho gel bed for him as well as an enclosure that will attach to his crate for later on, both are due to arrive today. We were told that we should be able to pick him up by dinner time tomorrow if he's doing well. I know with his first surgery (traditional) he was completely out of it for days and refused to move, it was very hard to move him because he was so big. I am hoping this time things go a little smoother since he has dropped 20 lbs, fingers crossed. Well I really should go spend some time with him, he keeps looking at me with those big sad eyes wondering why we haven't fed him :( Wish us luck~

[hennie400]

Good luck for your boy, my girl is 3 years post TPLO and competing in agility.

[Rangers Mom]

I'm completely sympathetic to your situation. We are 4 weeks out but the first week, we questioned the wisdom, berated ourselves for putting him through it, and cussed the vets under our breath for not (in our emotional perception) preparing us for how rough around the edges he was going to be. All of which were happening while our dog was in pain -- so none of it was an accurate perception! Our vets have been great, the pain is relatively short lived, and if all goes well, he'll be chasing frisbees in late fall.

Hang in there and keep us posted. Ask questions no matter how inane they seem and don't be afraid to phone the on-call line if you have any suspicions at all!

[LvnSgtFoley8541]

Thank you for the support and replies. Yesterday was a LONG day, Cyrus was scheduled for surgery at 12 and at 3 I still hadn't heard anything, we finally got our call at 430. The Dr told my husband that all went very well and that he was resting quietly.
I called at 730pm for an update and was told to call at 900pm once the nurses were done doing their rounds, boy was that a long time to wait. The nurse I spoke with at 9 said he was doing well, she commented on how sweet he was and how she thought he had a perfect head, it made me feel better to know someone was paying attention to him. She told me that they were focusing on bringing his temp up since it had dropped a lot during surgery, that made me nervous but she reassured me he was on the mend.
She also said he had "Barry" this retchid looking stuffed toy that looks like it is ready to disintegrate by his side. DH thought I was nuts sending it with him but it's his favorite toy and I really wanted him to have something from home.
The plan was to let him rest for a few more hours and to get him up around 2am for some movement. We were told we would get a call from the Dr around 10am and he should be ready to leave late afternoon. I am reliving just how hard it was the first time he had surgery, I don't think I left his side for days. I have heard that the recovery from TPLO is quicker than the traditional method but I am not quite convinced. I spent a little too much time yesterday reading all sorts of info on TPLO experiences and left work feeling emotionally drained and confused but pray that we have made the best decisison for Cyrus. The ?'s that keeps going through my brain are did he really need this or would he have gotten better if we gave him some time to heal, eventhough I read this wouldn't be the case I still find myself wondering. Well I must go tackle some work, thanks for listening and offering support :)
~Kristen

[Rubyhead]

Good luck, my Rubydog had her TPLO last June. I swear I spent the first week sitting on the floor with her. Transporting her home was the most difficult/painful for her. Make sure the vet gives you that little suitcase style brace thingie that goes around her midsection. It will help her tremedously if you lift up on her middle section when she goes out to pee 'n stuff. It takes off some of the pressure from her back legs when she walks.

BTW, what vet are you using here in Boston?

Niki

[LvnSgtFoley8541]

Niki~ Not sure if you wanted to know the Vet or the surgeon...we were with Littleton Animal Hospital for routine care and just switched to Friends & Family out of Boxborough. For the surgery we went with Dr Benson out of Waltham/Vetcision. Thanks for the tip on transporting him, that is what is worrying me the most. Both DH and I have really awkward vehicles, DH has van with two seats and I have a GMC truck w/ extended cab. Fingers crossed we can successfully get Cyrus in and out without great difficulty. Looks like a long night ahead of us but I cannot wait to take care of my baby tonight, lots of extra love coming his way. Have a great weekend everyone and I will keep you all updated :)
~Kristen

[LvnSgtFoley8541]

Hello~ Not sure where my post is from yesterday, anyhow I posted a thanks to those who have posted, I really appreciate it. Niki~ I wasn't sure if you wanted the regular vet or the surgeon....we used to use Littleton Animal but just switched to Friends&Family in Boxoborough after lots of miscommunication at LA. The surgeon we went with was Dr Benson out of Vetcision in Waltham...sorry about repeating if the earlier post appears.

We picked Cyrus up yesterday and we were surprised to see him walk in to greet us, this wasn't the case the first time around. He had his E collar on and they were using the belly sling, he was in good spirits and full of kisses.

Getting out of that place wasn't fun, that collar made it very hard to get in/out of doors but we made it outside. Prior to leaving the tech said Cyrus had just peed about 20 minutes prior so DH and I got him in the back of the SUV carefully. Just as he set himself down he began to pee everywhere, I felt so badly he looked so ashamed. DH and I got him back out and took him to an area where he could go the bathroom and he peed for almost 30 seconds so I was doubting that he had just gone.

The ride home was during rush hour and it took just over an hour, the ride wasn't fun because I am sure Cyrus was uncomfortable. His eyes were closing and he just wanted to lie down but couldn't get himself in a position that felt ok.

Once home we got him in and situated and he wasn't crying just a little out of sorts, he ate/drank and went to lie down. We did take the E collar off while were were sitting with him and this made him much happier. He really didn't try to lick the would but more so scratch at his healing hot spot. DH and I noticed two small staples at the bottom of his leg that were weeping blood and put some gauze on it with the cold pak and he went to sleep.

A few hours later that area was still bleeding so we called the hospital back since we had no idea what this area was since we didn't see it when we picked him up. After waiting on hold for 20 minutes that no one could talk with us and they would call us back shortly. We waited until 1030pm and then decided to put Cyrus to bed, he wasn't happy about the collar going back on but he managed and we didn't hear a peep from him all night.

I woke up a 6am and he was sleeping soundly, I was a bit annoyed because the tech never called me back. I opened his kennel and layed down with him till he woke up. He was able to get up and tried to stretch out a bit but I think it hurt. We got him buckled up and took him out to pee and back in when went. His appetite is good but he still hasn't pooped and I know he must have to go because he has horrible gas. The small wound is still bleeding and he has quite a bit of edema so I decided to call the hospital again to get some answers. Another hold of about 15 minutes and we were told that the two staples are from something used to keep the leg straight during surgery and to keep icing and putting light pressure on the area. So that is where we stand now.

My thoughts: this surgery compared to the last one (traditional) seems to be going much easier so far. In the mere fact that Cyrus can and will get up and move, last time it was very hard to move him and he was super crabby and uncomfortable. He really seems to enjoy the gel cooling ortho bed I ordered and thankfully it came yesterday. Here's hoping the pen comes today so that we can get that attached to the crate. He only has two more doses of Tramadol which I am not sure will be enough. Does anyone know if two days of this med is enough?? Well I hope he continues to improve and be in good spirits. I will surely keep you posted on the recovery :) Thanks again for listening.
~Kristen

[Rubyhead]

Kristen, Dr. Benson did Rubys TPLO too. Our regular vet is in Vermont. I'm very pleased with the results, we followed his instructions to a T. Eventhough they were conservative in terms of keeping the dog on the leash for such a long time. One thing we did was we took Ruby to physical therapy which consisted of massage and walking on a treadmill underwater. That really helped alot and now a year later it's as if nothing had ever happened. She runs, she swims, everything is norma.
Good luck to you guys, (smiley face)
Niki
ps the amount of the medication was enough.

[LvnSgtFoley8541]

Niki~
Wow what a small world! Glad to hear you were happy with Dr Benson, it sure makes me feel better. Today Cyrus had a good day, we spent a good 7 hours with him but had to go to a graduation party for a few hours so back to the crate and E collar and he seemed fine when we got home. Sadly he still hasn't pooped and the gassiness is getting worse, I sure hope he goes later on tonight.

Where did you take your dog for PT? That is something we are interested in doing. Cyrus has been taking short jaunts around the kitchen & dining room, do you think that is bad for him? Thanks for the info on the meds as well. Well its off to put some ice on his leg, have a great night :)
~Kristen

[Rubyhead]

We went to a rehab vet in Natick/Wayland. Paws in Motion 508-653-7297.
Gretchen, who used to post on here all the time also took her dog there after a TPLO, recommended Dr. Starr to me. Her dog does agility, and while Ruby doesn't do agility or sch., I think she really benefited from the therapy.
As for jaunts around the house, I, personally would take care because the bone and the metal plates are having to fuse or grow together. The idea is for the metal to be totally fused into the bone, forming a new strong joint.
Ruby didn't poop for a while, try adding some plane yogurt to his food, that keeps the gas from smelling too bad.
Good luck to you guys
Niki (smiley face)

[LvnSgtFoley8541]

What a day! It's only day three and it feels like it has been weeks, keeping Cyrus confined is so hard. He is sleeping really well at night so that helps but the days are long and tomorrow I go back to work so I am sure I will worry all day long. DH has a few things to do in the AM and it's my daughters last day of school so they should be home by lunch time. The swelling has gone down so much from even this morning and I am very grateful, it was really looking nasty and the bleeding has stopped too. Cyrus was finally able to go to the bathroom today and seems much happier. He had his last Tramadol and is eating good which all . The hardest part has to be the restriction and the collar, I was expecting things to be the way they were the first time he had surgery and having him ready to bound around makes it really difficult. Tomorrow we will make the staple removal appointment and the one month f/u. I will have to look into PT in my area, if we still lived in the Maynard/Concord area I would definitely look into the location you recommended Niki but it would be too far for us. Well its almost bed time and its been a long day. Thanks for all your support :)
~Kristen

[hennie400]

Yes, reading your posts bring back my girls TPLO 3 years ago. It was very stressful but she came through with flying colours. Her second cruciate is showing signs of failing so we are shortly going to go through it all again.

I just hope second time round is not as nerve racking as the first time.

[Rubyhead]

What are the begining signs of cruciate failure? I didn't notice anything, my vet noticed it, she picked it up on the annual exam.

TPLO is VERY expensive here in the US, eventhough I have a Rott savings account, maybe I should setp it up if a 2nd TPLO is looming.