| post operation - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| mylene01 |
hi, my boston is in for her knee surgery, and when i dropped her off they gave me a sheet of paper with her 'therepy' instructions...
i think i am most nervous about the next few months... keeping her calm ( she is 10 months old and full of energy!!) and not doing the excersises correctly...
could someone let me know if 'post-op' life is hard and if really takes months...? some helpful hints on what they found worked...
thanks, :)
mylene |
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| Froggy |
Hi, me again...seems as though not too many people come into the dog section here:(
Do you have a crate for Emily? If your not there to watch her it is important to keep her activity restricted, if not a crate then maybe some kind of baby play pen, Ive turned them upside down to make it seem like theres a roof on it, generally if a dog cant see a 'way out' they wont jump up to try and get out. Of course make sure its secure.
The usual routine on post op home care for this is to restrict activity, no running, jumping, playing ball, chasing frisbees or cats and no jumping up or down on furniture, no running up and down stairs.
Restrict walks also.
Was this a luxated patella? (I assumed it was) We used to do a couple of those a week at one of the hospitals I worked at and it was rare that we had a problem with them, sometimes the dogs would chew the stitches out but I only recall the surgeon ever having to redo the surgery a few times, one was on a dog that the owners child had let out and the dog was loose on the streets for a couple of hours....
Just follow the instructions from your vet.
Hope all is going well. |
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| mylene01 |
hi, it does seem like it is you responding alot.. but that is ok,, you know what you're talking about...
yes, mle had her knee operated on ~ they said it was a 'bi-lateral' luxated patella...? she has jumped on the couch 2 tims (ggrrrr) with out any problem or warning.. just has walked over and is up... so i tie her to the stove, and place a blanket, a chewy bone and some water.. that way she is with us.. we seem to be in here alot, (w/ computor), and then she is tied to my daughters bed, ( so she cant jump off) to rest or watch tv with her, or on our laps or in kennel...
my vet also mentioned the upside down play pen.. they dont make those anymore.. only pack and plays. my friend has a larger crate and has offered that to me.. i was debating, but after you mentioned the upside down play pen, maybe i will borrow her kennel... mle has a difficult time getting her leg over the lip of hers now.. how long do you think the 'restricted' life is for,,? she is trying to act like nothing happened... while outside for a 'pee' run she is trying to catch the may-flies... she's nuts.
and very thursty, which i am thinking the meds..?
so, my real concern is that she will hurt herself or 'ruin' the new knee, if i dont do something right... my vet said just let her be.. but no jumping or running... that is all i have to do..? seems to easy.. but when we go outside i have to put a baggie over her toes for now.. pain in the butt!!! and whatever i do , dont get the bandage wet..!!! so if she pees in her kennel, i would have to get her bandages replaced...
well, if you can think of anything else that i really should be doing that sounds like i am not. please let me know..
other wise i will jsut let her be.. with no jumping or running...
thanks so much for all your helpful advise, mylene |
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| Froggy |
Not all vets put a bandage on the leg after this so I wasnt sure, the baggies are the best way to keep them dry and clean when they go out, I used to used like a ziploc bag and tape it but take it off when you come back in, if there left on itll cause moiture build up in there, if the bandage does get wet you wont be able to get all the padding inside dry so they have to be changed straight away, Ive seen some pretty nasty skin infections from that.
I would take a guess at the length of time, usually its around 2-4 months, the stitches usually come out after 2 weeks, then the vet may want to do a re-check (sometimes with an x-ray but not always) at about 4 to 6 weeks, if everything looks good then you might get an all clear about 2 weeks later, you should be able to relax with the activity a little then but its wise to still restrict them somewhat for a little longer, nothing excessive, Ive heard people who have agility or hunting dogs if their dogs can go back to these activities after only 2 months....for that level of activity it would take much longer but for normal everyday activity depends on healing etc, some dogs take longer to heal although the younger they are they generally heal pretty quick.
I dont know which drugs shes on but if theres anything like Prednisone it will increase thirst and appetite (the appetite will kick in usually about 3-4 days after the meds are started), make sure theres plenty of water available but you dont need to feed any more than usual (even if she acts like shes starving and looking at you with those big 'sorrowful' eyes....been there a few times :) ), I used to keep a small portion of the normal food intake to give as 'additional treats' or even split the meal times into 3 times a day instead of twice a day....or twice a day instead of once...
NSAIDS (like Rimadyl) Ive noticed increases thirst but not appetite.(just a personal observation)
Also Ive noticed some anti biotics increase thirst, cephelexin can cause a little nausea with some dogs (same as with people) which sometimes makes them want to drink more.
Chances are she wont hurt herself, things like...for example taking her out in the car, dont let her try and jump in or out, just lift her in and if possible either use a crate while she in there or have someone sit with her, if you suddenly have stop she could fall off a seat. Stairs, carry her, the furniture, its okay if you lift her up if you want her to sit with you, any damage there, is more with trying to use her rear legs to jump up although they can stretch a little on the rear legs when they get down.
With the bandage on it should keep the leg immobilized anyway but watch that it doesnt get caught on anything (like you mentioned with her crate), sometimes if pets get caught or stuck on something they panic and twist into all kinds of positions.
Like I said, the majority do very well and I think that the fact that you are already aware of what you need to watch for everything should be fine. |
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| mylene01 |
hey froggy.. long time since i have been here!!! MLE - my boston terrier with the knee operaton - is recovering nicely... the hardest part is keeping her still.. she jumps and tries to run around.. the vets said they've never seen a dog walk on all 4 legs the first week.. please,, she came home walking on all 4 legs!!!! cant keep her down from reaching for us... but we have done our best.. we carry her up and down the stairs... 2 more weeks of that!!! :)
well, i just wanted to let you know it wasnt that bad... just the $$ part... lol
as for Sadie my min pin with the bump... they took a sample and think it is a cyst... i will let you know next week when the results are in...(keep your fingers crossed and pray it is not 'C'....:( )
hey, i wanted to also ask your advise on training dogs... do you think i could do it on my own.. or is it really really better to go somewhere..? i have started training her to stay down.. and rewards with food.. i trained to to sit for meals and stand at door to go outside... really fast learner... i just have a few thinkg.. like stay down - out of the kids faces- not to pull the leash and come when i call... not too much... any adivce would be great.. i just cant see spending more $$ on her... not sice the summer is coming, she just cost over $1000.00 and still may need another one.. sadie may have issues.. and on and on.. whayyyy - me crying!!- hey do you hear my tiny violin...? lol
thanks, mylene
:) |
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