A detailed account of my dog Maeby's TPLO experience. Musings range from useful homeopathic remedies for post-op dogs, to bull penises. Hopefully you'll find our videos and photos helpful. I appreciate feedback so feel free to drop me a comment!
Maeby finished up her antibiotics for that weird inflammation in her scar this past Monday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't swell up again. The bump is actually pretty solid now. Why would her scar tissue be so solid? Yet another question to ask the vet this weekend. The GREAT NEWS is that Maeby's walking is getting so good. Her limp is pretty much gone now, but I've been wondering when the knee turning out/rotating would start to get better. I saw today that it's starting to go away!!!!!! She's actually moving her leg BACK AND FORTH more -- yes, her leg is still sticking out from her body a bit, but the weird rotating is definitely going away!
When I saw the improvement in her gait today, I wanted to jump in the air and pump my fists like a lunatic. Man, I love this crazy dog:
at Venice Beach a few months pre-TPLO when she's not smiling, she's thinking really really hard
Wowee, we have successfully endured a week without a single visit to the vet!
Maeby is now on her 3rd day of antibiotics, and the puffiness in her scar is soooo much better. It's still sticking out a little bit, but it's firmed up and no longer that angry shade of red it was on Sunday.
As far as her walking is going, we've increased back up to 16 minutes and she's doing great. She's still not bearing 100% weight on her leg, but I know we'll get there.
The lower part of the incision that was just slightly puffy before, is now really, really puffy and red. It looks like there's a lot of fluid in there, and seems on the brink of oozing. I called the vet ASAP to put her on the antibiotics she recommended if this were to happen. In the meanwhile, I'll keep smearing Vitamin E oil on it.
I did ask if they thought Maeby's sudden lameness and this sudden inflammation were related. They seemed to think they weren't, since her walking has gone back to normal. Then I asked if they thought I should bring her in to get a bacteria culture so she could be put on the appropriate antibiotics. They said she's getting the AB. they usually prescribe for internal suture reactions. If it doesn't start clearing up though, I'll be concerned!
Brought Maeby to the vet today and got really good news:
It wasn't an infection!! It was just a reaction to the staples. And we're post-op 12 days, so they removed the staples and that was it! Now that they're out, I can see how they were really irritating her leg. It looks almost like she got hives at that bubbly red area to the left.
I've been putting lots of antibiotic cream on it all day today, and keeping the lampshade on her. I guess we'll be using it for a few more days until her incision is completely head.
The other great bit of news we got today is that we got the okay for her to start 5 minute controlled leash walks, twice a day! I was really surprised that we're starting so soon. It's only been 12 days! It's also amazing considering how concerned I was about her not putting weight on her leg 4 days ago. Since Friday, she's been using her leg more and more once I started walking slooooow and making her use it. I also started her on Symphytum 30C, 2 times a day. Today is day 3 of that, and I'm seeing a DRASTIC improvement. You can totally tell the difference when you compare the video below, to the video I posted on Saturday. See, homeopathic remedies are amazing!
Maeby DID have an "oops moment" tonight -- she got up on the couch! She looked so pleased with herself and just didn't want to move. I don't blame her -- before this surgery, she was permanently glued to the thing. Now she stares at me so forlornly from her ex-pen while I sit on it and type away on her blog. Alas, she was exiled back to her pen very quickly, and I don't think any damage was done.
"The top part closest to her knee is nearly healed. A staple has already popped out on its own."
That's what I wrote yesterday.
Maeby, why are you making me eat my words???
I woke up this morning to see the top of the incision all nasty and red and inflamed. She had her ecollar on all night, and I swear she didn't do any licking yesterday. So what's going on?
Is she getting an infection on the inside? Is this an early warning sign? Is it just possible that she DID lick yesterday when I wasn't looking? Am I going to be a paranoid freak like this for the next 14.5 weeks? GAHHHHHHHH!
She ended her antibiotics on Friday -- so is it possible that she got an infection now that she's not on them?
I gave her some Arnica this morning. I hope that helps.
***
Saw it at lunch. Looks the same. Maaaaaybe a little less red?
We're going to go see the surgeon tomorrow morning for a looksie. I HOPE TO GOD ITS NOTHING SERIOUS.
By the end of all this, I hope Maeby has a wonderfully healed leg. And I hope I don't have a headful of grey hair.
Look at the gunky scabby stuff in her incision. And compare this to the staple shot a few entries below. :( The good news is, its still healing nicely. The top part closest to her knee is nearly healed. A staple has already popped out on its own.
I try not to use the e-collar as much as possible when I'm home. But I can't babysit Maeby all day -- I have dishes to wash! Carpets to vaccuum! Blogs to update! So I dedicate this entry to the things that have made my life and Maeby's bearable, while she still has these darn staples in her leg.
I don't want her to become a fatty lumpkins by the end of this, so I've been trying to feed her digestible, healthy, and low fat snacks. Here are some of the things I've found to be particularly useful and succesful at keeping Maeby preoccupied for a few hours.
A: BULLY STICKS Yeah yeah yeah, they're bull penises. But dogs LOVE THEM. They are 100% digestible, unlike rawhide, and they can chew for hours and hours. The downside is they're pretty expensive -- I've been getting them for $3.99 on sale. Someone on the orthodogs list told me they're cheaper on ebay.
B: BEEF TENDON Again, another 100% digestible treat. The only problem I found with this one, is that it gets soft REALLY fast. You really have to keep an eye on your dog with this one, because the soft bits can hang all the way down their throat while they try to get to the dry end. I saw Maeby do this and my jaw fell to the ground! The other problem with this is that it stays soggy for a long, long time. I ended up finally throwing one in the oven until it dried up again. It's cheaper than Bully Sticks though.
C: BUSY BUDDY TWIST N TREAT: I just bought this for her today, and it's the best $10 I've spent on her so far!!! I originally went to the pet store to buy her a Buster Cube, but I read they're really hard to use. I literally sat on the floor with the instructions trying to figure out how to get out the cylinder in the middle for cleaning. And I couldn't do it!! The Twist N Treat screws open and closed, and you can control how big the hole for the treats to fall out is. I filled it with Maeby's kibble and she had such a blast with it. (See video below) This is SOOOO MUCH BETTER than the Buster Cube, and CHEAPER.
D: CHARLEE BEAR TREATS: These are all natural, and very inexpensive doggie treats. The best part is, they're smaller than kibble bits. So they're great for training (Maeby has learned a few new tricks in her ex-pen with these!) and you can alo use them in the Twist N Treat. And each bit is only 3 calories so you don't have to worry about your dog getting too many calories.
E: KONG If you don't own a Kong toy by now, I highly recommend you leave your house right now and get one. I LOVE THESE THINGS. I've been filling mine lately with a GOOD QUALITY, plain, nonfat yogurt mixed with a tad of peanut butter (3:1 ratio of yogurt: peanut butter, because PB is very fattening) and also squishing in half a dog biscuit inside. It takes her forever to eat through one of these. But I've also added frozen can food, frozen 100% pumpkin, etc. The great thing about Charlee Bears is you can use just one to cover the hole at the bottom of the Kong, so you don't have to worry about melting stuff getting everywhere.
I forgot to include marrow bones in the photo. But they're great too. Keeps Maeby occupied for hours, and gets all the tartar off her teeth. I give them frozen, just one a week because the marrow inside has a ton of fat and calories. Just make sure you get them in a size that's appropriate for your pup.
I thought I'd give Maeby a break from the lampshade last night while we were sleeping. She wears the darn thing all day when I'm at work! How cruel to leave it on another 8 hours through the night, right?
WRONG.
I did put her leg through a piece of fishnet stocking. Silly me thought it would stay on all night. We woke up this morning to stocking off and 2 places on her incision looking pretty inflamed. Her leg is definitely bothering her more today. She's holding it up a little more and there's less toe touching going on.
(5 minutes later)
I just checked it again. It looks pretty bad right now. There's actually a little bit of bleeding going on. I can't even take a picture of it. She won't let me. I dabbed it with a warm paper towel, dabbed on a teeny bit of antibiotic cream, and gave her 4 arnica balls.
How did we end up HERE, TODAY, after yesterday's beautiful photo?
BECAUSE I TOOK THE E-COLLAR OFF.
So let that be a lesson to you, dear TPLO friend: DON'T BE A SOFTIE. LEAVE THE E-COLLAR ON. ITS ONLY FOR 10 DAYS!!
***
Went home for lunch. The incision looks SO MUCH BETTER. Thank heavens for homeopathic remedies.
Maeby isn't acting as happy as she normally is today. It's worrying me a little. Is she already getting depressed from the confinement??
She's putting a little weight on the Pink Stump today, but alternates between bearing weight and slightly holding it up.
The leg with the morphine patch on it has also been shaking/quivering a little bit when she's sleeping, everytime she inhales. It's off and on. I called the hospital about it, and they said her leg is probably just annoyed by it but to still leave it on. I can't wait to get that thing off her tomorrow. Good riddance to that and the Pink Stump!
***
Ok, so this afternoon around 4:30, the leg shake/quiver evolved into a WHOLE BODY shake/quiver every time she inhaled. It kept getting worse and I couldn't get a hold of her surgeon, so I rushed her over to the hospital ASAP. She kept shaking during the whole car ride too, which freaked me out even more. Her surgeon was in surgery, so another random vet took a look at Maeby and said that it was probably due to the fentanyl (?) patch. Eventually he took her in the back, and he and Maeby's surgeon removed that along with her bandage.
When they brought her back to me, I was really surprised at how good her leg looked!! The Robert Jones bandage + arnica must have really worked, because her swelling is nearly non-existent. The bottom of the leg looks a little red from probably razor burn. She is holding the leg up A LOT, but started toe touching ever so slightly today.
I'm really glad I rushed her to the vet, because the gals on the orthodogs group did some research while I was gone. It turns out that fentanyl patches can cause respiratory problems, which is perhaps why Maeby was shaking while she inhaled. THANK GOD I GOT THAT THING REMOVED TONIGHT. I should have just gone with my gut and taken it off yesterday!
swelling so far is little to non-exsistent
she's so mad at me, she looks like a little devil dog
The incision area is crazy. It looks really good -- no fluids or puss or blood -- but wow, she literally has staples in her leg holding the incision together. It's my first time seeing that.
I knew keeping her from licking it would be tough (she's a major nibbler!) so on went the dreaded lampshade. We tried the pro-collar thing (the soft inflatable kind) and her shnoz is just too long for it to work. That's too bad, because SHE HATES the cone. She sulked for a bit until I took it off and kept her mouth busy with a bully stick. And we have to do this for 10 more days!!! MEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
