2 weeks post-op // moose TPLO

[jessicadawnnn]

Moose is now two weeks post TPLO surgery, and so far is doing great. He gets his stitches out on Thursday and we're very excited to start this new stage of our recovery!

For anyone who has done the surgery before I have a few questions -

Did you guys have any "mishaps"? Either an infection, them re-injuring themselves during recovery etc etc.?

Moose today more than any other day is just pure FED UP with being restricted in his play and the space we've given him to recover, and as the weather gets better I can see him plotting his escape LOL. I watch him as much I can and when I'm not able to be with him he is coned and kennelled. Anyways, I'll cut to the chase. Today when we were out doing a short walk and bathroom break he literally power housed and ran for freedom up a small snow bank for a few seconds until I called him back (he could tell I was VERY angry and came to me with his head down although I doubt dogs feel guilt)

Our vet told us horror stories of people who had "let" their dogs go crazy and they ended up needing a second surgery for repair.

I'm not too worried about his little escapade hurting him very badly as he is still always weight baring and waking fine, but I just wanted to know what sort of things you guys ran into while recovering. (Basically so I can figure out if we're normal or not) Did your dog do stairs too early, or jump on the couch/ bed/ try and have a couple carefree seconds outside? How are they post TPLO? Back to normal?

One last thing: everyone I've talked to that has had the surgery was given different activity schedules to follow. Most were not allowed to do any sort of exercise or go outside for anything besides bathroom. We were told to do five minute walks three times a day since day 1, along with Passive Range Of Motion (PROM) activities three times a day for the first week. I've been wondering why there are so many different approaches in recovery, and which would have the best results? I'm just a little worried we're over doing it with Moose. He rarely shows us he's in pain ever so it's hard to tell :/




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[sidecar]

I'm glad to hear that Moose is doing well after such an involved surgery. Other than that, I really have no advice for you. I've had a couple dogs that had cruciate surgery and the regimen during recovery seems pretty close. Just do what the vet recommends and I'm sure the little escapade won't change the outcome.

 

[sjdavenport]

Following Mazey's TPLO, the cut in her bone took a really long time to heal. Several theories were proposed. One was potential thermal damage from the bone saw. Another orthopedic surgeon thought that the extreme rockback of her proximal tibia needed to get her knee back to the ideal angle made it more difficult to heal together. She's also an 11 year old dog who had multiple health problems/other surgeries that were going on at about the same time, so that may have contributed her delayed healing. Personally, I think that she was too restricted following surgery. Her surgeon was in the 8 weeks of strict rest philosophy camp. But bones actually require pressure to start the healing process. That is why some surgeons (it sounds like yours included) start a little activity/physical therapy exercises right away. I personally think that is the way to go. As far as true mishaps go, she did slip a few times on our linoleum floor (despite the 6 or so rubber backed runners that we put down). It gave me a heart attack, but she was totally fine. Anyway, a year later, I'm happy we went through with it. She's pretty much her normal self. Here is a recent-ish video (she's the one in purple). She has some elbow arthritis, and a little bit of arthritis in that TPLO knee, but she does pretty well for an 11 year old with ortho issues. Good luck with Moose's recovery - it sounds like he's doing great!! It's pretty much a requirement for dogs to try to worry their owners to death following the surgery, lol. Try no to worry too much. [video=youtube;l-TGEcHGPLc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-TGEcHGPLc[/video]

 

[TWW]

Nothing to add, just great to hear Moose is on the mend and best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.

 

[Smokeycat]

Kryten had elbow surgery not knee but in some ways the two surgeries are similar with a major exception being that the cut bones were not attached in Kryten's surgery (the bones needed to move to relieve pressure on the hardware. One of the biggest challenges was keeping him calm. For the first 2 months he wore a harness 24/7 so that I could have a stronger grip on him when we went outside. He did have a major setback at 1 month when we relaxed on the harness which is why it was on for 2 months. He eventually learnt that holding on to the harness meant he couldn't just do what he wanted but had to walk at the pace and location I was going.

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[jessicadawnnn]

Hi everyone! Updates! Moose got his stitches out on the 18th and is doing great. Everyone is really happy with his progress

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[Yamizuma]

Hi everyone! Updates! Moose got his stitches out on the 18th and is doing great. Everyone is really happy with his progress

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The pic with the teddy bear....*melt*. Obviously loves his hoomans too!


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[Igni06]

Glad to hear that Moose is doing so well. He is such a lovely boy! Have a speedy recovery Moose!

 

[Boxergirl]

That's great news! Moose is really a very, very handsome dog.

 

[yomo]

Our doctor also warned us to not overdo running or walks. After the surgery there are some restrictions which our vet listed: https://tploeastbay.com/recovery/restriction-recommendations/. Our walks would only be limited to certain number of minutes and we have to put ice pack everyday. It's tiriring but we handled it.