Day 6 after TPLO

Ok - so I'm dense. Niko was doing so well and he was healing like a champ. He didn't mind the cone and was into his new schedule. Everything was going great until we started to get a little lax on the cone thing.

We first started taking the cone off to give him a break when we were sitting right there. Then we left the cone off while we were in the other room for a few minutes. Then we left the cone off for a little longer period of time. He never was bothered or even interested in his stiches....

Always, always listen to the Doctor !!! I left the cone off and walked away, when I came back into the room, Niko was licking away. I nearly fainted. They warned us that this would happen. Thank goodness he didn't remove any staples. But the area is all red and raw from his licking and now I'm going to have to watch it for infection like a hawk. I'm sooooo stupid ! Everything was going so well, and we got careless. The amazing thing is that the Doctor could not have been more explicit about this particular instruction.

Rule #1.... Never leave the dog unattended without his cone on. Grrrrrr !

Day 2 - a little fresh air

Brought Niko outside for an hour or so yesterday to lounge around in the shade. He's feeling pretty good about things...

Day 2

Before the surgery I searched the internet to get information and pictures of what I could expect when I brought Niko home. Some of the pictures of bruising and ankle swelling after surgery were terrifying. I was so anxious about the aftermath that I worried myself sick. Now, day 2... look at the leg. So far, there's no swelling of the ankle (which would be normal) and there doesn't appear to be any bruising (which would also be normal). Niko is moving around great and occassionally is resting his leg on the ground.

Day 2 - I couldn't have asked for a more laid-back dog. He's doing super fabulous.

The Cone

For those of you who don't know what a cone looks like, here's a picture of Niko's cone. They've changed over the years. Cones used to be non-see thru white and a little thicker than this clear version. Another nice change is that the newer cones have velcro instead of flaps that you have to fool with. The only disadvantage of the velcro is the noise it makes when you are removing it. But at least the dog can see where he's going and can look through the clear plastic to see everything around him. It's working out well and doesn't seem to be bothering him at all. He doesn't even squirm when we put it back on him. So far so good !

1st night home

Niko did great. I heard him bumping into the walls with his cone around 2am and came down to let him go outside - making sure that I used the sling to prevent his back leg to "hit" the down when he went down the step outside the front door. The sling, by the way, is working wonderfully. I used a towel and sewed handles on to the ends - it works like a charm when he has to go down step. I take the cone off to go outside and usually after he has done his business, he likes to sit down and experience life without the cone. I sat outside with him for about 10 minutes, brought him in and re-coned him before heading back off to bed.

The ride home

The technicians went over so many details with us about the recovery over the next 12 weeks that my head is swimming. All I can remember is that for the next two weeks we are to keep him quiet. Cone on at all times, no walks and lots of medications. On day 5 we are supposed to start the at home exercises. I'll worry about that in 4 days. Right now I'm trying to keep him comfortable. He opted to go into his crate an hour ago and I took the cone off so he could get into it. However, I'm sitting here watching him to make sure he doesn't roll over and go after the staples in his leg. He's sound asleep and laying on his bad leg - so I think I'm safe as long as he doesn't JUMP up and switch sides. One of the best things that I did to prepare was to put rubberized rugs all over the first floor so he wouldn't slip on the wood floors. That's working very well. The other thing that I did was to make a "sling" to help lift his rear leg off the ground when he goes down one step to go outside to pee. They said that it isn't unusal for them not to poo for 5 days - so I'm not too concerned about that. When we got him home from the hospital, he must have had to pee every hour. He was given fluids over the night and they warned us that he'd have to go alot. They sent him home with Tramadol for pain - give to him for 7-14 days to keep him comfortable. Oh crap, I forgot to do the ice thing on him 2-3 times a day - I KNEW I'd forget something.

Day 1 after surgery

We got to the VOSM surgery center at 11am as planned and the technicians went over all the details of Niko's 1st night at the hospital. Apparently he was a star patient and very calm. They couldn't believe that he was actually allowing his foot to touch the ground. When a dog has had this kind of surgery, they typically hold their leg all the way up so it doesn't touch the ground. Niko is allowing his foot to touch the ground and he's even allowing some weight on the foot already. This is great because they want the dog to put weight on the foot and start building up the tendons and muscles. The picture here was taken in the car just after we loaded him in. He's comfortable and very calm. The leg looked great - it's not as red as the picture, that must be because it's my iPhone instead of a real camera. The bandage that you see is to cover the incision and staples. It only stays on for a day or so. It can come off anytime.