I know I've apologised for being a dog bore but I'm sure that some of you may be wondering what became of our Maxie.
If you remember, we were worried about his wound not healing properly and his not using his leg as well as we had expected. To cut a long story short (thank goodness for that, I hear you say), we took him back to the vet where he had the surgery done for investigations. X-rays showed that he had fractured his fibula, the other bone in his lower leg. Apparently, this is not an unknown complication of the TPLO procedure. The fibula is attached to the top of the tibia and is put under stress by the rotation produced by the surgery. In mature dogs, the bone is relatively fragile and a knock can make it snap in these circumstances. That explained why Max was still lame, and the vet explained that it would heal of its own accord and not to worry. He seemed unconcerned about the wound, expecting it to heal soon.
The wound did dry but developed a cyst-like swelling and began to weep again. We went to our own vet to get that checked and were sent home with antibiotics and instructions to keep the wound clean with a strong saline solution. He had to continue wearing his lampshade.
To cut a shortened story shorter, I am pleased to report that his wound finally dried up last Monday, and he has not had to wear his lampshade since. He also began using his leg much more normally. On Friday, he went for his eight-week post op. x-ray that showed his bones were healing nicely. We can now begin exercise - just ten minutes twice a day to begin with, building up over the next three or four months.
The most surprising thing is that Max seems to know that he has been discharged from the vet and suddenly wants to play and have fun again. He was exactly the same on being discharged after his previous TPLO. Perhaps he has merely picked up on our relief at being let out of prison. Perhaps he really has understood all our careful explanations...
If you remember, we were worried about his wound not healing properly and his not using his leg as well as we had expected. To cut a long story short (thank goodness for that, I hear you say), we took him back to the vet where he had the surgery done for investigations. X-rays showed that he had fractured his fibula, the other bone in his lower leg. Apparently, this is not an unknown complication of the TPLO procedure. The fibula is attached to the top of the tibia and is put under stress by the rotation produced by the surgery. In mature dogs, the bone is relatively fragile and a knock can make it snap in these circumstances. That explained why Max was still lame, and the vet explained that it would heal of its own accord and not to worry. He seemed unconcerned about the wound, expecting it to heal soon.
The wound did dry but developed a cyst-like swelling and began to weep again. We went to our own vet to get that checked and were sent home with antibiotics and instructions to keep the wound clean with a strong saline solution. He had to continue wearing his lampshade.
To cut a shortened story shorter, I am pleased to report that his wound finally dried up last Monday, and he has not had to wear his lampshade since. He also began using his leg much more normally. On Friday, he went for his eight-week post op. x-ray that showed his bones were healing nicely. We can now begin exercise - just ten minutes twice a day to begin with, building up over the next three or four months.
The most surprising thing is that Max seems to know that he has been discharged from the vet and suddenly wants to play and have fun again. He was exactly the same on being discharged after his previous TPLO. Perhaps he has merely picked up on our relief at being let out of prison. Perhaps he really has understood all our careful explanations...
What a clever doggy!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad he's feeling better.
See you in the morning.