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Phoebe's ACL Surgery

7K views 72 replies 15 participants last post by  Karen519 
#1 ·
Today's the big day for her ACL Suture surgery - they elected to keep away from TPLO or TTA surgeries and stick with the simpler Suture technique.

We have an X-Pen for her and are getting the house set up - smooth floors covered, stairs blocked etc.

It's stressful but hoping for the best! I will use this thread to post some status reports etc. and have really appreciated reading the posts from others regarding these surgeries and the recovery progress.
 
#3 ·
Good luck, Phoebe. Fingers and paws crossed for you here.

Be prepared for a rather big incision and stay on top of the pain meds for the first couple of days. I hope everything goes smoothly during her recovery. Will check back on her progress.
 
#4 ·
Praying for Phoebe, for successful surgery and speedy recovery.
 
#9 · (Edited)
She's back today finally after the surgery - poor girl. 2 weeks for her in the cone of shame - I feel so bad for her. You can tell it hurts, she is crying a lot, but still very happy to be home! It went well and let's hope for a fast recovery - they said she has a lot of arthritis so it could take longer and may not ever reach 100% cured.

MEDS: She got Simplicef (antibiotic), and Metacam for pain 1x a day and that's it for pills - but she also has a "pain patch".
She was on Tramadol before the surgery...that seemed to kind of knock her out....she could really use that right now.


Apologies for this somewhat shocking image - but it's to show those who also are going to have to go through this what they can expect. You can see a clear bandage on the right knee...
 
#13 ·
Prayers and best wishes for speedy, pain free recovery. Hugs to Phoebes.
 
#15 ·
Thanks for all the well wishes and info - she's still a little squeaky today - I worry that she didn't get all of her liquid pain meds this AM - I squirted it in the side of her mouth but think it might have come out the other side! :-(

It's a 24 hour dose, so I don't want to give her more. Tomorrow I will put it inside bread with peanut butter in it.

She's most happy when going outside. The pen is no fun. She's putting her leg down and OK with the PROM physical therapy etc. We decided not to build a ramp for just two steps down to the front yard - on front door step and one porch step. For now we are carrying her over those - but she's acting like they would be no problem - so maybe in a few days she can tackle them on her own! Once in the yard she can go to the back yard with no problem - she would like to keep going too..but not for a long time - sorry Phoebe.

The hardest part for us is getting down on the floor to do the PROM therapy, massages and icing - hubby and I both are not very young - and getting up and down from the floor is a challenge for us! LOL
 
#16 ·
Thought I would share this - I made a large cold compress therapy pack on the cheap using directions I found online - It's super simple! We have other ones but I wanted something a bit bigger for her whole leg.

About 35% rubbing alcohol ($1 @Dollar Tree) mixed with 65% water - I just guessed at a ratio of somewhere between 50/50 and 2:1 - the online one I found said 50/50 but more water works well. Squeeze the air out and seal. It creates a great frozen "slushie" pack in a Zip-Lock type bag - I then put it in another Zip-Lock for an extra level of seal/security.

Here's a look of it in use today - using a damp cloth underneath to help transmit the cold and protect from sticking. A dry towel didn't transmit the cold well enough.

 
#19 ·
Thanks for the update and sharing the cold compressor pack idea. Sending healing vibes and hugs to a "jailed" girl.
 
#20 ·
I wanted to make mention this wonderful online resource -
/topdoghealth.com

We got a free downloadable Ebook on the Cruciate surgery (ACL) Home Rehabilitation
Guide from them - there's tons of videos and other helpful information - brilliant!

Many in the forum may already know about them - but for someone searching for help and info - this is a great resource!
 
#21 ·
I wanted to make mention this wonderful online resource -
/topdoghealth.com

We got a free downloadable Ebook on the Cruciate surgery (ACL) Home Rehabilitation
Guide from them - there's tons of videos and other helpful information - brilliant!

Many in the forum may already know about them - but for someone searching for help and info - this is a great resource!
Thank you for sharing your findings. I posted it to our new member last night, her sweet Holly is going for surgery soon.
Hugs to Phoebe, hope she is doing well.
 
#22 ·
Todays tip on preparing your home - if you have slick floors like hardwood or tile you'll need to put something down so they don't slip.

I had some of this "Red Rosin" paper on hand - found at places like Home Depot.
It's used to protect new floors in houses etc. and is a perfect width for walking areas.
In our case so far she is only going in and out the front door - so we just have the one hardwood hallway to cover. Plenty left to do other areas once she gets a little more freedom - but for now the surgeon says 8 weeks in the X-pen too allow better healing.

Inexpensive - and works great!

 
#23 ·
Ear scritches to the coned and jailed sweet Phoebe. Each day gets her closer to be rid of the cone which will already be a big improvement in her eyes. Good thoughts for her as she goes through her rehab. Slowly and patiently will do it. Keep us posted.

You are quite resourceful and finding great ideas for post-op tips and tricks. Thanks for sharing those.
 
#24 ·
I am glad Phoebe is recovering nicely.
I went through TPLO and FHO with my Toby and I also used some of Topdog's advice on facebook and printed out a rehab broschure. The surgeon that did the surgeries also gave me instructions which I followed a bit more than topdog's vet. But both are good,very helpful.
If you still have pain issues with Phoebe, you might want to ask your vet about supplementing Metacam with Tramadol. My Toby was on Metacam for three years prior to his surgeries and after TPLO, the metacam and Tramadol were not even enough pain coverage and I switched to Rimadyl twice a day and Tramadol twice a day per my surgeon's instructions. Sometimes surgeons only prescribe Tramadol and other pain meds for two weeks, but believe me, and Topdog agrees with that, the pets will need it a lot longer to be able to fully recovery and built up that muscle mass.
Good luck to poor Phoebe!
 
#25 ·
Saturday she got her pain patch off - this morning she seems much more lethargic and not very happy - we have started her back on Tramadol (post pain patch). Her Metacam ran out a few days ago and had 0 refills - so I assume we're done with that. She has 1 week left taking Simplicef.

Photo of where the pain patch was... (RH wrist) The other side has healed from an IV.
 
#27 ·
Thanks everyone again - just updating as I can get to it -
Week 2 we've switched her over to moist heat (top photo)
Her clear band aid came off - the scar looks pretty gnarly, but it's healing up well.

Less than 1 week left until the cone of shame comes off - YAY!

 
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