[Montgomery11]

Hi all

just wondered if anyone can share their experiences of what to expect following TPLO cruciate surgery. My boy is 5 days post op and is still very reluctant to move or even go out to urinate etc. He is on mild sedatives at the moment. When can I expect him to feel a bit more like himself and be keen to move about.

thanks in advance!

 

[Pytheis]

My German shepherd had a TPLO surgery back in November. It took him over 7 weeks to begin using the leg normally and stop leaning to keep weight off of it. He, however, is very high energy and it was nearly impossible to keep him calm, even with lots of sedatives. I would give your guy a couple weeks to feel more normal. Be sure you follow the instructions from the surgeon as far as taking walks and things. You want to make sure he doesn’t completely lose all the muscle in his leg, and once my guy started actually using his leg properly (rather than limping or babying it), the recovery moved along much better.

Have you been icing it? Are you sure the sedatives aren’t the cause of the hesitation to move? I might be inclined to see how he does without sedatives for a day. He may perk up a bit.

 

[JDandBigAm]

Are you using a belly type strap to help him support his weight? Its been years ago but it took a couple of weeks before Amber was able to limp outside to potty without the belly support. I was hovering around her the whole time with the support just in case. Hopefully, he is on some kind of pain meds.

 

[Montgomery11]

My German shepherd had a TPLO surgery back in November. It took him over 7 weeks to begin using the leg normally and stop leaning to keep weight off of it. He, however, is very high energy and it was nearly impossible to keep him calm, even with lots of sedatives. I would give your guy a couple weeks to feel more normal. Be sure you follow the instructions from the surgeon as far as taking walks and things. You want to make sure he doesn’t completely lose all the muscle in his leg, and once my guy started actually using his leg properly (rather than limping or babying it), the recovery moved along much better.

Have you been icing it? Are you sure the sedatives aren’t the cause of the hesitation to move? I might be inclined to see how he does without sedatives for a day. He may perk up a bit.

Thanks so much for your reply -my boy is usually quite energetic too which is why seeing him this way is alarming!! I have been icing the leg, it’s very very swollen. The vet said today that if the swelling gets any worse we would need to take him back. Was your boy’s leg very swollen too and when did it ease if you don’t mind me asking? The vet has advised us to keep him on the tablets for pain relief but I may ask them about it again at our next appointment. At the moment he doesn’t even want to go outside really. Very reluctant to use the leg.

 

[Pytheis]

Thanks so much for your reply -my boy is usually quite energetic too which is why seeing him this way is alarming!! I have been icing the leg, it’s very very swollen. The vet said today that if the swelling gets any worse we would need to take him back. Was your boy’s leg very swollen too and when did it ease if you don’t mind me asking? The vet has advised us to keep him on the tablets for pain relief but I may ask them about it again at our next appointment. At the moment he doesn’t even want to go outside really. Very reluctant to use the leg.

My dog was given one medication for pain relief and another as a sedative. You might have been given something that does both at once. His leg was swollen the first week, I’d say. It wasn’t too horrible, though the day after the surgery he developed a huge fluid pocket on the ankle of that leg. The vet looked at it and said it was normal, so I massaged the leg and the pocket as much as I could for a couple days. That helped. His leg was also pretty red and purple for a while too.

 

[Deborus12]

When our girl had TPLO surgery at age 9, she was reluctant to use the leg for a few weeks. We did also use the belly strap when going outside and she was able to get around this way. I have pictures of what her leg looked like the first week if you want to see them. She recovered well but it was a long haul. A year later, she injured the other one and we opted for the TightRope repair. This procedure had a somewhat quicker recovery and was less severe. She lived to14 and was still very active running around with her Boxer buddy so both surgeries were successful.

 

[Montgomery11]

Are you using a belly type strap to help him support his weight? Its been years ago but it took a couple of weeks before Amber was able to limp outside to potty without the belly support. I was hovering around her the whole time with the support just in case. Hopefully, he is on some kind of pain meds.

Hiya. No they haven’t given me a belly strap, but when he’s walking round in the garden he does seem to bear some weight already and get around ok. He’s just reluctant to get outside in the first place! He is on 2 lots of pain medication one of which contains the sedative.

 

[Montgomery11]

My dog was given one medication for pain relief and another as a sedative. You might have been given something that does both at once. His leg was swollen the first week, I’d say. It wasn’t too horrible, though the day after the surgery he developed a huge fluid pocket on the ankle of that leg. The vet looked at it and said it was normal, so I massaged the leg and the pocket as much as I could for a couple days. That helped. His leg was also pretty red and purple for a while too.

Yes I believe we have one that does both. I think the swelling is a little better today which is good news. Thank you for your reply!

 

[Montgomery11]

When our girl had TPLO surgery at age 9, she was reluctant to use the leg for a few weeks. We did also use the belly strap when going outside and she was able to get around this way. I have pictures of what her leg looked like the first week if you want to see them. She recovered well but it was a long haul. A year later, she injured the other one and we opted for the TightRope repair. This procedure had a somewhat quicker recovery and was less severe. She lived to14 and was still very active running around with her Boxer buddy so both surgeries were successful.

Thanks for your response that’s really helpful. I think the leg is a little less swollen today which is really good. How long was it before you started taking her out for short 5 min lead walks (other than the garden)?

 

[Montgomery11]

My dog was given one medication for pain relief and another as a sedative. You might have been given something that does both at once. His leg was swollen the first week, I’d say. It wasn’t too horrible, though the day after the surgery he developed a huge fluid pocket on the ankle of that leg. The vet looked at it and said it was normal, so I massaged the leg and the pocket as much as I could for a couple days. That helped. His leg was also pretty red and purple for a while too.

Do you remember how long it was until you started doing short lead walks, not in the garden but out and about? Thank you!

 

[Pytheis]

Do you remember how long it was until you started doing short lead walks, not in the garden but out and about? Thank you!

I started the day after he came home from surgery, as recommended by my vet. We went very slowly, really he just smelled things. We were out for five minutes total. From there we built up time as he could handle it. Time was what was important, not the distance. If he was particularly sore from a walk, we would go for a shorter walk next time.

 

[Deborus12]

I started the day after he came home from surgery, as recommended by my vet. We went very slowly, really he just smelled things. We were out for five minutes total. From there we built up time as he could handle it. Time was what was important, not the distance. If he was particularly sore from a walk, we would go for a shorter walk next time.

Pretty similar for our girl. We started slowly after a few days as she became more willing.