Collapsing Trachea and cruciate ligament damage

OldNotWIse

tk123 wrote: »

Hehe I've posted many times before about what happened with Bailey when he was recovering with the first leg! I can laugh now but at the time it was terrifying

So a few years ago when we had all the snow I brought him out to the loo and to cool down on Christmas eve while my mum was out having a cig. He had finished crate rest and then out on a walk a dog jumped up on him (multiple times :mad:) leg swelled up and my vet thought one of the pins had cracked the bone etc etc so he was back on crate rest until we heard back from the surgeon who was on chrismas holidays.. He started messing trying to pull the lead out of my hand - so I stood on it like I'd been thought at class... TK1 - Bailey 0...except it just went down in the snow and slid from under my feet!! Off he went around our small garden with zoomies :eek: My mum ran in crying thinking his leg was going to snap and I managed to catch him but it was very scary. The vet called a few days later to say everything was ok with the xrays - I told her I'd guessed as much because he'd been tearing around the garden lol!

That sounds terrifying. Do you think I should have her x rayed to make sure nothing has snapped?

ACD

I'd check with your vet Oldnotwise, see what they think. We had a few moments (and nights) like this, when our pup was recovering from a fractured tibia- sunday night he managed to slip his cast off and it was only after a week since he broke it, so I was really worried that the bone would move. Straight to the vet in the morning, they x-rayed him again, but fortunately nothing moved. This happened a few more times, despite him being crated and wearing the cone, but it healed perfectly. Fingers crossed for your little one!

OldNotWIse

ACD wrote: »

I'd check with your vet Oldnotwise, see what they think. We had a few moments (and nights) like this, when our pup was recovering from a fractured tibia- sunday night he managed to slip his cast off and it was only after a week since he broke it, so I was really worried that the bone would move. Straight to the vet in the morning, they x-rayed him again, but fortunately nothing moved. This happened a few more times, despite him being crated and wearing the cone, but it healed perfectly. Fingers crossed for your little one!

So they would need to x ray? I'm reluctant to have her sedated again unless necessary

OldNotWIse

Called the clinic and explained what had happened. The veterinary nurse said she'd get one of the vets to call me.

tk123

OldNotWIse wrote: »

That sounds terrifying. Do you think I should have her x rayed to make sure nothing has snapped?

Well with Bailey he was fine after that run around lol but the dog jumping on him - his hock was swollen the next day and he wasn't bearing weight - it was obvious he was in pain so I took him over. We actually had an appointment already because one of the subdermal stitches was poking out - the vet pulled it and the skin all squeezed together - puke puke . He did jump away from a dog that had a cone on in the vets very early on and I was terrified - the vet freaked me out examining the wound but she was just being extra careful lol looking at it close up....and smelling it(!)

OldNotWIse

Our little one is still doing well, nearly two weeks post op. She has started "toe touching" which is apparently a good sign. I am wondering if anyone can advise on how much or how little she should be doing right now. The vet warned us about allowing her to run/jump etc so when she is alone, she is confined to a section of the room with just her bed and food/water bowls. But when we are there, is it ok for her to be just walking around the house after us? When she goes out to do her business she is not on a lead but will walk at a fairly slow pace around the garden just sniffing and eating a bit of grass. Is this amount of movement ok? Also, is it ok that she is putting some weight on the leg while walking slowly (if she walks faster the leg goes up), and I have noticed too that when she stands it's as if she is standing with that leg out a bit, it is not completely in line with the other one.

Any advice appreciated!

Appetite returned but still as fussy as ever

andreac

I personally wouldn't allow off lead at all this early. I know when Flo had hers done she was crate confined for 6 weeks. She literally was in her crate 24/7 and only out for toilet breaks.
Then it was nearly 6 weeks on lead afterwards.

Maybe its different with smaller dogs though.

What did your vet say about post op recovery?

OldNotWIse

andreac wrote: »

I personally wouldn't allow off lead at all this early. I know when Flo had hers done she was crate confined for 6 weeks. She literally was in her crate 24/7 and only out for toilet breaks.
Then it was nearly 6 weeks on lead afterwards.

Maybe its different with smaller dogs though.

What did your vet say about post op recovery?

Really? They didn't say anything about keeping her crated all the time. Feck I hope I haven't disrupted the healing process

andreac

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Really? They didn't say anything about keeping her crated all the time. Feck I hope I haven't disrupted the healing process

As i said, it could be totally different to bigger dogs recovery. What op did she get again? Was it the TTA? If not it could be very diff to what Flo needed, recovery wise, so def see what they say first.

OldNotWIse

andreac wrote: »

As i said, it could be totally different to bigger dogs recovery. What op did she get again? Was it the TTA? If not it could be very diff to what Flo needed, recovery wise, so def see what they say first.

No we went for the extracapsular repair because of her size.

aonb

My JRT X is now nearly 8 weeks post op.
The vet said for first few weeks, he was to be on total rest.
During that time, like yours, he was confined to a small part of the family room, but hopped on 3 legs out to the garden to pee/poo several times a day - on the leash (just in case - after reading TK's Bailey disaster!). He never put his toe to the ground during that time.

After his first check up the vet said a 5-10 minute walk/day, on leash.
Since then, he will put his foot down when WALKING SLOWLY. The moment he speeds up, its hopping on 3 legs.
We are out of the country for several weeks, I phoned the vet back in Ireland, a few weeks ago, and had a discussion. Since he was not at that time putting his leg down pretty much at all, the vet said another few weeks of 5-10 mins walk on leash/day. We will be back in Ireland next week, so will go along for a check up and see if there is enough progress to increase the daily walk.

So, not much use to you really - if concerned at all, I would phone the surgery and talk to the vet or a nurse, for clarification and reassurance. I am surprised that your girl would be putting her leg down to walk slowly already - I would check with your vet to be sure (my wimpy dog only started putting his leg down to walk slowly after about 6 weeks - but they are all very different - the vet did say that it varies HUGELY from dog to dog)

OldNotWIse

aonb wrote: »

My JRT X is now nearly 8 weeks post op.
The vet said for first few weeks, he was to be on total rest.
During that time, like yours, he was confined to a small part of the family room, but hopped on 3 legs out to the garden to pee/poo several times a day - on the leash (just in case - after reading TK's Bailey disaster!). He never put his toe to the ground during that time.

After his first check up the vet said a 5-10 minute walk/day, on leash.
Since then, he will put his foot down when WALKING SLOWLY. The moment he speeds up, its hopping on 3 legs.
We are out of the country for several weeks, I phoned the vet back in Ireland, a few weeks ago, and had a discussion. Since he was not at that time putting his leg down pretty much at all, the vet said another few weeks of 5-10 mins walk on leash/day. We will be back in Ireland next week, so will go along for a check up and see if there is enough progress to increase the daily walk.

So, not much use to you really - if concerned at all, I would phone the surgery and talk to the vet or a nurse, for clarification and reassurance. I am surprised that your girl would be putting her leg down to walk slowly already - I would check with your vet to be sure (my wimpy dog only started putting his leg down to walk slowly after about 6 weeks - but they are all very different - the vet did say that it varies HUGELY from dog to dog)

Thanks for that. I really don't recall the vet giving us strict instructions. I will be kicking myself if we have messed up the post-op :mad: What would happen then? Would she need more surgery? Or would it still take? I emailed the vet just now. I find that doing this is better as they will generally ring around 6 when they finish. Fingers crossed.

tk123

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Thanks for that. I really don't recall the vet giving us strict instructions. I will be kicking myself if we have messed up the post-op :mad: What would happen then? Would she need more surgery? Or would it still take? I emailed the vet just now. I find that doing this is better as they will generally ring around 6 when they finish. Fingers crossed.

I know somebody who's large breed dog had cruciate surgery a day after Bailey had his op 4 years ago...Can't remember what method they used but the dog was confined in an area of the daycare place - too large imo considering Bailey was in a crate that i took up half of sitting in it lol. Anyways it didn't heal properly and she had to restrict the dog all over again for another 12 weeks! (To be fair I don't know anybody who had a successful outcome with ortho surgery at that hospital)..
Bailey was on lead outside until 12 weeks post op. I think once he was good to go out of the crate at 5 weeks or so I started letting him out to the loo off lead under supervision BUT he was 2 and still a young bouncy retriever - your girl definitely has more sense! . Funny were out today and our combined ramblings added up to 10.6 kilometres! 4 years ago we were in the same places the weekend before his op and he faded fast and slowed down so was in a bit of discomfort - obviously we didn't walk as far(!) Not a bother on him today!!

OldNotWIse

Took her to the vet on Friday for a scheduled checkup and the vet said she is delighted with how she is doing and that it looks like the surgery really was a success. Now she is on two 5 minute walks per day, plus massage and passive movement (sort of terrifying because I feel like I might damage her leg in the process!). Obviously still no running/jumping etc. We will be gradually increasing the walking time, and she will be back for another checkup in 4 weeks.

Heskey1971

OP, just a tip when my St Bernard had her cruciate done ( not sure the size of your dog ).

Cause she was a big down the crouching down for pissing or ****ting put alot of pressure on her back leg so for the first couple of months I had a scarf tied around her waist and she she crouched to piss/**** I held the scarf and took most of her weight.

The more conservative you are for the first 3 months the better the results. Swimming is good too after that to help rebuild the muscles before they go full on off lead.

Best of luck.