The question is what to do -- go ahead with another TPLO right away? Wait and see how he does? It's all happened so fast. If we did the surgery right away, it would overlap with the first recovery by a couple of weeks. He'd be all done by the end of October ... this is a tempting option. In the end I went ahead and scheduled the operation for next week, but will take a few days to think it over and decide whether we should wait it out for a little while.
I had my Tufts consult with the most approachable and helpful person I have dealt with there -- if you find yourself headed to Tufts for an orthopedic issue and are willing to consult with a resident, Dr. Pike is the one. Tufts has some superb surgeons who seem to be alarmingly blunt and heavy-handed with owners, but Dr. Pike was knowledgeable and reassuring, and mapped out what I felt was a balanced picture of our options. It would have been much easier for him to say, "This dog's problem is cruciate, and you have to treat it surgically right away" (which is literally what the first resident said back in May, before she'd even glanced at Kodi). Dr. Pike patiently helped me consider each alternative individually, without pressure, and answered my many questions with competence and understanding.
See how the surgery went and how Kodi's doing now ...
August 1, 2000 (8 1/2 weeks post surgery)
Tufts confirmed that Kodi has a partial cruciate tear today. It's not a bad one -- Kodi is getting around OK -- but there is clearly some effusion in the joint, and a positive drawer movement.
August 4, 2000 (9 weeks post surgery)
We have decided to go ahead. You'd think the decision would be a snap because of how well Kodi did the first time, but it was wrenching. We are so sad for Kodi, who will end up spending more than half of this year in recovery from two major surgeries.