| Maxine's story | ||
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Owner: Missy E-mail: missy@blives.com Date posted: September 20, 2000
After 3 vets confirming Maxine's cruciate tear we decided to get surgery. Every vet recommended getting the TPLO rather than the "normal" ACL repair because bigger dogs do better with it. She is 165 pounds.
On August 2, 2000 I took her to The University of MO, Veternarian Hospital in Columbia, MO (a 2 hour drive from St.Louis, where I am). They examined her and took x-rays and told me they could do the surgery 2 days later. I got to pick up Maxine on the 8th and, of course, she just wanted to sleep. I had her "kenneled" in the kitchen with non-skid carpets everywhere.
August 27: DISASTER!!!! Maxine decided to run to the fence today to see the neighbors dog and fell HARD. She was on a leash but got pulled back and her legs went out from under her. I rushed her to the Emergency Hospital to get relief for her pain, and woke up at 5:00 AM the next morning to drive back to the hospital to have them x-ray her and see if the pins were still in place. They were thank goodness, it was only soft tissue that was damaged.
September 2: All week Maxine was in extreme pain. The fall must have really hurt her. It took her 2 hours to get up and 3 hours to lay down. Last night she NEVER laid down, she stood in the kitchen shaking and panting. She urinated on herself and I noticed blood. I stayed up with her all night and took her to the local vet once they opened in the morning. She had a fever and crystals were found in her urine. She stayed there for 10 days. After 5 days all of the pain killers gave her bleeding ulcers so they didn't want me to pick her up too soon. UGH! My poor puppy. Sometimes I question if it will be worth it. By the way between the surgery, the emergency room, the pills, and the stay at the vet I am up to about $2400.00 in bills.
September 18: Maxine has been home a few days. It is so hard for me to go to work because I worry about her all day. She is able to get up and down on her own but still holds up her leg. I hope she uses it soon. It is so small now. There is no muscle and you can see her hip bone. Her 8 week post-op check up is coming and I want to postpone it. They tend to make her leg sore when they take x-rays and I dont want to put her through anymore. It hurts to watch her hop around. I want her to be back to the way she was, even before surgery. The vets all seem to think it will just take time. And that soft tissue takes longer to heal than bone.
I hope the next news I post is good news.
UPDATE: October 2, 2000: Post OP Checkup! This was supposed to be the BIG DAY. No more bathmats in the kitchen, no more leashes in the backyard, no more towel walking. Instead we found out with that fall, Maxine broke the head off of her femur. It has been recommended that we either get a hip replacement or get a screw to connect the "ball" back to the neck of her femur. Our other choices were to do nothing and have her be a 3-legged dog or remove that "ball," which usually isn't done unless the dog is under 40 lbs. I opted for the screw because it only makes a small incision and it isn't that expensive. The chances are reasonable that she will heal. The problem is because this break wasn't found earlier, the screw might not take. I don't know what would be best at this point. We are more than out of money -- we are in debt. It makes me sad that if this break was found 4 weeks ago when I woke up and rushed her to U of MO, it would have had a better chance of healing and she would have been fine now.
I should also mention the TPLO surgery was successful. The knee looked great in the x-rays. From one view the break in the bone was barely visible, and from the other view you could clearly see mending had taken place.
We get to pick her up on Saturday, Oct 7.
UPDATE: October 11, 2000. I hope I am not getting too excited, but Maxine is walking so much better and it has only been a week. She is placing her paw flat on the ground rather than just the toe.
Dr. Tomlinson, the surgeon at University of MO, put 2 screws in and a pin for more stability. Her leg is all plates and screws between this and the TPLO surgery. If the bone tries to heal around the screws we are fine. If not, we will have to try something else. The incision for the surgery was only about 3 inches long and only 3 stitches. Her leg had to be re-shaved, and looks about half the size because of the muscles atrophying. We won't be able to work on PT until the x-rays are reviewed. I get her stitches out tonight as well. Just 3 more weeks until the x-rays!
December 7 -- last update (hopefully!) We are going to have some more x-rays done later this month, but I feel Maxine is recovering fine. Her leg is back to its old size and she has all of the muscle weight back. She is still shaved but I guess it takes a while for the hair to grow back. We still confine her when we leave the house but allow her to walk on carpeted areas when we are here. We have also towel walked her up and downstairs a few times.
If anyone is considering the TPLO surgery for their dog prepare for a long recovery. And don't take ANY chances in the process. It is all worth it in my book.
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