Niki's story

Owner: Alison Rubenstein E-mail: AlisonRubenstein@cs.com Date posted: January 20, 2001 My six year old Akita Niki-Bear began limping very badly and became very lethargic. Upon finding the condition of my bedroom, we realized she had been into a lot of mischief that day while we were at work and must have hurt herself jumping up or down on the bed. Next step was a call to our vet for x-rays. We took Niki for x-rays, imaging everything from a sprain to hip dysplasia. The x-rays showed a torn ACL and we were told we needed to consult with an orthopedic surgeon. Our vet arranged it, and we met with the surgeon, who explained about TPLO surgery. However, in the state of Florida she told us, there were only two surgeons capable and certified to perform this surgery. We chose to go with Dr. John Dee at Hollywood Animal Hospital in Hollywood, FL. From my first conversation with "Dr. John" I felt my Niki was in good hands. He immediately returned my phone call the same day, explained that he wanted to meet us and then we picked a date for surgery, November 17th. We took Niki in, got all her lab tests done and more x-rays. On the 17th we dropped her off and were surprised when the hospital called the following morning at 8:00 a.m. and said she was ready to come home. She came home in a bandaged leg and she looked like a pirate with a peg leg. She couldn't lay down, and being 110 pounds, it was difficult to pick her up to lay her down. I devised a system where I piled pillows up on the floor against our wall unit. I brought her over on her good side and stood her right next to the pillows and helped her fall into the pile of pillows. After that one time she was OK with it. Also, having a two story home, she was confined to the downstairs for about 5-6 weeks. My husband and I took turns sleeping downstairs with her. The bandages came off after two weeks and we could gradually increase her distance of walking, but not too far yet. It is now January 17th, exactly two months after the surgery and Niki got a clean bill of health from "Dr. John" this morning. She is still not free to charge up and down the stairs. She needs guidance so that she goes slowly up and down. She has lost any signs of limping or obvious favoring of the leg. We can increase her walks by 10% each week. She is happy, we are happy, and we would recommend Dr. John Dee and his whole staff at Hollywood Animal Hospital for this surgery, or any other medical treatment. He gave us back our Niki, and she reacted to different stages exactly as "Dr. John" said she would. I would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have to help ease their anxiety over having this surgery performed on their dog.