denali-tplo surgery day 3 post op

Well, we made it to milestone 1...the end of day 3 post op. Denali will still be on her pain meds for another couple days and her antibiotics for another week or so. She is in good spirits today and spent most of the day resting. The docs say to keep them off their feet for the first 3 days and I was a little worried she was up and walking around too much. Maybe that's why she's taking it easy today. I took a sick day to stay home with her and will go into work for a bit tomorrow. I think she'll be ok. Her leg looks better to me today. The bruising doesn't look as bad and the swelling seems to have gone down some. Her incision still looks good and she's surprisingly not licking it. Thank goodness because I hate those cones. Denali was pretty happy to be outside for brief periods of time today. She tried to take off to chase some birds out of our tree (a favorite past time). Good thing I had her in a sling so I could contain her. Silly doggie.
So now we don't have to be as cautious about letting her move around. However, she still has to be confined to a small space and can only go out on on leash for potty breaks for the next 2 weeks. Well, we're 3 days in, so technically 11 more days. After that, we go back in to meet with the surgeon about her rehab program (exercises, stretching and massage at home) and it's another 6-8 weeks before her bone should be healed completely and she can get back to walking. Looking forward to that day...
Day 3 post op pics:

denali-tplo surgery day 2 post op

They call the first 3 days post op the inflammatory/pain phase. Awesome. However, on day 2, our Denali came back to us. No more spacey doggie! She was super excited to wake up this morning (in our bed of course...don't tell her surgeon but she was NOT going to sleep on the nice comfy bed we set up for her on the floor). She also climbed up on the couch today before we could stop her. Stinker. She's not whining at all and is continuing to put a little weight on her leg. We're still using the sling to hold her steady while she's standing and walking but she could probably manage on her own. I think she got used to the injury and using 3 legs that this isn't a big deal to her. Her leg is bruising quite nicely now and it's a deep red color. Her incision looks good though and no leakage. Denali does NOT like the ice packs on her leg and does anything she can to get away from me. Luke had to keep her company and hold her still while I iced tonight. She's a little stir crazy today but as long as one of us is sitting in her little pen with her, she's okay. So we've been taking turns sitting with her so we could stretch our legs. I've never been so unproductive on a weekend. ha! Some day 2 post op pics:

denali-tplo surgery day 1 post op

We brought Denali in on Friday, 8/24/12 for her surgery. She made it through anesthesia just fine, the surgery was "textbook" and went really well according to the surgeon tech. We got to pick her up on Saturday morning. She was pretty looped up on drugs, which was weird to see. They also shaved a ton of her back/leg/etc. We weren't expecting to see so much hair gone, but it'll grow back. There was a bandage on her leg in case the sutures leaked a little. They actually did sutures on the inside that eventually dissolve. This way, we won't have to go back in to have them removed and she won't be as tempted to lick at them. 

She sort of seemed happy to see us but then laid down on the floor and had to be coaxed into getting up to go to the car. However, with the help from a sling, she was already putting weight on her leg! The tech said that was a good sign. She couldn't quite figure out the backseat of the car so this was most of the drive home:

Poor baby!! We made it in and tried to just make her as comfortable as possible. It was hard to see her in pain and she spent time whining today. However, once she was able to go to the bathroom, she seemed in better spirits. Oh, and as long as both Luke and I were sitting with her on the floor, no more whining. :) Of course, she has no issues with eating. A lot of dogs will lose their appetite post surgery, but not Denali. She's up for any kind of treats and scraps you want to pass her way.

The surgery she had is: Tibial-Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) and is the common surgery done with this type of injury. Basically they shaved her tibia (shin bone) to make it level (instead of at a slant like it is in dogs), rotated it then attached everything back together with a metal plate and screws. This allows dogs faster recovery time and they are able to get back to daily activities without long term effects or a need to be on meds forever. So in a few months, she'll be back to running and jumping and playing (fingers crossed!). Unfortunately, they say that 30-50% of dogs end up with the same injury in the other leg, sometimes quickly after recovering from the first surgery. We are praying this is not the case, but aware of the chance. So this is day 1 post op:

denali-cranial cruciate ligament tear

Well, we decided to go ahead with surgery for what we suspected what a cranial cruciate ligament tear in Denali's right back leg. Our poor girl has been limping for a couple of months, off and on. She was playing in the backyard with another doggie a few months ago and since then, hasn't quite been herself. After a visit to her vet, she suggested rest for 6 weeks to see if the injury would heal on its own or to make an appointment with the surgeon. Well, for those of you who have met our crazy girl, you know that she does not "rest" well. Like her mommy, she's a runner and she's not happy when I leave her home.
Then, a couple weeks ago, she decided to sprint around the backyard and hasn't really been putting weight on her leg since then. She's mastered getting around on 3 legs and standing on her toes on the injured leg. And of course, she still wants to keep going...
So, we scheduled a consult with a board certified doggie surgeon to see the extent of the damage. Sure enough, he suspected a full tear in the cranial cruciate ligament (basically the acl). Her knee was "drawering" as they call it (easily moving back and forth because of the lack of ligament holding the femur and tibia together). So surgery it is...