Post-op: Day 1

We arrived at the vet school bright and early Saturday morning to pick up Heidi.  I was nervous/excited and had butterflies in my stomach for sure.  We spoke with Susan and then Dr. Tuohy and Dr. Marcellin.  They went over post-op care and her medications.  She would be on meloxicam and tramadol (for pain and inflammation) for 3 days and on the trazodone throughout the entire recovery process.  Finally, after what seemed like forever, they brought Heidi in.  I fought back the tears this time... go me!  She actually looked pretty good and was already using the operative foot slightly which was great news.  Her new "do" was not quite as exciting, but it's a small price to pay.  Looking like a poodle butt with a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey tail for a while is not the end of the world! I'll have to post a picture of that later.  It's quite amusing, but don't tell her I said that!

We loaded Heidi in the car and made the trip back home.  Alex had to carry her up the stairs because they are a big no-no during recovery.  I'm not quite sure what I'll do when he's not home because I cannot carry her up and down the stairs safely alone.  I bought a sling that goes under her abdomen and has handles so I could lift her rear legs as she walks.  I'm not sure if she'll tolerate it or not, but I will probably give that a shot.  We got her home and set up her bed in the living room. It was tough because she was so excited to be home and we were trying to get her to settle down and not over-do it.  Finally she got comfortable in her bed and slept there for the rest of the day.  I made myself a little place on the floor next to her and stayed by her side to make sure she was comfortable and feeling loved.  Before bed, I decided it would be a good idea to put the e-collar I bought her on, so she couldn't lick her surgery wound.  She's a licker and we were afraid she'd go to town on it while we were sleeping.  She is NOT a fan of the e-collar.  She woke us up 3 times I believe in the middle of the night crying in her kennel.  So we may have to find an alternative therapy for that.  Luckily we can take her stitches out in 10-14 days, so we won't have to deal with that the entire recovery period.

Oh, I should mention, she hadn't eaten since the night before her surgery and showed no interest in food the morning after while at the vet school.  Once we got her settled in, we made a little chicken and rice for her (her fave!) and she scarfed it down.  Luckily it doesn't seem she's lost her appetite!  We do have to reduce the amount of food we feed her each day for now, since the next couple of months her life will be much more sedentary than she's used to.  Her body condition is perfect now, and it's imperative she doesn't gain weight because carrying extra pounds will put extra pressure on her knee. 

Icing her knee on day 1

So I'm sure many of you are wondering about this "recovery period" I've mentioned.  It's no joke, that's for sure.  For the first 4 weeks she is to be strictly confined in a small area that does not have slippery floors or furniture she could jump onto.  We've blocked off a section of our living room.  Luckily we don't allow her on the couch so we're not too worried about her trying, but when we're not right with her, she will have to stay in her kennel.  She is only allowed outside to use the bathroom and has to be on her leash at all times.  We even keep her on her leash inside so we can grab her quickly if she were to try to go crazy.  At week 5, we can take Heidi out for 5 minute leash walks twice a day.  Week 6 increases to two 10 minute walks a day.  Week 7 she can do 20 minute leash walks twice a day, and they encourage us to take her through tall grass, sand, or shallow water to increase muscle mass in her thighs which will help stabilize the joint.  At week 8 we can increase to 30 minute leash walks twice daily until her 8-10 week re-check appointment.  If she gets the all clear and her bones are healed, she can increase her activity gradually over the next month until she reaches her normal activity level.  We still have to avoid rough play and uncontrolled activity during this time.