Been a while...

Well, it has been way too long since a post, but I was just watching Heidi walk around today and thought I should give an update.  She is doing great and I think still improving.  It's been about 3 and a half months since her last surgery.  Last time I posted, I was still a little concerned about the fact that she still did not bear as much weight on her left leg (the one we did the MMP surgery on in July).  The hubs and I were kind of wishing we had just stuck with the TTO like we did for her first knee.  I was convinced the MMP just did not give her the stability she got with the TTO, (which may be the case but it's hard to know).  However, little by little I feel like she is putting more weight on the left leg.  It's like it just took her a while to really trust that leg.  We've also ramped up her activity a good bit over the last month or so.  She now gets to play off leash for short periods of time, although she has not played off leash with other dogs.  I think we're ready to try one on one time with another dog, so hopefully we'll get a chance to let her do that in the next couple of weeks.  Well I'll keep you guys updated!  I hope you've enjoyed reading about Heidi's journey through 2 CCL tears. 

6 weeks post-op

Well today we are 6 weeks post-op!  Sorry I missed our 5 week check-in... I just started school this week and was distracted by all the preparations of being a student again, but that's a story for another day.  Today we actually begin going on 20 minute walks.  Heidi has thoroughly enjoyed her 10 minute walks and will love our even longer ones I'm sure.  As far as her limp goes, it's only barely noticeable, yay!  She still does not evenly distribute her weight between her two back legs while standing still, but slowly she seems to be balancing it out more and more.  I think these rehab walks are helping with that because there was such a difference in muscle mass between the two legs and now we're beginning to build that back up in her left.  Surely strengthening the operative leg makes it feel more stable and trustworthy (for lack of better word).

So needless to say, Heidi is doing great.  I can't wait for her to be able to be "normal" again!  But we'll take it slow and ease her into more and more activity.  I cannot remember if I told you guys, but dogs who have cruciate ligament tears are more prone to meniscus tears.  The meniscus is a  cartilaginous cushion (if you will) within the knee joint.  The chance of a meniscus tear is not as great as the chance of tearing the second ACL after the first tear though... I think the doctors quoted us a 10-15% chance of meniscal tear post ACL surgery.  Much better odds than the 60+ percent we were warned of a second cruciate tear after the first.  So we're hoping we're in the majority and don't have to worry about any more tears!

Oh one other thing.  I did notice earlier this week Heidi had a loop of suture coming out of her incision site.  I was afraid that was happening because she kept licking her knee and it looked weird... almost the way an ingrown hair looks.  These sutures aren't the outer sutures that I removed after 14 days, but rather the internal sutures probably used to stitch up the muscle and other tissue under the skin.  These are supposed to dissolve on their own, but I know from experience working with vets, sometimes it takes a while.  So they appear to be working their way out.  I cut what I could because I was not able to pull them out.  They must be connected to other pieces, but I wanted to let you know this happened, so if it were to happen to you, you don't freak out!  I think it's normal (I did not consult a vet, but I've seen this before) so I'm not worried. 

Anywho, I just wanted to give you a quick update!  Enjoy your weekend!

Rehab Walks in Full Swing!

Well, we reached the 4 week post-op mark on Friday and began our walks.  Needless to say, Heidi was thrilled to venture beyond the "potty area".  This week, she gets two 5 minute walks every day.  It doesn't sound like much, but it makes a world of difference for her.  Gives her a chance to briefly release some of that pent up energy.  (She has a LOT of it!)

I would like to note that her limp is continuing to get better.  It's much much less noticeable when she walks- maybe just a tiny hitch in her step- although she still doesn't put full weight on it when standing still.  I do think that has improved a little since my last post, however. 

As far as aesthetics go, her knee looks all kinds of funky.  The wedge of bone they pushed out to make room for the titanium implant looks really creepy and uncomfortable, but obviously it's working because she continues to improve each week.  I'll just have to get over the bumpy knee.  I need to try to get a picture of it... I promise, it's really weird and creepy... more so when she is walking.  Oh well, whatever works!  Her other knee looks very different.  It's still bulkier than a "normal" knee, but in a different slightly less creepy way.

At this moment, Heidi is laying with head against the base of the couch couch looking under it (probably at a toy) and whining with her tail thumping against the floor.  Sorry neighbors :-/  Obviously we haven't burned enough energy today.  We are looking forward to our 10 minute walks next week! Until then, have a great week/weekend and I'll update again soon!

A Little Past 3 weeks

All smiles

This post is going to be boring, but I want to try to post every week for those people who are following along because they find themselves in the same situation we're in.  Heidi is doing great!  Nothing new to report, really.  I will say I think the past couple of days I've actually noticed a difference in her limp!  When she walks it's really not too noticeable, but she does still bear less weight on her most recently surgerized (left) leg when she's just standing still.  It is totally possible this is a result of the reduced muscle mass in that leg and not so much that she's in pain (I'm hoping that is the case at least).  I was checking out her legs this evening as she was snuggling in my lap and it is crazy how big her calf muscle is on her right leg compared to her left.  There's also a pretty noticeable difference in her thighs/glutes, too (ps. I have no idea if dogs muscles are named the same things as humans so use your imagination).  I can't wait to build those back up!  Starting Saturday, she gets to begin her rehab walks :)  We'll start with 5 minute walks twice a day, which will be a real treat to Heidi! 

My only other concern is that she is becoming more and more wild. Obviously her leg is feeling much better because she is reverting back to her wild-woman ways.  We've started giving her Tramadol less than 12 hours apart.  We still only give it twice a day, but I give it when she eats breakfast around 8, then again around dinner time at 5:30ish.  Last time, we began giving the Tramadol three times a day as you may remember, but I'm sort of against over-medicating and this seems to do the trick.

Well, that's enough for now, see ya again in about a week!

It's been 2 weeks

Just laying in Mom's lap

Well, we're a little past 2 weeks post-op at this point, and things are still going great.  Nothing much to report, but I do want to say Heidi is still limping.  I think it's getting better but I see her every day so it's hard to tell.  It's definitely better than when she first came home, though.  So I think slowly it is getting better.  I was starting to freak out a little (as I knew I would) because she still had a pretty noticeable limp, but I looked back in my posts from last time, and found that at 2 and a half weeks post-op I reported that she still had a bit of a limp, so I think we're on track.  Made me feel a lot better at least!  Oh, I did take out her stitches this past Wednesday.  Everything looked good and her incision seems to be healing nicely.  She was a little more difficult this time, but I put Alex at her head with a spoonful of peanut butter, while I clipped and pulled out the stitches and that worked like a charm. 

Well we're halfway through the first 4 weeks which is fabulous!  Heidi is pretty antsy at times, but she's been a good girl.  Her grandparents came to visit her yesterday and she was SO thrilled!  As I've probably mentioned before, they are her favorite people.  And I guess that's all I've got!  Except for a few pictures, of course!

Family snuggle time!

Dad bought her a new bone

Playing dress-up in Mom's necklace

6 Days Post-op

I just wanted to update very quickly before going to bed.  No major changes for Miss Heidi in the last few days.  She is still doing very well.  One thing to note, I haven't noticed nearly as much swelling as with the last surgery.  Some of you may remember her "jiggly cankle" as I liked to call it.  There has been almost no jiggly swelling this time.  Maybe it's because the surgery was slightly less invasive?  Who knows.  I have noticed it's much easier for her to get up and down.  The first couple of days, just laying down from standing and standing from laying down was quite the task.  Lots of funky positioning and balancing.  Now, she uses her operative leg much more making her more stable.  She also seems to be walking with slightly less of a limp, although it's hard to judge because I see her daily.  We ended her main pain medicine, tramadol, a couple of days back and got to increase the trazodone (her "calming" drug), but she's MUCH more active.  She is a maniac when I get home from work.  Forget tail wagging... it's more like full body wagging... for like 5 whole minutes.  But I sit down with her and we snuggle and she gets it all out!  Not gonna lie, that's probably my favorite part of the day.  Makes you feel good to be soooo missed!  Other than that, not much to report, thank goodness!  I'm going to take her out one last time then hit the sack.  Oh and tomorrow is Friday, so you know it's gotta be a good day! 

Post-op: Day 3 (again)

Well, I'm glad to report I really have nothing to report!  Heidi is doing really well so far.  She sleeps a lot (thanks to some wonderful medications!) and she loves to snuggle with Alex and I.  She's eating well and all's normal when it comes to bodily functions, so I'd say we're doing great!  The one thing I look back in my blog and wish I had talked more about is her limping.  I don't remember exactly how it progressed and really should've talked more about it because, of course, this time I have a feeling I'll be paranoid she's not doing as well as before, when in actuality, I probably just don't remember!  So for the sake of others in our same situation, I'll try to note the status of her limp in all my posts.  However, it's important to note every dog's recovery will be different so if you're also going through this, don't freak out if your dog's progression doesn't exactly mirror Heidi's.  From day 1 post op, she's been using her leg.  Not to it's full potential, obviously, but she does bear some weight.  I would say today she actually puts a little more weight on it than the past two days, although if she gets going too fast (bad dog!) she will skip that leg every few steps.  I took her outside an hour or so ago and we saw another dog. It was all I could do to keep her calm so I now know I need to keep her from seeing other dogs when outside. And I'll tell you what I really love about this whole thing... carrying my 70 lb dog up and down the stairs for potty breaks!  And in this heat!!! I'll really miss that the most when this is all over ;-)  Well, that's all for now.  I'll post again in a day or two.  In the mean time, enjoy some precious (if I do say so myself!) pics of "the Hiney"!  [*Just FYI, our niece used to call her Hiney before she could pronounce her name and it stuck! So that's one of her many silly nicknames]

First day post-op snuggling in mom's lap <3

Rear view: slight swelling and muscle atrophy and of course a POODLE HAIRCUT!