Ruby Having Cruciate Surgery

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

My poor Ruby (allergy dog) has damaged her cruciate ligament a few months ago. At the time of diagnosis, she was also dealing with mange and severe allergic response (the allergies are on-going). My lovely vet advised we wait before booking the op, as she wouldn't have coped with the recovery or surgery itself...

She's sufficiently well enough to have the surgery now, so I've booked her in for next Tuesday. I had a consult with my vet this morning just to go over things before going ahead. He does two or three of these a week so I have lots of confidence in him. I would prefer he does it now, than we wait until after we've moved to Brisbane and then try to find the right vet to get the surgery done. It will be a bit more work for me as I have to carry her up/down the stairs (but am doing that now as she's very sore) and she'll need to be crated for a little while...and because my OH is away for another couple of months, it's all on my shoulders. She will also need a physio program to go on with once she begins to heal. He just said, "Do whatever the vet recommends, she's put up with this for a while," so I have his agreement (she's his dog).

Please think lots of positive thoughts for Ruby next week. She's 9 yrs old so not a spring chicken...not that anyone's told her that! :D

[Daisy]

all the best for Ruby!

[chiara]

Hi,

Good luck with poor little Ruby's surgery. My little one has just been diagnosed with HD and he will need surgery soon so I'm learning all about post op stuff, if you need help with a vet and physio in Brisbane let us know!

Edited August 15, 2009 by chiara

[Tru Borders]

Best of Luck for the surgery lillysmum!!

If you need any help or advice with anything please ask. I have Asher on Day 12 Post Op after having a TPLO so i know exactly how your feeling at the moment and how much is going through your head.

I have a thread about Asher's Post Op recovery so if you want to ask any questions, see piccies etc please do so.

[Sheridan]

My mum's little westie x has just had cruciate ligament surgery. She's doing very well.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Thanks for the well-wishes...I've set up the mid-sized wire crate for Ruby's first few days post-op...she's looked at it once or twice. I think she's expecting a foster to arrive!

My vet has says half his crucitate patients are staffords or staffy crosses, so at least she's a "typical" patient for him! I know LP is quite common in the breed as well but thankfully Ruby doesn't have it...just a torn cruciate on one side and a slightly worn hock joint on the other side. I think she did it while zooming around the yard after the greyhound.

She had a bath today...her last for a little while.

[koolietas]

Wishing Ruby a speedy recovery

Hope all goes well today lilysmum - be thinking of you

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Thanks KT, I'll be calling them shortly to see how she's going...I'm a nervous wreck!

[koolietas]

I know - it's a horrible feeling until it's all over and she's home safe & sound with you. Then you can start to relax a little...although, that's when the hard work begins for you!

Let us know how she's going...

[sunnyy]

Hi Lillysmum,

I wish your pup a speedy recovery. One of my dogs, a staffy, blew her cruciate 2 years ago. Do you know what type of surgery she is having? Brandi my staffy needed to stay in a cage for 7 days following the surgery from memory, so I needed to hire a cage from a place here in Perth.

[Staffyluv]

Sending good wishes to Ruby for a speedy recovery - it is always hard to see them have an operation

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Finally Ruby's had some *good* luck...

I got a call from my vet at about 2.30 this arvo...at first I was worried (as you would be). But once he got her under and he began manipulating the joint, he found that the tear wasn't as bad as when he diagnosed the problem. He said that to open her up to operate would cause more damage than what he needed to repair and that the tear was healing by itself to the extent that surgery isn't desirable. He also said that she has developed arthritis so will need on-going support and supplementation (once we find something she's not allergic to, of course!). He took more x-rays to confirm all of this before waking her up!

So the good news is that she's home, dozing in the crate, being very sooky and hasn't got a mark on her. But she'll need careful monitoring, no strenuous exercise, and anti-inflammatories...and at the first sign of trouble, straight back to my lovely vet. :D

I am SO relieved. The enforced rest period between diagnosis and surgery had a much greater affect than I thought possible...the tear was very significant.