My Boy Is Limping Again After 2 X $5000 Tplo Surgerys :(

[BubbaBelushi]

When my 4y/o Corso woke up this morning limping, my heart sank!

I've seen this limp before.

2 years ago he had his first TPLO on the left knee, about 1 year ago he had his second TPLO on his right knee. He spent 2 months "locked up" (only allowed outside for potty breaks) after each surgery and was in terrible amounts of pain the first week after each surgery.

I've been feeding him daily doses of Sasha's blend, fish oil etc trying to prevent anything like this from happening, and then bam he just wakes up limping.

I think all this stress and pain is taking its toll on him, the poor boy is only 4 years old and his face is already turning grey. So i'm not sure what to do now, i know a failed TPLO is extremely complicated to repair and can be worse for him than the TPLO surgery, and after the last surgery i promised him that i wouldn't put him through that pain again, it's horrible seeing him like that, argh.

He's booked in to see a ortho vet, but they can't see me to next week.

Can anyone give me some advice?

[Clyde]

You poor thing. No brilliant advice here I'm afraid, however I would definitely keep him crated until you can see your vet.

[persephone]

not a good thing, poor boy.

[puggy_puggy]

Is he limping all of the time or just when he gets up? Where does he sleep?

[badboyz]

Agree with keeping him confined for the time being. You never know, it could be something else and may settle with rest.

[indigirl]

As the weather is getting coller it copuld jsut be stiff/sore in the early mornings?

[Golden Rules]

Unfortunately it sometimes happens when a knee requires a second op.

My Dougal has had both knees done and then started limping again within 8 months - vet thought it may be a build up of scar tissue which was hindering his movement or possibly the cruciate need redoing - it was both. So he had another major op (poor boy ) but we are now coming up to 12 months from the last surgery and he is doing brilliantly, the best he has ever been!

Some things to keep in mind if you end up needing another op:

We did have some acupuncture work to help strengthen the muscles around the knee which in turn supports the knee joint and I am sure that has helped.

Also, I was giving Metacam to my boy for about 8 months post op - this allowed him to be pain free and use both his legs without favouring one over the other, therefore not putting any undue stress on the good leg and putting that knee at risk again. He was always exercised under supervision and not allowed to do anything excessive, plus I have a ramp to get in the car etc so he never has to jump up on anything.

He is currently running for 30 - 40 minutes at a time around our local park and still doesn't want to come home. This is a huge improvement in his endurance and I believe the Metacam and acupuncture (enabling muscle strength to build) has a lot to do with his recovery and current health.

After all that though, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that another op isn't required and that it may just be a pulled muscle or something less worrying.

[Fit for a King]

I was told by an ortho vet recently that TPLO surgery is going out of favour for this very reason - they don't stick. The more popular move now is TTO or TTA

I do hope your boy improves. Have you thought of swimming? No weight bearing but would build up the joints....

[Hairy Maclary]

My little scruffer had both his knees done within a 7 month period - it seemed to take much longer for the second one to come good. With Metacam and rest where needed followed by some swimming therapy he is going great. He gets Joint Guard daily as well.

2 years since the last surgery and he's unstoppable; people can't believe he's nearly 8 years old with a history of dodgy knees!

I would get some Metacam for him for now, at least until you see the ortho vet. It is really awful seeing them struggle after ops like this - I hope you can get some answers next week

[Kelly_Louise]

Oh, that's terrible news.

It could be a number of things, and not necessarily mean that the surgery has failed. Were his meniscus removed with any of the surgeries? Sometimes, if they are left in, the damage that's been done to them makes them start flapping around in there and getting caught between the joints etc, and can cause excruciating pain. Chloe's specialist told me that it does happen, and another op is needed just to remove the meniscus or remove the offending part of the meniscus. Chloe's were so bad that they had to be removed with the Tibial Wedge Osteotomy anyway.

I do hope that it is not a surgery failure.

Best wishes to your boy.

[WreckitWhippet]

Try ester-c instead of sasha's blend.

[BubbaBelushi]

thanks for the advice guys, very helpful indeed!

the leg that he is limping with is the one where they left the meniscus in, they said it wasn't damaged so there was no need to remove it, this makes me think maybe you are right Kelly.

I will try and take him to a regular vet to get some xrays done and see if they can see anything obvious.

Golden, that's great news about your Dougal, i really hope my boy doesn't need his re-doing though, that's my worst fear!

I give him ester-c too, but I haven't heard of metacam before, i'll look into that too.

thanks again!

Edited April 30, 2010 by BubbaBelushi

[Quickasyoucan]

My understanding from researching cruciate surgery is that it does not necessarily mean that there will be no problems with the leg afterwards ie that there could still be some arthritis from any damage that took place prior to the operation.

My dog has had some on off mild cruciate problems and the orthopaedic specialist in the end put us on a wait and see as he thinks it could only possibly be a tiny tear (few fibres), but he did say to me firstly that in all likelihood it will eventually go but also that there is a balancing act between leaving it too long and having the op done in terms of how much arthritis you get post-op.

I have noticed that since it turned cold my boy has been stiff on occasion in the mornings, could this be a factor too?

I have a friend whose rotty had a tta and apparently a titanium screw broke post op, she is okay now as I think eventually there was scar tissue build up but they had some worrying times too.

Bl""dy cruciates. Good luck with your dog.

Edited April 30, 2010 by Quickasyoucan

[gareth]

Sorry about your boy. Keep him warm. I have noticed since the weather has turned, the oldies are feeling it in their joints.

[Golden Rules]

thanks for the advice guys, very helpful indeed!

the leg that he is limping with is the one where they left the meniscus in, they said it wasn't damaged so there was no need to remove it, this makes me think maybe you are right Kelly.

I will try and take him to a regular vet to get some xrays done and see if they can see anything obvious.

Golden, that's great news about your Dougal, i really hope my boy doesn't need his re-doing though, that's my worst fear!

I give him ester-c too, but I haven't heard of metacam before, i'll look into that too.

thanks again!

Metacam is an anti inflammatory that you would need to get on prescription from your vet. There is an equivalent human form but speak to your vet first.

I was very reluctant to use it regularly initially as it can have some nasty side effects (as any anti inflammatory can) but in my boy's case, it has given him great quality of life and I am so grateful to my vet for persisting in changing my mind about giving it daily.

[Kelly_Louise]

thanks for the advice guys, very helpful indeed!

the leg that he is limping with is the one where they left the meniscus in, they said it wasn't damaged so there was no need to remove it, this makes me think maybe you are right Kelly.

Hmmm... could be a possibility. Might mean another surgery, but not as in depth and recovery won't be as long I wouldn't think.

If you do get any medication for pain relief, enquire about Previcox... it works great, and doesn't have the same side effects and nasties as some of the older meds. Especially better if you will use it regularly or intermittently (but consistently) like we do with Chloe (only give her one when she has a bad day with her arthritis).

Good luck with finding the answers

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

When my 4y/o Corso woke up this morning limping, my heart sank!

I've seen this limp before.

2 years ago he had his first TPLO on the left knee, about 1 year ago he had his second TPLO on his right knee. He spent 2 months "locked up" (only allowed outside for potty breaks) after each surgery and was in terrible amounts of pain the first week after each surgery.

I've been feeding him daily doses of Sasha's blend, fish oil etc trying to prevent anything like this from happening, and then bam he just wakes up limping.

I think all this stress and pain is taking its toll on him, the poor boy is only 4 years old and his face is already turning grey. So i'm not sure what to do now, i know a failed TPLO is extremely complicated to repair and can be worse for him than the TPLO surgery, and after the last surgery i promised him that i wouldn't put him through that pain again, it's horrible seeing him like that, argh.

He's booked in to see a ortho vet, but they can't see me to next week.

Can anyone give me some advice?

Oh, that's bad luck. Is it just one leg which is lame?

Ruby's still recovering from her cruciate surgery (the less expensive option, not the TPLO) but she's doing very well and has surprised us all (including our vet). I'd say a vet visit is in order. I know we had planned to have Ruby done by a specialist but after the unexpected splenectomy we didn't have the money so opted for our local vet to do it instead.

See what your regular vet says first. Perhaps you can opt for a lower-impact option for your boy? Both financially and physically? Did you get him into any kind of rehab? We plan to get Ruby into the canine fitness centre for some hydrotherapy and water treadmill work.

I can only wish you luck, it's heartbreaking to see them lame and in pain, isn't it?

[darlingdog]

thanks for the advice guys, very helpful indeed!

the leg that he is limping with is the one where they left the meniscus in, they said it wasn't damaged so there was no need to remove it, this makes me think maybe you are right Kelly.

I will try and take him to a regular vet to get some xrays done and see if they can see anything obvious.

Golden, that's great news about your Dougal, i really hope my boy doesn't need his re-doing though, that's my worst fear!

I give him ester-c too, but I haven't heard of metacam before, i'll look into that too.

thanks again!

Metacam is an anti inflammatory that you would need to get on prescription from your vet. There is an equivalent human form but speak to your vet first.

I was very reluctant to use it regularly initially as it can have some nasty side effects (as any anti inflammatory can) but in my boy's case, it has given him great quality of life and I am so grateful to my vet for persisting in changing my mind about giving it daily.

Just a quick word on my experience with using Metacam . I had a rescue German shepherd for 10 years who came to us with hip displaysia. She had surgery and also had to go on to Metacam to manage her ongoing pain with her other hip. She was on it daily for 6 years with no ill effects at all, in fact it enabled her to have a quality of life she would not otherwise have been able to have, so to any of you who have to use it daily and worry about doing so, please take heart that for some dogs it is a godsend with no big problems with using it. The only problem that we ever had with it was the price

[Lady Flying Furball]

Have a look at the post in General titled If You Have a Few Spare Minutes. It shows a video of orthopedic devices for dogs with joint problems It looks really fantastic and the minute I watched it I thought of you and this thread which I had just read!!

I'm sorry you have this renewed worry and your dog, the pain. Wouldn't it be good if it was just the colder weather. All the best and let us know if you watch the video, what you think??

Edited April 30, 2010 by FlyingFurball

[ILK]

Poor thing. Still so young must be very stressful for you.

What breed is your dog and where did you get it from?