newfsie Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 (edited) Katy hurt herself being a hooligan last Saturday....We went the rest and see way first........... We went to our vet today.....he watched her walk and asked if she might allow him to check her out. i put her on her side with "bang" and she just lay there whilst he examined her. She had a positive drawer test, so now he has given me a referral to a Ortho vet in Melbourne, Chris Preston, who owns Bernese Mountain dogs http://www.petemergency.com.au/surgery/diagnosis.html This is where she will be going, it is now just a matter of how and when I feel a bit depressed, but Rowan tells me she will most likely be able to return to water training So TPLO it is I am lucky in that she is very fit, due to all the water Rescue Training and very lean....Almost thin. because she does not eat a lot when it is hot. Does anyone have any experience with Chris Preston. I have not made contact as I wanted to see what anyone had to say..........He is experienced with giant anesthetics, which I do like. I would take Katy from the Vic/nsw Border and stay however long I have to stay. Might have to ask some friends for a literal lift into our car :). We have a ramp, which she happily uses now, but after surgery that would be different. I am also going to make a sling from one of our padded girths, to help her. She is moving quite well right now and her hips are great. But I want to keep them that way. She went in the dam this evening and I am just letting her do whatever, because she will have a long recovery post operative. Any info /experince would be greatly appreciated....I have had newfies since 1980 and this is my first ortho problem...... Edited February 15, 2012 by newfsie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 what's tplo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfsie Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 what's tplo? http://www.advancedvetcare.com.au/all-about-us/clients/surgery-1/orthopaedic-surgery/cruciate-disease This is a good description Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrm88 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Chris Preston is a fantastic surgeon and his clinic is first class, she would be in very good hands :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdogs Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Chris Preston is a specialist surgeon who is carries out TPLOs with regularity. He is good at what he does. Others to consider also are Charles Kuntz, James Simcock (both at Southpaws in Moorabbin) and Wingtip Wong who is in Werribee. How old is Katy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kajtek Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Oh my Poor beautiful Baby Bear and poor you! On the upside: - It is fixable - If done correctly, the fix will last a lifetime - You, my dear newfsie, will grow immensly as as a person. During Katy Bear's-recovery you will find the new depths of patience, hone your skills of invention and bond even closer to Katy. Good luck. It's a journey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfsie Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 Oh my Poor beautiful Baby Bear and poor you! On the upside: - It is fixable - If done correctly, the fix will last a lifetime - You, my dear newfsie, will grow immensly as as a person. During Katy Bear's-recovery you will find the new depths of patience, hone your skills of invention and bond even closer to Katy. Good luck. It's a journey Thank you......... And Katy will be three in August. My Breeder has been great and supportive. And has offered for us to stay with her if we went the Sydney way, But melbourne is only just over three hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 All the best for you and Katie My GSP boy just had a TTO (triple tibial osteotomy) which (but I'm no expert) is apparently a more complex surgery than the TPLO. He is now 6 weeks into recovery and is doing phenomenally. His life is already so much more improved having had the surgery. The hardest part has been helping him stay calm and wait out the recovery period, because he is getting all his energy back and doesn't know what all the fuss is about! It is great that she is so athletic and lean, but I can't stress enough how important it is that they rest and move very minimally whilst recovering. Rumor jumped up on a bed when none of us were looking (or expecting it ), and once he got down he limped badly for a day before we took him to the specialist just to be safe. Luckily it didn't do any real damage but it just set him back by about a week. He had some difficulty going to the toilet after the surgery and would cry and wince while going number 2s (he had the surgery on his left back leg) but that was resolved in about 3 days. I hope you have a positive experience too. It has been a much simpler and stress-free experience than I ever imagined it could be.. and he was just so happy to be home!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfsie Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 Thank you guys for the positive replies........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kajtek Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 It was a good experience for us. However, it took a quite an effort to keep my girl quiet and "entertained" :laugh: She felt better soon after the op and wanted to do things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 When I was working in a specialist practice we had quite a few large breed dogs in. I think they did much better at recovery than the little ones because their owners took the rehab so seriously!! Your girl is already well conditioned and you have heaps of different methods of working her mind when she is recovering, and working her body once you start building her back up. So I think she is lucky to be recovering under your care and guidance :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kajtek Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 When is the op newfsie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 (edited) Best ofr luck, know what u r going through as my 7 month old pup probably has to have elbow surgery, seeing ortho specialist tomorrow morning. Hardest thing mentally for me to deal with is the recovery as I will need to keep him separate frm my older dog when they are home alone together Edited February 19, 2012 by Mason_Gibbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfsie Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 When is the op newfsie? 1st of March she is having her pre-op final decision time in Melbourne. Wouldn't want to do the op if it wasn't what was wrong, but 99% sure. She will be fasted from food, can drink and if it is an operation will be done that day after lunch, which is their Surgery time. I got rung by Chris Preston and he has alleviated some of my anesthetic concerns. Newfies are giants and giants can have issues. I have lost one newfie during Surgery and I never want to go there again. So now we wait and see....katy has minimal pain it seems. Still gets about and still happy smiley self. I hope the Surgery is prepared for this clown Because she is a real clown with a huge sense of humour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karly101 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I have heard good things about his surgery and his facilities are all new and am sure it has top of the range equipment and I know many good specialists are now there. I can also recommend Charles Kuntz, one sign of a good surgeon I think is that for quite a few cases my previous clinic referred to him - he recommended against surgery. After surgery is a critical time and I know they've done a lot of research on it. Make sure you go through all of it during that pre op check out so you are prepared. Good luck :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life Of Riley Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 My Newfie had elbow surgery with Charles Kuntz from South Paws, that was 15 months ago, Charles was wonderful and my girl recovered perfectly, we have had no problems since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverHaze Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I have a very active siberian who has had both legs done with TPLO by Mark Foley at Monash - i couldn't ask for better treatment, and his recovery has been fantastic. I do think with surgery like this it comes down to the dog itself and how they respond to the surgery, and also the follow up care by the owner. Good luck with your girl! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kajtek Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 We will be thinking of you and Katy-Bear on the 1st of March. It sounds like you have organised the very best care for her. I am sure all will be well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caesars mum Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Newfie my bullmastiff bitch had TPLO about 12 months ago and she has made a full recovery and is happy and pain free and runs around happy as Larry with the other dogs again. She was 4.5 when she had it done. Nala was an easy paitent through recovery as she is a real Velcro dog and was happy to lay in her crate and watch tv with me (I got pretty sick about a week after her surgery and was at home ) being a giant breed I opted to restrict her from playing with the other dogs for an extra month before supervised play then within a few weeks she was back with the pack and really hasn't looked back. The most important part of recovery is no activity without a lead for at least 8 weeks so every potty walk or moving from room to room is on lead. They must not be allowed to jump or run around. Once the all clear for excercise is given gentle walks a couple of times a day increasing in distance every few days. It is a very special bonding time. Good luck with your girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElleAus Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Another TPLO here. My Lab who is now 11 had her left hind done at around 4 years. We went with the Melbourne Specialist Vet in Mount Waverly. Recovery is long and took alot of effort. As others have said it's takes patience but is worth it. My girl now has arthritis on her operated knee and puts less weight on it. I wonder now if persevering with physio excerises for longer may have helped strengthen her leg more. Best of luck with it. Hope your clown behaves during recovery :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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