Recheck with Dr Lesham

Sony had her Recheck today for suture removal with Dr Lesham, he was the primary vet that performed her surgery. He was very happy with how she looked and said I can start walking her for 5 min 1x a day for a week and then 2x for 5 min for another week, then so long as she is doing OK I should work her up to about 2 15 min walks by thanksgiving. The slower she walks the more she uses the leg, however anyone that knows Sony knows she can't do ANYTHING slow:) so I have a Gencon head collar to help keep her walking at a slow pace. I took her for her first walk today and she did just fine.



Her next recheck is the Tuesday before thanksgiving, Nov 25th. for X rays to see how she is healing. That Appt is with Dr Berzon. he is the other Surgeon that was involved with her surgery.

Judy and Sony

closer look

here is a closer look at the needles in her knee, she has some on the inside as well thats you can't see There are some at other points in her body that will help as wellas some in her back and a point in the opposite elbow, (RF) there is even apoint on the top of her head to help her relax. the needles stay in for about 10 minutes for her particular treatment, sometimes its only 5 minutes and can be upt to 30. depending on the dog and the treatment.

Acupuncture treament

Here is Sony getting her 1st Acupuncture treatment, she did real well ,they were pretty tingly but that means that they are working and she needed it. this is # 1 in a weekly series of 4 then we spread them out to every other week for a while and then 1x monthly.

for more info on Acupuncture visit http://animalhealthpractice.com/acupuncture.htm

a good weekend

Its the end of a good weekend for Sony, yesterday we just relaxed at home and she chewed on some bones. today I went to meet some Friends for agility training and took Sony along to see them too she was very happy to see everyone . they all say she looks great.

She will use the leg with almost full weight at a at walk, anything more she will hike it up and hop :). she has been on a lower dose of deramax and I think she is a little more sore but not unbearable. seems a little tougher for her to relieve herself. she is doing very well with her exercises and enjoying the massages I give her, I think she just likes the attention :) tom will be a boring day cuz I have to work, but I am hoping to be home early.




Judy and Sony

Visitor !!!!

Wednesday afternoon Sony had a visitor, her PT came by to see how she was doing. Melanie Behrens will be helping me with Sony's rehab, and was nice enough to stop by.She gave me some exercises I can do with her once she starts her walking, and a few I can do now. Melanie is one of Sony's favorite people so trying to get her to stay calm was a bit of a challenge but she did settle and let Melanie work on her. Sony continues to do well and use her leg more. She is more comfortable using it outside than inside, prob because of the footing. I will remove the staples later today and tonight I will cut her pain meds down. her next Appt with the Orthopedic is on wed AM. hopefully she can start a walking program.

Judy and Sony

Visit with Dr A

I took Sony to work with me yesterday for Dr. Angela to have a look at her, between Surgery, a bunch of X rays and hobbling around on 3 legs for a few weeks I figured she might need an adjustment. well she was quite the pretzel :) I am sure she feels much better now.
Dr A also looked at her leg and was very happy with how it looked swelling and bruising are gone, incision has no redness even tho a few staples , ahem, are missing :). she said it would be fine for me to remove the rest on Fri. She also said I should bring her to work with me next Tuesday and she will start her acupuncture treatments.
every day She tries to use the leg a little more, and put more weight on it. we decided to leave her on the current dose of deramax until the weekend then cut it in half see how she does.

Judy and Sony

from Sunday 10/19

road trip :)

I took Sony to the Agile dogs trial today so Nicole could give her a massage, I parked away from the rings, and she was great. only had her out for her massage and to potty one other time. its not easy for her to be at a trial and not run, but she really was good about it.
She really enjoyed her massage and it was good she had it her RF was getting a knot but Nicole was able to work it out. she was also tight in the middle of her back, but with hopping around on 3 legs and having surgery and X rays its not surprising. I am going to take her to work with me Tuesday and if poss have her adjusted. I think she needs it.

Judy and Sony

update 10/19

yesterday we changed Sony's pain meds. from Tramadol , to deramax. Tramadol is a narcotic, Deramax is a NSAID. she is on the max dose of deramax, for a few days then I can lower the dose a bit. she still seemed fairly comfortable. in fact this AM she tried to use the leg, while she was standing or walking very slow. any faster she pulls it up. but that's a good sign. swelling and bruising keeps going down and no sign of infection, the incision still looks good. I actually counted and she has 16 Staples on the inside of her leg. I am going to take her up to the Agile dogs trial later so my Friend Nicole can give her a massage. she loves getting a massage.

Judy and Sony

update

well its been 3 days since the surgery an 2 days home. Sony is doing very well does not seem in alot of pain and today the swelling has come down a bit. so she is actually moving the leg a bit more, trying to put it down and trying to stretch it. she has been very good about being crated. but I let her out when I can be there with her. so as I write this she is laying under the coffee table, one of her favorite places, that and the closet in my bed room :)

she has been able to go potty pretty well, she uses the ramp DJ put out for her so she didn't have to do the 2 steps out the back porch. they are fairly steep.

the vet called yesterday to see how she was doing and was happy to hear she was doing well.
I am a little depressed because normally we would be at the Kinetic Dog trial in Fair Hill MD one of my favorite trials , but I couldn't bring Sony and could not bare to leave her so we decided to stay home. I wish everyone going the best of luck. I get some more pictures up later today.

Judy and Sony

Here is Sony the day she came home, she is not happy about being crated she would much rather be on the couch with me. but she is being very good about it, I have some bones for her and some treats. I am hoping she feels better tomorrow

Judy and Sony

Home!!!

Just got back from picking up Sony from the vet. she is doing very well. does not seem in too much pain but she is on some good meds for it. and we can use cold packs to help with sweilling. she was sleeping in my car so nicely I decided to take her with me when I went to pick something up from a friend. we then stopped for ice cream on the way back. I had a crate all ready in the living room. where she can see us.

I was bad and took the E collar off her and only caught her once trying to lick the incision she stopped when I told her to and hasn't bothered it since. she is much happier now without it.

so for the rest of today and tomorrow she will go out side to potty a few times a day and then back in her crate. on Friday I can start some ROM exercises to help with the healing .


for the ROM. I can use some warmth before ROM and cold after. I have also been advised to do some massage on her to help with circulation.

so the worst part is over Now comes the hard part of recovery and rehab.

Judy and Sony (TPLO 10/14/08

Surgery is over

well I talked to the surgeon about 1PM today and he said the surgery went very well. he was pleased with it. she ended up having TPLO and when I spoke with the vet he said she was resting comfortably watching everything. I can pick her up tom AM around 10. he will send discharge instructions home with her and some pain meds. I can't wait to get her home,
DJ made a temp ramp for the 2 steps off the back porch, I will bring her new harness with me tom and put it on before I leave. I can now concentrate on her recovery and then her rehab.


Judy and Sony

leaving for the vet

its 5:30AM on tuesday and I am leaving in about 45 min to take Sony to the vet for surgery. we have to be there between 7:45 and 8:30. its almost an hr and a half drive. then go to work. hopefully I will be busy enough not to worry all day about her. I wish there was a way I could explain to her what was going to happen so she will understand whyshe has to go though all this. but I just have to try and stay calm so she doesn't get to scared.

I have to take some of her own food for her because of her allergies and her thyroid meds she needs 2x daily. she will be discharged with the big Lampshade thing but I think she will be good and I plan on taking it off when we get home tom,

I fitted the harness to her last night, its a great fit, and adjustable in so many places makes it a very custom .fit she wasn't sure what I was doing to her but I plan on picking her up with it tom, once it goes on she can wear it 24/7 until I don't think I need it for her any more. DJ is going to build a temp ramp off the back 2 steps so she only has to do the one step out the kitchen. I will bring the big crate in tom out of my car. it has a side door I think will be easier for her to get in and out of. I'll use the smaller one with a side door for the bedroom ,that one I have to get out of my van, but since I am not going to AZ I don't need it in the van.

I can't wait to get her back home

Judy and Sony

back from OH

Just got back from judging in OH, and as I figured Sony is still non weight bearing on her leg. but still a happy little camper. the harness came in the mail over the weekend, I will fit it to her tonight when I get home from work. I have to drop her off tom between 7:45 and 8:30 AM, I will pull out the bigger crates to get ready for her return wed . I am getting a little nervous she of course has no clue. but I am sure its bugging her not being able to use the leg. I am now home for the next 6 weeks until I go to PA for a seminar in Nov. she should be enough along in her recovery to travel.

Judy and Sony

another link

http://www.veterinaryspecialty.com/ACLTears.aspx

this link was sent by a friend


Judy and Sony

Thanks to my great friend in NJ I just Ordered a special harness to help get Sony around the first few weeks.

Thanks Betsi!!!!

http://www.hartmanharness.com


Judy and Sony

links for info

http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/tplo.htm this was a good site for info on TPLO

http://www.mvah.us/tibial_tuberosity_advancement_TTA_surgery.nxg this explained TTA pretty well.

If I find any more I will post

Judy and Sony

Sony's ACL tear

As many know Sony has been intermittenly off on her LH this past year. long story short, Sunday Oct 5th Sony Blew her ACL on that very leg.

We had our first Appt with the Orthopedic vet this AM and she is scheduled for Surgery next tuesday. because of her size and the bit of Arthritis she has already in the knee, ( from an injury 2 years ago) they are not sure if they will do TPLO or TTA. so there will be 2 vets doing the surgery, since the descision will be made after they take a look inside. Both technics require cutting the bone and moving it to stabalize the knee. TPLO uses a steele plate, TTA a titanium plate and wedge. i will find more info and post a link.

I decided I want to document her surgery, recovery and rehab and thought creating a blog would be a good way so anyone who would like to know how she is doing can have a look see :)

I will try my best to keep it updated. I am fairly new to this so forgive me. I will also try and post pictures and any other info I can find.

thanks for reading!

Judy and Sony