Hi, My little chihuahua, Bitsy, had both her knees done 2 years ago. I was terrified too but I went to an osteopath specialist and he assured me that he could do it. Bitsy is barely 3 lbs and has very tiny bone structure, think skinny little chi!! She came through with flying colors. They had to keep her overnight on a morphine drip and I usually don't like leaving my babies at the vet but they had ER care for her all night. The next day they weaned her off the drip and she looked way better than I expected. The surprise was that they didn't put any bandages or dressings on the wounds. There were external stitches that were to be removed in 1 week and I had made her a tiny little cervical like collar so she couldn't lick at it. She came home with her pain meds and an antibiotic just in case I guess. I kept her in a small kennel on my bed up near my head to sleep, so that I could hear her but so my other dogs wouldn't lick her or lay on her and so she still could be in bed with me. You have to keep them off their feet and confined as much as possible. My doc said for atleast 6 weeks, so I had a baby bassinet that I would roll around the house with her in it. She could stand to pee right away. She healed quicker than I thought and it actually was hard to keep her from wanting to walk and run. I know I have some photos of her at that time, so you can see the incision. I will look for them. Let me know if there is anything else you'd like to know! I wish you the best of luck!! |