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bobohyde · 02-03-2013, 06:16 AM

Columbo had his surgery first thing in the morning and the surgeon kept him overnight and released him back to me the next afternoon. They want to make sure he is stable after they take him off the intraveneous meds. They will give you specific instructions to follow for his meds. Columbo was on three different ones: an anti-inflammatory, a pain med and an antibiotic. The first two weeks, they want him confined to a small room or xpen when he is not supervised. Columbo was always supervised, so I didn't confine him. His bed is in on the carpet, so I moved his food & water bowl over to the carpet to keep him off the non-carpeted area so he wouldn't slip and fall. Then as his recovery progresses, I put down some throw rugs in the kitchen for him to get around, and he definitely did not venture off them. He knew his limitations and that he might slip on the hard floor. After returning home from surgery, short leash walks for potty only. I carried him out and set him in the grass and he 3-leg hopped to do him business, then carried back inside to the carpet or his bed. The first week, Columbo walked on 3 legs. After 5-7 days, he started "toe tapping" - attempting to use the leg a little bit. Then it progresses from there as he gets stronger. Weeks 2-6, the surgeon wanted short 5 minute leash walks 2 or 3 times a day, increased by 5 minutes each week. No off leash or explosive behavior allowed. He is allowed to get up and around inside as he feels up to it. The surgeon will do rechecks at around 6 and 12 weeks with xrays or when needed, and revise his activity schedule based on progress. The first couple days home, he will sleep a lot, then venture out of his bed from there. The biggest thing is don't overdo it and NO EXPLOSIVE BEHAVIOR. We removed Columbo's access to the window where he sits and watches squirrels as he tends to go ape$hit when there is a lot of squirrel activity outside. Our kids aren't home anymore, so our house is quiet. If your house is more active, you might have to restrict him with a baby gate or an xpen to insure no reinjury during the first few weeks or to protect him from kids playing, etc. Also, even when he acts like he's all better, don't overdo it until the surgeon gives the all clear. It is normal to have a setback or two. Columbo had his first surgery around May 1 and his second one around Sept. 1. He now has no sign of a limp, but it takes several months to get there. Although he has been cleared for back to normal activities, he will jump up a couple carpeted steps, but no non-carpeted steps. We always pick him up for anything we think might be a strain or a re-injury even though the vet says we don't have to. I guess I just don't want another surgery or vet bill

. We have definitely noticed in the last month, however, that he must be feeling stronger because he wants to jump up on his ottoman by himself to watch the squirrels again. Our surgeon included everything in the one fee: all rechecks, xrays, etc. If I had any questions along the way, they wanted me to call and ask. There are many different ways to perform this surgery. Originally, they planned to redo his knee using a state of the art procedure involving titanium plates. It turned out the tiniest plates were too big for him (Columbo was 8 lbs then), so they did a more traditional, much used method. This is why an experienced surgeon is necessary. They've done so many, they can adapt to the circumstances in the OR. Anyway, the ACL is re-manufactured using a surgical grade monofilament, which is a basically a strong fishing line. Over the next few month, scar tissue builds up around the monofilament and creates a new, strong ACL. When the bone from the LP repair is healed and the new ACL is strong, (3-4 months) the surgeon will say he can resume normal activity again. Columbo's first leg was a breaze. His second leg had couple set backs from overdoing it too early, but he got right back on track. The main thing is you don't want to have that monofilament tear away before the new tissue around it is strong and healed or it's back to surgery, hence why you must limit his explosive behavior and follow all the surgeons instructions.

02-03-2013, 06:16 AM	#8
bobohyde Donating YT Addict Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: c Posts: 427	Columbo had his surgery first thing in the morning and the surgeon kept him overnight and released him back to me the next afternoon. They want to make sure he is stable after they take him off the intraveneous meds. They will give you specific instructions to follow for his meds. Columbo was on three different ones: an anti-inflammatory, a pain med and an antibiotic. The first two weeks, they want him confined to a small room or xpen when he is not supervised. Columbo was always supervised, so I didn't confine him. His bed is in on the carpet, so I moved his food & water bowl over to the carpet to keep him off the non-carpeted area so he wouldn't slip and fall. Then as his recovery progresses, I put down some throw rugs in the kitchen for him to get around, and he definitely did not venture off them. He knew his limitations and that he might slip on the hard floor. After returning home from surgery, short leash walks for potty only. I carried him out and set him in the grass and he 3-leg hopped to do him business, then carried back inside to the carpet or his bed. The first week, Columbo walked on 3 legs. After 5-7 days, he started "toe tapping" - attempting to use the leg a little bit. Then it progresses from there as he gets stronger. Weeks 2-6, the surgeon wanted short 5 minute leash walks 2 or 3 times a day, increased by 5 minutes each week. No off leash or explosive behavior allowed. He is allowed to get up and around inside as he feels up to it. The surgeon will do rechecks at around 6 and 12 weeks with xrays or when needed, and revise his activity schedule based on progress. The first couple days home, he will sleep a lot, then venture out of his bed from there. The biggest thing is don't overdo it and NO EXPLOSIVE BEHAVIOR. We removed Columbo's access to the window where he sits and watches squirrels as he tends to go ape$hit when there is a lot of squirrel activity outside. Our kids aren't home anymore, so our house is quiet. If your house is more active, you might have to restrict him with a baby gate or an xpen to insure no reinjury during the first few weeks or to protect him from kids playing, etc. Also, even when he acts like he's all better, don't overdo it until the surgeon gives the all clear. It is normal to have a setback or two. Columbo had his first surgery around May 1 and his second one around Sept. 1. He now has no sign of a limp, but it takes several months to get there. Although he has been cleared for back to normal activities, he will jump up a couple carpeted steps, but no non-carpeted steps. We always pick him up for anything we think might be a strain or a re-injury even though the vet says we don't have to. I guess I just don't want another surgery or vet bill . We have definitely noticed in the last month, however, that he must be feeling stronger because he wants to jump up on his ottoman by himself to watch the squirrels again. Our surgeon included everything in the one fee: all rechecks, xrays, etc. If I had any questions along the way, they wanted me to call and ask. There are many different ways to perform this surgery. Originally, they planned to redo his knee using a state of the art procedure involving titanium plates. It turned out the tiniest plates were too big for him (Columbo was 8 lbs then), so they did a more traditional, much used method. This is why an experienced surgeon is necessary. They've done so many, they can adapt to the circumstances in the OR. Anyway, the ACL is re-manufactured using a surgical grade monofilament, which is a basically a strong fishing line. Over the next few month, scar tissue builds up around the monofilament and creates a new, strong ACL. When the bone from the LP repair is healed and the new ACL is strong, (3-4 months) the surgeon will say he can resume normal activity again. Columbo's first leg was a breaze. His second leg had couple set backs from overdoing it too early, but he got right back on track. The main thing is you don't want to have that monofilament tear away before the new tissue around it is strong and healed or it's back to surgery, hence why you must limit his explosive behavior and follow all the surgeons instructions. Last edited by bobohyde; 02-03-2013 at 06:21 AM.