Quote:
Originally Posted by Gew  Hi,
Last Thursday I scheduled surgery for our little Max. The doctor said that both his knees were very bad, but the right the worst. He recommended surgery on the right asap. I asked if we could do both. He said yes but that it would be very hard on Max. He said he wouldn't be able to walk at all for awhile. I said my reasons for wanting both and he agreed to do both this Tuesday.
However, I kept reading and reading and decided I had picked our surgeon because he has done great surgeries on another dog (CCL), and called and talked to the surgical nurse saying I would prefer both, but I would rely completely on his decision. I am trusting he will make the right decision and consider that Max has active Lymes being treated, just had major dental surgery four weeks ago including 12 teeth having to be extracted before we adopted him three weeks ago and his age, seven or eight years old.
All of your opinions above really make me doubt my call to the surgeon. Please send good thoughts to Max on Tuesday. He is a doll, sweet and so loving. I would appreciate any advise to make him as comfortable as possible.
Thanks. I apologize if I made this all about me and Max, but this discussion was so right on as to our situation. I am so scared.
Gew |
If it was me, I would heed the surgeon's advice and have only one knee done at a time. However, if he is willing to do both, then I guess it will be okay. I trust that the surgeon will perform a physical exam and do bloodwork before the surgery to make sure Max is up to having surgery done on him on Tuesday. Please keep us updated as much as possible as the surgery and recovery progresses.
For post-surgery comfort at home, we lined an x-pen with plenty of soft warm blankets and set it up next to us at all times so we could attend to Bella's needs. Since Max won't be able to walk at all for a while after his surgery, you will need to carry him to do his potties. Since Bella is pad trained, this was very easy for us to do--we carried her to her potty pad in the kitchen nearby. Since she had only one leg operated on, she could support herself on her good leg and squat to potty. If both legs are operated on Max, you will have to support his back side when he potties.
Bella lost her appetite due to the pain and the pain killers, so we had to be creative to get her to eat and drink. We made home-made chicken broth with NO fat and NO added salt, and put that in a bowl for her to drink. She would not drink plain water or pedialyte--it simply did not appeal to her. We also soaked her kibble in the broth, although you could go with canned food if Max likes it. Bella could stand on her three good legs to eat. If Max has both legs operated on, you might have to support him or be more creative in feeding him.
Max will have to wear an Elizabethan collar. The surgeon will probably give you a hard plastic cone. Bella absolutely hated it because it was uncomfortable and dragged on the floor. We bought her the soft inflatable E-collar that you see in the photo I posted earlier. It is much more comfortable, and she could use it as a pillow.
Me and others in Yorkietalk will be happy to give you advice on how to handle issues as they arise, but always keep in close contact with the surgeon during Max's recovery.