Lulu goes for her LP re-eval today

[mama2yorkies]

Originally Posted by YorkieTherapy

Guinness had his LP surgery six months ago. To answer your question going on our experience, yes, they do return to normal. In Guinness' case, he is better than ever.

With any surgery, my greatest concern for Guinness was anesthsia. We had bloodwork done and I emailed the surgeon guild lines for anesthesia protocol which I found here at YT in the Yorkie health and diet section. (I'm sorry I haven't learned to link with my new iPad yet, perhaps someone here can help) The surgeon was wonderful and assured us they had no problem following the protocol and they did. (Thank you to all the YT'ers who put the protocol together.)*

Post-op was mainly about pain management, taking/carrying him out on potty breaks, but the most important and difficult thing after LP surgery was keeping him still and from running and jumping when he started to feel better. This took about two weeks. DH and I cleared out the livingroom, putting down camping mattresses. We sat, ate slept and watched television there for six weeks, giving him no temptation to do any of the above. Guinness had the luxury of a 24 hour Ma-servant so we did not have to use a crate. We had piddle pads at the corner of the room but he was good about letting us know he needed to go potty outside. We managed not to have an accident.

Things that helped us:

-Letting people know you'll be tied-up for two weeks.... of course this did not help with ALL our family members.
-Soft fabric Elizabethan collar- comfortable, folds over so he can access food and water. Not so jarring when he bumps into furniture. Remember to give it to the hospital staff the day of surgery and check your final bill ... *they sometimes charge you automatically for a plastic one.
-Pill cutter- if meds are in pill form.
-AM and PM weekly pill box.
-Small fabric ice bag- *no condensation. First used for cold compression then later for warm compression. For cold compression, fill with ice and water- it gets colder faster and water helps with cushioning and molds to leg so it stays on without having to hold it.
-Canned beans or pumpkin added to food for constipation caused by pain meds. We were told they sometimes will not poo up to four days.
-Lots of kisses and cuddles.

Our mistakes:

Visiting Guinness after surgery. He was so upset thinking he was going home, it broke our heart. They really had to give him a shot to calm him down. Staff was nice about it, but we knew we just made their job that much harder.*

Not telling family we were going out of town.

Hope this helps. Hugs to you and Lulu.

Tanya

So sorry your little one has to go through this surgery. We had to do this for both of our babies just under a year ago when they were 11 months old.

I completely agree with the advice above. I would add trying to find a few games to keep them mentally stimulated that don't involve much movement. It is really hard to keep them quite and off of the knees once they start feeling better. I wish I could remember the ones we played.

The first few days were heartbreaking but it got a lot better after that. They are doing great now and our little girl, who had to have both legs done, is even better than she was before. She's much more active, agile, and even more confident than she was before the surgery.

All the best to you and your pup.