Recovering from TLPO surgery

Hi

I hope someone may have undergone a similar experience and advice, I am so worried...

I have a six-year-old chocolate Lab called Coco. Last year she had TLPO (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy) on her left hind leg and a second operation six weeks after for a meniscal tear due to lameness. In April this year she had TLPO on her right but, due to a fracture on her tibial crest, a pin and tension bands were also put in place:

Week 1 - Coco had a slight limp and toe tapping, which I expected

Weeks 2 and 3 - she seemed to use her leg very well, foot on the ground and weight bearing
Week 4 - leg in the air, and would not put her foot down

I went back to the surgeon/vets and she was prescribed with clindacyl 150mg, marbocyl 20mg and carp reive 50 mg. Whilst she has improved to some extent in the fact that she walks on her leg some of the time, the majority of the time she still holds her leg in the air. She also does not use her leg to get up from a lying position. It seems like her leg is not strong enough. She is happy in her self, what is going wrong here?

Please, if you can offer any advice I would be eternally grateful.

Sue and Coco, by email



Alison Logan, vet, advises...

I can understand why you are concerned about Coco. Having had a TPLO on her left hindlimb last year, you are expecting a similar time course for recovery following the TPLO on her right hindlimb this year.

It is worth remembering, however, that there was a complication for the TPLO this time round with there being a tibial crest fracture so she has the additional metalwork. There is therefore more healing to occur.

When you returned to your vet, Coco was given a course of two antibiotics which would have been aimed at any infection occurring, and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (carprofen). It would have been useful to have known how long it is since the surgery, because it can take several weeks for healing to occur, and also how long since you returned to your vet and how long the courses of antibiotics and NSAID were. However, whether or not Coco is still taking the antibiotics and NSAID, I do think you should go back to your vet. It does sound as if she is still experiencing pain and, if she is not receiving any analgesia, it may simply be a matter of being dispensed more carprofen, perhaps with physiotherapy or swimming therapy, for example, to strengthen the muscles. If, however, there are underlying problems then follow-up radiography and other investigations may be needed.

It is very hard for us when owners do not come back despite being concerned about their dog’s progress because we can only assume that there has been a full recovery. 

 

Searching for alternative treatments

Hello

I hope you are still running your advice section in Dogs Today magazine as we would appreciate some help about our dog's health problem outlined below.

We have a beautiful five-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog called Skye. Recently she has developed a strong limp where she can put hardly any weight on her back right leg. After many trips to the vet and an x-ray of her spine and hips the diagnosis is still unsure. The most likely cause we have been informed of is that it is a neurological disorder, where a trapped nerve or other spinal disruption is affecting Skye’s right side, because her right front paw is also weak and less responsive. Quite often her front paw will bend in on itself and Skye is unable to notice and flop it out the correct way again. However there is also the possibility that these problems are the result of a brain tumour. To investigate this fully would involve an expensive MRI scan which we are not in a position to do.

The vets have assumed it is a neurological problem and as such have put Skye on large painkiller tablets (Gabapentin) and some smaller steroid tablets (Prednicare) to act as an anti-inflammatory. Skye has experienced bad side effects with both of these, the painkiller causing diarrhoea which we have now cut out of Skye’s diet so that has stopped, and the steroids causing excessive thirst meaning that Skye cannot go through the night without needing to go in the garden. The main issue is that despite all these tablets Skye’s limp is no better and she still struggles to walk normally. We have been exercising her daily with very short walks of about 10-15 minutes which she definitely enjoys and once she gets going sometimes her limp eases off slightly.

Are there any alternative medicines or exercises we can try to cure Skye’s legs and have her running around as she once did?

Many thanks,
Beth Leedham, by email