Hello, My 7 1/2 month old chocolate lab, Beau, had arthroscopic surgery yesterday for his elbow dysplasia and OCD in a rear hock. We will be picking him up later today. We know that he will have to stay pretty quiet and calm for two weeks at least with limited activity after that. I'm trying to connect with other people who have been down this road. I have a lot of information coming from the surgeon but it's always nice to hear from dog owners. What are some things that I can expect? Also, if you have been through this, has your dog regained full use of his limbs? We have been saddened by this turn of events. We want our little guy to have a full and active life and now we are not so sure that is possible....We are kind of in a funk. Thanks, Susan
Hello there, my dog had two cruciate repairs on his knees (the hock) - in total he needed 16 months of rest (10 months for the first, and 6 months for the second). So if arthroscopic surgery only requires 2 weeks rest, I think that's amazing. You might want to check that though, I'd expect a much longer recovery time than that. It's really sad when you get a puppy and then there is a health problem that requires this kind of intervention and you don't know what the outlook is for the rest of the dog's life. My dog did make a full recovery, and although he has some knock on elbow problems which restrict him a bit (and I'm heartbroken about) he honestly lives a full and happy life. The changes I have to make to his routine become normal, and we adjusted, and we are all very happy. There is a thread here that might help with the recovery period: http://thelabradorforum.com/threads/things-to-do-for-dogs-on-restricted-exercise.10654/
No need to apologise, Heidrun, unless you feel guilty about looking pedantic pointing out obvious errors, of course. Yes, I meant the stifle.
Hi Julie, Thanks for your reply! From what I've read, the cruciate is a ligament, right? I think that is very different from the deceased joints that Beau is experiencing. And even though the prognosis isn't as promising as I had hoped, the surgery itself was not very invasive. He will be on very limited activity for two weeks and less limited activity for another eight weeks but much of that will be decided when we see the doctor two weeks post surgery. Ultimately, he may or may not be able "run with abandon"
Just to cheer you up ChicoSue, I have a friend whose dog had the same elbow op as your dog is going to have, he became a Ft.Ch and also now aged 11 years old, has had no trouble since.
We just happen to be on our way to the vet to pick Beau up post surgery when I read your note. It brought a smile to my face... thank you!
No, it's actually very similar. Cruciate ligament damage causes OCD - the point of the surgery is to limit the progression. So the underlying problem is the same. Knock on gait changes have caused a form of elbow dysplasia in Charlie (not the same as your dog, because it is likely a secondary effect which surgery can't correct) but 'dysplasia' just means 'abnormality', so it's sort of the same.
That's really interesting! Before Beau's leg issues I knew very little of dog anatomy. When we picked him up after his surgery the doctor showed us a small flap of cartlidge that they removed from his hind hock and a tiny pebble of bone fragment from the front elbow. I'm just praying that it all heals well and he is eventually painfree....sigh...
My dog, Lady, has ED in both elbows and was operated on when she was just 3 years old. She had a weakness in her coronoid processes which were removed using arthroscopy techniques. She also had a tendon in each leg released to stop her elbows twisting. It was a huge worry for me at the time wondering whether this would be a massive trauma for Lady with not much to show for it, but in her case the outcome has been very good. She had to be on very restricted exercise for potentially 12 weeks, starting with just 10 minutes at a time and no running, jumping, slipping or sliding. You can imagine what a nightmare that was with a young Lab! She was supposed to be kept on lead at all times when out, but to be honest I figured I was doing more harm by having her on the lead while she searched for the exact right spot to have a wee or a poo, so as long as there were no other dogs around I let her off lead to do that. She had a review after 6 weeks and was declared fit and could be brought back up to full exercise over a coupple of weeks or so. She had a lot of pain at first and was on Metacam twice a day plus half a paracetamol tablet occassionally. Massaging her elbows helped and she got to like it and would hold her leg out for a massage even if she didn't need it. She has been pretty much fine ever since and is 7 years old now. She works in the winter. No return of her persistent limp that led to the treatment in the first place. Her weakest elbow is the left one and she did start to get some very acute pain in it when executing tight turns at full speed. We put her onan annual course of Cartrophen and that cleared that up entirely. That was over 12 months ago and she had a repeat course in August this year. Her left elbow is a bit creaky these days so I guess it will become arthritic, but currently she's having a full and active life with normal exercise and working for her living in the winter. Good luck and I'm sure you've done the right thing.
Thank you so much for your letter! It makes me feel hopeful! The information about the Cartrophen is very interesting and I'm anxious to ask my vet about it. Beau is doing well but we have to keep him in his crate or a penned off area in our living room for two weeks! UGH! I'm trying to be creative with keeping him entertained but he has so much pent up energy, I know he would just take off and run. Even after two weeks I can only take him on short walks. Poor guy....He's only 8 months old...but ....we are excited about his future!
