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The Following is an excerpt from Dog Owners Speak Out on Knees:
Levi -
Tightrope Surgery
Treatment Option
selected and Why
TPLO had been recommended to us by our vet, but the invasiveness of the
procedure and the horror stories I read about complications made me
investigate alternatives. The Tightrope procedure had been mentioned on
one of the message boards as a less invasive alternative to TPLO.
Surgery
Levi had the Tightrope surgery performed on September 17, 2008. The
first 3 days went smoothly, but on the 4th day, we noticed some fluid
leaking from the incision. It was clear with a bloody tinge. After a
frantic call to the vet, we were assured this was normal but to keep an
eye on it. After leaking for 3 days, it stopped, but a seroma (fluid
filled pocket) the size of an egg developed. Another call to the vet
and we were told this too was normal and to heat pack. At this time, I
was taking Levi’s temperature every couple of hours. His appetite was
good, his energy level seemed fine. Infection was considered unlikely.
Over the next week, the seroma grew to the size of a grapefruit. I
became really concerned. Another frantic call to the surgeon. Again, I
was told to relax and it would be re-absorbed in due time.
At the 2 week mark, I took Levi to our vet to have his staples removed.
Due to the size of the seroma putting pressure on the incision, our vet
advised us to leave some staples in and to remove them in a week or so.
We continued to heat pack and monitor Levi’s temperature. After another
week passed, we removed the rest of the staples. Once the staples were
removed, a massive amount of fluid from the seroma began leaking out of
the staple holes. I am not exaggerating when I say we put a water glass
under him to catch the fluid & he FILLED it.
We had the vet extract a sample of the fluid to culture because I was
sure there had to be an infection. The culture came back with staph
intermedius. The vet put him on antibiotics for 2 weeks. The seroma
returned. We had the vet drain it and culture it again. The culture
came back “no growth found”. But the seroma came back again, so we had
the vet once again drain it. While withdrawing the fluid, she remarked
that the fluid, although clear, seemed viscous & sticky, like joint
fluid. Sure enough, the culture came back with synovial cells. The good
news was that no staph grew this time either. That made two clear
cultures in the course of a month. The vet put a pressure bandage on
for a week, and when we removed it, the seroma was gone. We rejoiced.
We thought the worse was over. We had asked the orthopedic surgeon
about the synovial cells found in the culture and why Levi would be
leaking joint fluid into the seroma. We were never given an explanation
as to why or how this could have happened.
By this time, we were 7-8 weeks post surgery, so we tentatively began
rehab. Short walks at first – 5 to 10 minutes. We increased the length
of the walks by 5 minutes each week. Things were going smoothly. Levi
was enjoying his walks. Outside, he walked fine and without a limp.
Inside the house, he tended to stand with his weight shifted to the
good leg and limp a lot. We were assured this was due to muscle atrophy
and would correct with time.
On Christmas Eve morning, we were in the kitchen making breakfast. Levi
was lying in his bed. Suddenly, he yelped and jumped up. He was holding
up the Tightrope leg. After that, he refused to use the leg at all – he
was 3-legged lame. We thought he had torn the meniscus.
Because it was the holidays and the orthopedic surgeon was away, it
took until January 7, 2009 before we could get in to see him. When he
x-rayed Levi’s leg, he found that the upper bone tunnel that the
fibertape runs through had DOUBLED in size, causing the metal button to
collapse into the tunnel. He told us he had never seen this before and
that he had to remove the implant immediately. He claimed that at 16
weeks post surgery, Levi’s knee was stable enough to not need the
implant anymore anyway. Also, due to the fear of lingering infection
which had caused the bone tunnel to expand, he couldn’t put in a new
implant.
We started rehabbing again. Levi lost a lot of muscle in that leg due
to all the complications and set backs, so we had to take it slowly and
increase his walks gradually. We were now walking several miles a day,
always on leash. He walks without a limp while outside on his walks,
but he is still quite limpy around the house. While standing to eat or
drink, he has an obvious weight shift to the good leg. Sometimes, he
still toe-taps while standing.
At his point, we had spent over $6,000 and over 6 months rehab time and
Levi was still not completely sound. I gave much thought about whether
or not to tell Levi’s story. I was worried about adding to other
Tightrope owner’s worries. Who wants to read a “surgery gone wrong”
story when your dog has just undergone the procedure? But I also wanted
all the people considering the Tightrope procedure to go in with their
eyes wide open as to what can go wrong.
We returned to our own vet in March, 2009 and she found his knee was
still unstable and recommended we seek a second opinion with a
different orthopedic surgeon than the one who performed the Tightrope
surgery. We went to that appointment in early April, 2009. This surgeon
confirmed our vet’s findings that Levi’s knee was still unstable. He
recommended a TPLO as our only recourse.
Levi underwent TPLO surgery on April 14, 2009. He came through that
surgery beautifully. We carefully rehabbed him, just as we had
previously done with the first surgery. The big difference this time is
that Levi made steady improvement each week. At 6 weeks post-op, his
x-rays showed good healing of the bone. At 13 weeks post-op, he was
declared completely healed and cleared to begin off-leash activity.
Because of all that we’d been through, I was a little nervous about
that. Instead, we continued with the long leash walks for several more
weeks.
At the end of August, 2009, Levi returned to his off-leash activities.
As of January 2010, he seems completely back to normal. He does not
favor the leg and the muscle has returned to the same size as his
non-surgical leg. It is absolutely wonderful to have my crazy boy back
to the way he was before this whole nightmare began.
Current Age of Dog:
6 years old
If faced with the same choice today, would you make the same decision?
Absolutely NOT! I would never allow my dog to undergo a surgery without
a long track record of success ever again.
This story is an except from the E-Book entitled "Dog Owners Speak Out
on Knees". To purchase the E-Book, please visit our
home page. GO TO HOME PAGE NOW
or see below:
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Hear directly from
other dog owners who have walked in your
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- What is the breed & size of their dog?
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recovery like? What did they wish they had known before the
surgery?
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during recovery?
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- If faced with the same choice today, would they
make the same decision?
Comments from others who have read
the book.........
We were discouraged and did not know where to turn. Our dog was barely
able to
walk and needed help up stairs. Clearly he was in pain. When
researching
our options we found your book "Dog Owners Speak Out About Knees" on
the
Internet. What a wonderful and easy to understand source of excellent
advice. Thank you so much for putting this together. -PE
Thank you for writing the book. I brought it with me along with
my notes when I consulted with the veterinary surgeon. I found
your book very helpful. -TM
I had no trouble downloading the book and have begun reading. I
found the aftercare instructions very helpful. No vet I talked to even
mentioned these very important details!
Thank you for your publication - it has helped me to be more informed
and organized. Now I feel better equipped to take care of my dog after
her procedure. -DS
Your book has inspired us to start really planning for his
surgery. Thank you for that. As you see from my ruminations, it's
working already! Thanks again! Your book is spectacular! -PK
We are very pleased with the purchase of your e-book and the useful
information it contained. -MM
Thank you for the book -
I will make it known to my vet. -CS
Thank goodness for your
publication, I agonized over which surgery was appropriate for my
dog. The aftercare instructions were helpful as well as
necessary!
-DS
Thank you! I am
sure you have helped thousands of people in their decision! -MR
Just wanted to let you know how very much the book has helped me to
understand my pet's condition, ask the right questions and know exactly what to expect. Thanks
again for making this kind of website and
information available to pet parents! - SW
Thank you for all the information. I feel as though I'm becoming
somewhat educated on the topic.-BH
As I read your e-book, I am glad I purchased it. The owners'
stories are very informative. - JE
Many thanks for helping us with our difficult decision. - RB
I was able to download the book with no problem. I wish I had
found it sooner. - VS
This is a great example of the
good side of the Internet. Thanks for putting together such a great resource for
people like us! - JV, Australia
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Are
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The
following links are excerpts from the book:
Table of
Contents to "Dog Owners Speak Out on Knees"
Treatments
for Torn ACL or CCL Ligaments
If you and your dog are facing
surgery for a torn ligament or luxating patella, this is an
absolute must read. Twenty eight dog owners share their story
with you!
Excerpts from the book...
Even though he was on
sedatives, I don't think any of us slept much that night.
It was very
stressful. My biggest fear was that he was so energetic that he
would get out of hand and hurt his leg before the surgery was
completely healed........
......I finally saw a
glimpse of the dog that I had sent to the vet's four days earlier.
The morning
after she came home, I did not like the looks of her leg.......
Unfortunately, she hasn't read the post op
literature................
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