AIMEE WITH MADDIE AND TPLO

MADELINE – TPLO SURGERY JULY 25, 2013

 Madeline (Maddie) is my 4-year-old female Newf (born August 2009).  I have three female Newfoundland’s – but this blog is devoted to Maddie.  I call her my “baby” because she truly IS my baby at home.  Very kissy, obedient, quiet, and passive.  Sophie is my 7-year-old Landseer – she’s definitely the “Queen” of the home – BOSSY, passively dominant, number one, etc..  No one messes with Sophie!!!  And my newly adopted Newf/Retriever Cross Rosie is the “crazy” one at 3 years old  – very sweet and eager to please, but VERY much the protector even after only being here in the home for 6 months.  If an intruder broke in, I guarantee Rosie would be the one to kill. 

Maddie is the baby – at Mum’s side at all times and I love every minute of it!

When Maddie was about a year old, she tried jumping out of the back of my Honda Pilot.  I’ve trained my dogs to always let me help them out the SUV, but she was either scared or excited and jumped before I could reach her.  I knew at that moment she’d hurt herself but I wasn’t aware of how bad it really was.  Within 6 months she was diagnosed with a ruptured ACL on her right hind leg – the left was “ok” by the surgeon’s standard but she did forewarn me that there was a good chance that knee would need repair in the future.

I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada – and in June 2012 Maddie had surgery on her right knee at the Western Veterinary Pet Hospital downtown Calgary.  Her surgeon was Dr. Audrey Remedios and she is also the vet for the Calgary Zoo (she’s phenomenal – Google her!).  I really had a good feeling about her from the start – in our consultation she reminded me of Anne Curry (the Journalist) – very calm demeanor, knowledgeable, etc…  This woman knows her stuff!  Maddie underwent the TPLO method and all went well but it was very expensive – about $5,000 for the surgery and then another $1,000 for therapy and meds.  We used Metacam, Gabapentin and did water treadmill therapy along with at home exercises – we also used chiropractic care, which only makes sense.  Dogs – much like humans who injure themselves – often walk off kilter.  An adjustment may be needed.  Maddie was back to her old self within 12 weeks and I was thrilled with the results.

When the second knee went earlier this year (February 2013), Dr Remedios was again available and did the surgery this past July.  Fortunately she did the work out of a clinic and not at the hospital – it saved me $1,500 but I didn’t get the overnight care and that was fine with me.  Maddie slept the night away (drugs are good!) and I felt better knowing she was there with me.

We are on week 4 post-op and things are progressing well.  The biggest challenge right now is keeping her calm and getting her to do the at home exercises with her “sisters” in the picture.  She really has a hard time not understand how to “take it easy”.  It’s hard for her to be excluded from walks and such.  I think most people will find that dogs are resilient – they can move pretty darn fast on 3 legs.  Maddie is in pain, so keeping her calm and encouraging her to use her injured leg is a challenge.  We start our therapy program next week so I’ll be sure to post the exact drills we are doing.  As of now, in the beginning, our regiment includes short SLOW walks of 10 – 15 minutes (SLOW so that she puts weight on the injured leg) twice daily.  I’ll also approach her as she is lying down – take her leg in my hands (one on the thigh and another on the foot) and guide it in a bicycle peddling motion over and over.  She’s not happy about it, but it does helps with flexibility.   The clinic is also doing injections each visit – I don’t know much about them but it’s like a super supplement (I know it’s non steroid) – will get more information next visit!

I’ll try and blog more frequently in the coming weeks.  I’ve just quit my job and am starting my own business so between Maddie’s surgery, dog training with Rosie (aka Crazy), and life in general, things are a wee bit nutty!  Will try and stay on top of this!

Aimee

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POSTS TAKEN FROM TRUE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG LOVERS GROUP
25th July 2013
My baby Madeline is going in for her second TPLO surgery this morning. The first surgery was last June and everything went fine - it doesn't stop me from worrying just the same. I hate that she has to go through this again, but she's in pain and I know it needs to be done.




26th July 2013
Thanks everyone - she had her right knee done last year and today is her left. She hurt herself jumping out of the back of my SUV even though I've trained my Newfs to go down the ramp. I guess she couldn't wait. I thought she recovered really well from the first one - about 3 months of physio and little inactivity. Just waiting for the call on how the surgery went now.

Surgery went well! Except the surgeon told me she's gained 6 pounds since her last surgery 12 months ago (she was not happy about that), plus Maddie has a brutal ear infection and horrific skin. Makes me feel like a terrible Mum. My dogs health is of the utmost importance to me so it kind of hurt but alas, she's fine and those are all things that can be fixed. I can pick her up in about 3 hours. Might need a glass or 3 of wine tonight - it's been a long day.

Everyone has an opinion for sure. I really do like my vet but I don't think he's as knowledgeable as he could be. What I do admire though is that ill tell him about my research on the Internet or through this group and he's keen to help me find a solution. The surgeon today is actually the surgeon for the Calgary Zoo - her name is Audrey Remedios and she knows her stuff for sure. She believes most Newfs are prone to allergies and suggested a diet of Royal Canin Anallergentic Kibble - ill discuss it with my vet and go from there. I trust the people on this site more than most info on the net


Another picture of Maddie post surgery - the drugs have clearly kicked in







Maddie is home! I can tell she is exhausted and grumpy - I managed to feed her a cup of food and a dose of pain killers so she is settled for the night. Her last surgery, she was in hospital over night so I had that luxury but not this time. I'm off tomorrow to play nursemaid. I've also rented a harness to help her around - unfortunately I took it off thinking she would be more comfortable to sleep, but now I think I need an engineer to help me figure out how to put it back on her! 

        

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MADELINE – TPLO SURGERY JULY 25, 2013

Madeline is just over 4 weeks post-op of her TPLO surgery and I’m happy to report things are going well!  We’ve seen her vet/rehab specialist twice since the surgery and as of this last visit, she’s given us clearance to start some more advanced at-home exercises and to start water treadmill therapy at the clinic.

Since my last blog entry, not much in what we have been doing has changed.  Therapy has included short walks (we’ve gone from 5 minutes twice per day to about 15 minutes twice per day) and some flexibility drills (stretches) but that’s it.  I’m really working to keep her calm and more on the inactive side.  Trust me - it AIN’T easy!

This past Monday night we started water treadmill therapy – I’ve booked us in for 2 sessions per week from now until the end of September.  It’s a lot for me – the clinic is across town and it’s not cheap (5 session is about $300) - but I’m sure a lot of you can sympathize.  When it comes to your babies, you’ll do what ever it takes.  I’m attaching video of the Monday night session – I know she’s crying and whining but she really did great.  It’s a bit scary for her but the important thing is that she’s building muscle without stressing the joint.

As for the at-home exercises, we’ll start walking a bit more and try to do things that will help build that leg muscle.  This includes gently lifting her healthy back leg and forcing her to stand for 5 to 10 seconds (to start) on her injured leg.  We’ll repeat 3 to 5 times and work our way up.  I’m standing over Maddie as we do this with her between my legs.  If she starts to weaken, I’m supporting her on either side and can quickly drop her good leg.  We’re going to keep doing this every day and work up to what they call the “Superman” move, which is the same thing but raising one front paw at the same time as the opposite back leg is lifted.  It will really test her stability.  I’m also planning on setting up a bit of an obstacle course in the living room with furniture and small pillows – I’ll make her work her way around the room turning direction and lifting her legs just to work all her muscles groups.  It sounds a bit silly but it makes sense – she needs to retrain her actual movements as she’s been compensating for her injured leg for so long.

Overall though, the vet said she’s doing great.  The surgical wound has healed well and she’s tender in certain spots around the leg but nothing to warrant any concern at this point.  We’ll just keep doing as we are told and I’ll try my best to keep her calm.  She really just wants to run and play, and I think that’s the hardest part of this whole procedure.  Maddie just doesn’t know any better – she’ll limp and goof around but she just doesn’t know when to stop some times!

Last blog post I mentioned that the clinic was injecting Maddie with something as part of her therapy.  Well I did my research this time and its something called ADAQUAN.  This is how’s it’s described in one link I found on the net:

Adequan® Canine (polysulfated glycosaminoglycan) is a prescription, water-based, intramuscular, polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (PSGAG) that helps prevent the cartilage in your dog’s joint from wearing away. It helps keep the cartilage healthy and intact, so that the bone in the joint cannot touch other bones. No other drug for arthritis can do that.

They are giving it to Maddie as part of the surgical fee so I’m all for it.  I really do trust the surgeon and the rehab veterinarian. 

As I mentioned earlier, we’ll continue with therapy for the month of September and have Madeline’s knee x-rayed the first week of October to really see how things are healing inside.  She’s not limping as badly and I’m seeing improvement every day so fingers crossed all is well!

 Until next time,

 Aimee