German Shepherds Forum banner

UPDATE: Newlie's Recovery From TPLO

8K views 39 replies 14 participants last post by  wildwolf60 
#1 ·
Yesterday was the 8 week mark after the TPLO surgery and Newlie still has scabs on his leg. Originally, a few weeks after the surgery, his leg looked clear to me, but when I took him in, the vet said he had a seroma on his leg which is like a little fluid packet that sometimes develops on an incision after surgery. He said they usually resolve themselves but to keep an eye on it. Then, Newlie developed like these dark scabby looking areas on his leg so I took him back in. The surgeon said that it appeared to be something from the inside coming out: maybe the seroma, maybe the stitches, maybe a little bit of infection. He put Newlie on four 500mg capules of Cephalexin a day for three weeks. Newlie takes his last dose tonight and here is a picture I just took of his leg. It does look a lot better, some of the scabs have fallen off, and I don't see any drainage or what looks like infection. I have an appointment to take him back in on Friday, but I am getting concerned. For one thing, Newlie has been in a cone for 8 weeks and I am not sure how much longer he can go...
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#9 ·
I once had a dog who had scabs after spay surgery. They were also due to a reaction to suture material. It isn't fun, when you have to deal with prolonged healing. Your vet will check it out and I'm sure he/she will get it resolved in no time. Hang in there!
 
#18 ·
I sort of screwed up by posting the pictures in the order I did. The very first picture in the thread is the most recent, the one I took yesterday. The last two pictures were taken in April, one on the 11th before the scabs popped out and the other on the 21st which was what the surgeon saw when he prescribed the antibiotics. So, you can see that his leg looks much better now than it did. It does concern me a little that some of the scabs are still there and the antibiotics are gone now, Newlie's last dose was yesterday. If his leg starts to look worse again before Friday, I can always get him in, they are open 24 hours a day.
 
#21 ·
Good news! Newlie went back to the surgeon today and he said the incision looks good. Even though there are still a few scabs left, he said there is nothing underneath them, they will just flake away and fall off. He also took an X-ray and said that the bone is finally healed. He gave the OK to take off his cone (Yay!) and told me that it won't hurt if he licks a little bit but to try to keep him from licking the incision until the site is inflamed. He said that we do not have to come back again unless there is a problem.

As usual, I held Newlie's head while the surgeon conducted the examination. At one point, Newlie had his nose pressed between my legs, crying and growling and so on and the thought floated through my head "I sure hope I am right about him not biting me, this is really not going to feel good if I am wrong." Nothing happened, of course, except toward the end, I think Newlie had reached the end of his patience and started bucking his back legs like a horse. There certainly does not appear to be any problem with mobility.

The surgeon said that there is no more limitation as to how far Newlie can walk and that I can take Newlie swimming now if I want. He still wants me to try to keep him on a leash for several more weeks and then I can start letting him off leash for short periods and finally, a return to his previous activity level. He gave the OK for Newlie to jump on and off a bed or couch as long as it wasn't unusually high. So, Newlie got to jump in and out of the car, got to go up the three steps into the house, and got to jump up on the bed with me for an afternoon nap. He was so happy!
 
#27 ·
I'm very glad to hear of Newlies recovery. I am going to have this same surgery done on our Jaeger, and am very nervous about it. He tore his cruciate June 6th, and we finally got the appt scheduled for the surgery. I hav been on pins and needles about this, and just want it to go well. Our Jaeger is a big boy, weighs 104, as he is very tall and long. Your story gives me hope that everything will work out. Thank you.
 
#28 ·
I'm so glad that it helped you. Newlie is fine now, but I won't kid you, it was a long, hard recovery for both of us. Watching him every minute to make sure he was not doing something he wasn't supposed to, trying to keep the big lug quiet and contained, worrying if his leg was healing like it should, all that played into it, but I think it was the cone that came closest to driving me around the bend. Newlie's recovery was extended, of course, because of some sort of infection or reaction so he was in a cone for eight weeks. Hopefully, that won't happen with Jaeger. When is his surgery scheduled? Make sure and keep us posted, a number of people on the board have been through this and they can offer some good suggestions. Somebody, I believe it was Nigel, suggested to me to take pictures of the leg every couple of days after the surgery and it kind of helps to see whether things are progressing as they should.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top