February 5, 2010: 9 weeks post-op

Not much to report here.  Winston is slightly improved over last week.  He didn't really stand on his left hind leg when there was standing to be done (wating to get his leash on before we head out the door), and kind of limped around on it.  If he had to stand for too long (waiting for ME to put my socks and shoes on before a walk), he'd sit or lie down instead of standing while waitng for my slow pokey self.

Seems as though that's finally changing.  We were getting ready for a walk this week when I decided at the last minute I'd better take a nature break myself before we got out the door.  I shut the bathroom door because sometimes I don't appreciate Josie "helping".  She's so funny; just barges on in and puts her head in my lap for a pet cuz I'm conveniently stuck there.  Anyway.... when I opened the door, Winston was standing right there and had to back up so that I could come out.  Up to this week, he would have stood there or moved forward or sat down or even more likely been laying down nearby.  He wasn't able to put enough weight on that leg to use it to back up.  HOOOORAY!!!!!!!!!!

On Wednesday at 9 weeks, I wondered if he was well enough to try increasing his walks again instead of waiting for two week increments.  We increased one of our walks by 5 minutes and so far so good.  Depending on the weather, maybe we'll bump up the time on a second walk.  We're due for snow on Sunday.  :-(

January 27, 2010: 8 week TPLO check

Well, today we went for Winston's 8 week check.  He wasn't too upset about going to AMVS.  I guess it's been long enough that he didn't automatically expect bad things.  Good to know that he's willing to give us all the benefit of the doubt.  Good boy!

We got to go into an exam room right away and Winston paced and panted.  He also didn't want to go back for x-rays, but did it anyway.  He's so funny.... you can pretty much do anything with him.

Dr. Duerr looked at the x-rays and then did the exam.  The bone has started healing but isn't fully healed.  He seemed pleased with the progress considering what we've been through.  The result will never be as good for a "fresh" TPLO (not following a previous repair).  I asked whether we could take down the baby gate across the stairs.  He asked whether Winston walks up and down them and I said yes, but then qualified it by saying that if someone rang the doorbell, he might run down them.  He recommended waiting another two weeks before we take it down. 

We're to keep increasing his walks as well as he can tolerate them so that we can work on the muscle atrophy.  Today we bumped back up to walking around two blocks instead of just our own.  The pups were both happy when we went that far.

As far as increasing any other exercises, we're supposed to wait on that too and go back for another check in 4-6 weeks.  All in all, it was pretty much what I expected and good news.

January 22, 2010: Day 51, healing on track?

The past two weeks have been uneventful for the most part.  At 6 weeks we moved to walking around two blocks instead of just our own and Winston got more sore.  At first there wasn't a noticeable difference but the more we did it, the more he seemed to limp, so we've cut back to going just around our block again and he seems like he's doing better.  This is a marathon instead of a sprint so I don't mind if our progress is slow. 

What I see as progress:

• His leg looks good; there's no swelling anymore.  
• The little lump where the seroma was has gone down a lot and is pretty hard.  It doesn't feel like there's any fluid in there anymore (if there is, it's well hidden between the lumpy hard stuff).
• He's having an easier time standing up from a sitting or lying position.
• He's using the leg to step onto or off of the couch (it's a lateral move so there's no jumping involved).

The things that worry me:

• He's still not using his leg fully while we're in the house or when he's standing still.
• He's got a noticeable limp while walking.

His 8 week check with x-rays is scheduled for next Wednesday, so I'm hopeful that the bone will be fully healed and we'll be able to move onto some of the harder exercises that will force him to use his leg (lifting his other foot and walking in figure eights), but I won't do any of that until we know more.  It could be that he's just healing slower this time and we need to wait.

January 11, 2010: Day 40 - back to longer walks

On Saturday I tried taking Winston around the block for three of our four walks.  He didn't seem overly sore, so we did it again on Sunday and then again today.  I think we've officially moved to this distance/time.  About time!  On Wednesday we reach the six-week milestone and we're supposed to start increasing walk time/distance again.  It seems like our progress is slower than last time, but I think that the weather is definitely a factor at times.  Not only the weather, but the roads must be considered.  The county budget must have tightened up because our street doesn't get plowed during the snowstorms anymore.  The street to the west side of our property does.  The snowpack and then ice is slick at times and we don't want Winston to slip and fall. 

January 8, 2010: Day 37 - Slow but steady

 The temps crept up a bit today so we did a 5 minute walk at 9am when it was coldest and then by the time I got off work at 3, it was in the low 30s so we went around the block.  Winston seemed fine with that, so this evening after dinner I bundled them up in their coats and we went around the block again.