December 11, 2009: 9 days post-TPLO, Deja vu -- it's a seroma!

I just realized that it was 9 days after Winston's Tightrope surgery on this leg that he developed a seroma.  Today is 9 days after the Tightrope implant was removed and he's definitely developed a seroma.  It's smaller (so far) than the one last year (see December 10, 2008 photo).  So far it's not worrying me too much because the skin color looks good and it's not that big.

On the other hand, I am a little worried about a spot on the inside of his leg near the TPLO incision.  It feels like a little fluid pocket too, and it's red  I don't remember there being a red area before today, but I also couldn't swear that there wasn't.  I took a picture of the incision on the 9th, but that part of his leg is in shadow, so I have nothing to compare it to.  I'll have to compare today's picture with how it looks tomorrow.

I called AMVS to see what they think and they said that I should try warm compresses and watch for any changes for the worse.  Unfortunately I've been through that scenario already so I know mostly what to look for, but if something new pops up or I'm just not sure, or I've got questions, I don't hesitate to call them.   They're open 24x7 so I can take him in anytime if I need to.  They also want me to call them back on Monday with a status if everything stays the same or gets better.

So... what are the signs of a change for the worse you ask?  I check for skin color changes and wound seepage and whether it feels like the area is hot.  If it feels hotter (or I'm just not sure), I'll take his temperature -- he just loves that (kidding!).  Every dog is different, but Winston's attitude is one of the first things to change, so I've found that to be the most important thing to pay attention to.  When he doesn't feel good he won't eat, or he won't stand up to eat (hmmm.... I guess we all like being served a meal in bed when we're sick, don't we?), and he won't play with his toys. Some dogs will be more restless or lethargic too, but that doesn't seem to apply to Winston; his restlessness or lethary all seems to be centered around the time of day and what he thinks should be happening at that time.  He does like to stick to his schedule. 

As far as doing warm compresses, it's really important to keep the leg dry and clean, so I soak a thick washcloth in really hot water and then put it inside a gallon-size ziploc bag.  Then I wipe the outside of the ziploc bag off so that there's no moisture on it.  Then I put that onto the seroma until the washcloth cools down.  Winston doesn't always like me doing this, so sometimes I just have to tell him that it's happening whether he likes it or not.  Last year I did the compresses several times a day for a week and there was no change to the seroma, so I figured I'd just have to live with the lump until it disappeared.  It did eventually go away on its own.