Torn ACL *3/6/10 8wk Check Up*

[kokopup]

Eli looks like he is just cooling it after a hard night on the town. I hope his recovery time goes well. I kept Koko in a crate and she adapted to it very quickly. I know the crate was needed after a week , because she would have been hard to keep down and not moving around to much. I believe Koko
felt more secure especially during the time she had pain. When we let her out to potty she always just went back in an laid down. We didn't even have to close the door.

They shaved Koko's hindquarter for both surgeries. Her's looked very strange because her hair is so long. I could not understand why they shave so far up when the knees were all that they operated on.

[Seravieve]

Yea, we were hoping they wouldn't shave him much.. especially since his hair is so short. So far he's doing really well just hanging out in that same spot. I'm sure it has to do with all the meds too. He has a fentanyl patch (comes off monday with the bandage) and also has some oral pain meds, as well as the usual derramax. He should be good. =) He's such a cuddler anyways, so this seems to be ok for him... for now anyways.

[lizbud]

Resting peacefully is good. I hope his recovery goes smoothly.

[chocolatepuppy]

Take it easy Eli!

[K9karen]

I love Eli's cast. He's recovering in style.
When Cody was shaved, he was nicked a few times, and very raw. I used Neosproin and he stopped licking. Eli's photo brought back memories. I hope Eli has a quick and painless recovery.

[Bonny]

"GET WELL ELI" Rest up so your leg will heal. ((HUGs)) to you Seravieve You must have some great veterinaries. I hope the surgery is successful & the heart problem is just do to the anthesia.

[boomersooner]

Sweet Eli, you'll be better in now time!!

[Seravieve]

We're getting the staples out tomorrow at noon. The incisions look a lot better, no redness, hardly any swelling. And of course, he thinks he's all better and needs to run around, chasing his leash. Will update with new pictures tomorrow after the staples are removed! =)

[chocolatepuppy]

Sounds like things are going well for Eli! How are you doing with keeping him calm?

[Seravieve]

We're actually doing pretty well at it so far... Of course, he just finished his 'major' pain pills Sunday, so he's been a little drugged so far. He just hangs out in the living room on a pile of dog beds, blankets and pillows. He's always been a good sleeper and a major cuddler so he's been pretty good. We keep a leash on him at all times and crate him (w/ an E collar) if we leave. He's started to want to play with his leash though.. he'll paw at it and carry it around in his mouth. Like he's walking himself. J is home most of the time, as she was laid of in Dec... so that actually works out well. He has left the incisions alone since day one, so we are comfortable with keeping him out of the E collar while he's supervised. Hardest part really is keeping Treo from jumping on him. She's such a wild child.. always running around like a nut.

Here's some pictures of his Xrays from after the surgery. Kind of interesting to see how they do the surgery. New Xrays will be done on Feb 4th (4 weeks Post OP). I'll have to work on a new picture of him, as I took some the other night, they looked ok on the camera's little screen, and then I opened them on the computer and they looked AWFUL! Staples came out fine yesterday, Vet says he looks good. Minor swelling, but its not an issue. Says he's doing good, as he's 'toe touching' while just standing around, which is good for this early.

[Grace]

I'm glad the recuperation is going so well.

Just had to say those X-rays are so cool!! (spoken as a retired RN)

[chocolatepuppy]

Interesting X-rays! Good to hear you're not having too much trouble keeping him calm.

[chocolatepuppy]

How's Eli doing?

[MonicanHonda]

Gosh, that stuff is just so cool to see.

But it is definitely good to hear that doggy is doing alright.

[Seravieve]

Eli's doing good... thinks he should be running around jumping like he's 100% healed.. lol. I have to physically hold him still when I get home from work, he just gets so excited and wiggly. He walks on the leg a lot more than he was a week ago... he still has a noticeable limp, but is doing good. The only time he holds it up off the ground is when he's outside, eating a meal or when he's just woken up. Some of his hair is growing back in.. pretty soon he wont be naked butt dog. Yay! 4 week check up is on Thurs, but will probably move it to Saturday, so J can go too. She and Treo are in Colorado this week... road trip to visit her brother and go snowshoeing.

I thought the Xrays were pretty cool too. Kind of weird to think all of that's in his leg.. It makes his knee noticeably wider I think. I'm looking forward to the 8week check up with new Xrays.. Will be interested to see the changes along the bone line. Eventually it should all fuse back together, to where the 'hardware' isn't needed.. and we could take it out if we wanted to, but we probably wont unless there are any problems that arise from it.