Just got x-rays done today, getting a second opinion within the next 2 weeks and then making our decision. If anyone has experience with the TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) or MMP (Modified Maquet Procedure) surgery, please share. Thank you!
Our girl just had a TPLO in January. The day she comes home, have zero plans and take off work. Your pup will need your companionship because they will feel so traumatized and confused. The next day was a lot better, she was bearing just a little bit of weight.
My dog is always tough and pretends she has no pain, coupled with the pain pills she acted like she could run marathons a week in. It was A LIE and we had to put her on anti anxiety meds to chill her out so she didn’t damage her hardware. 12 year old dogs should not have zoomies but she just felt that good. 😩 Don’t be shy asking for anti-anxiety meds to mellow your pup out if she’s normally an energetic mess. It helps a lot.
Jumping on furniture was also a problem. We ended up putting our mattress on the floor and sleeping there for six weeks so she wouldn’t jump on the bed. We also bought dog beds and put her favorite blankets on them in EVERY room to bait her into not jumping. It mostly worked. Mostly.
We’re two months in now and she’s doing awesome. She had a bad few days last week, after sleeping on it funny, that scared me because she refused to use the leg at first but she just needed time to heal from her self-inflicted discomfort and she’s walking normally right now.
Thank you, this is so helpful to know what recovery looks like. Hazel is super energetic and jumps on everything, so we will need to be really careful. I’m so glad your girl is doing well!
My ol’ boy was the same. He passed a few years and I think I am only just now getting to the point where I think its time for another little friend to spend my time with. It is such a heart breaking thing to lose one of these best friends. I can remember all of my friends through the years, and I miss them all so dearly.
I hope she has a good recovery and a very long life with you
It is absolutely heart breaking to lose them. They are so loyal, loving, and pure. You gave your boy and all the others an amazing life, and they were lucky to have you, just like you were lucky to have them. Thank you very much for the well wishes!
I’ve got a dog that had the same problems. She’s about 40-45 pounds and I ended up going with a tight rope surgery. She’s doing great 5 years later still, runs around like she always has.
The tight rope surgery is less invasive than the other options traditionally offered, it may be worth looking into for your dog.
Also I just remembered if the injury is fresh, time is of the essence as the meniscus can be further damaged. It’s a painful injury with the only option being surgery for a long term fix, hope your dog gets well soon!
My dog had double TPLO a few years ago, it changed his life. He was 3 years old and almost immobilized, low quality of life, and the surgery brought him back to normal after recovery. Our vet recommended doing them one at a time to help with healing. His play buddy got the same surgery almost exactly the same time but both legs at once, and had some pretty severe complications. Anecdotal I know, but it did play out just as our vet described.
Procedure cost around $10k all in. It’s expensive, but worth it for the dog if you can.
We had TPLO on our girl. Scheduled the consultation, then in between consultation and surgery the other ligament blew. So they did both legs at the same time. The cost was about $5-6k in total. First 1-2 weeks was rough because she couldn’t use half of her legs, and so would require being carried out and would balance on her front legs to pee. I’m hindsight, it was hilarious.
She’s just as rambunctious now as she was before tearing her ligaments, so it was absolutely the right choice.
My dog got TPLO done in both rear legs. They did them one at a time so she could walk on three legs while the surgical leg healed. The surgeon did a very good job and there weren’t any serious complications. The hardest part was convincing her not to get on the couch during recovery. It also cost us about $8k USD for both legs combined.
Thank you for sharing your experience, glad she is doing well! It’s going to be hard to keep Hazel away from activity, she is such a ball of energy. But we’ll do what we must!
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