September 30, 2003 / Week 18 Post-TPLO:
Nixie has developed a quarter sized, fluid filled
swelling along her incision over the last few weeks. She was declared 100% healed
2 months ago, so this is a little weird to me. It is below the knee
joint, so I suppose it could be a screw, but I don't feel anything,
just the fluid. It is sometimes red and swollen, sometimes it isn't.
When we got back from our trip back from Florida a week ago, it was open and oozing pus. I cleaned it, and put Neosporin on it. It scabbed up fast, the redness went away, and so did some of the swelling. Now, it is red again, but seeping clear red fluids. I've caught her licking it, which I'm sure irritates it. My first thought was a hidden suture, but I think that is unlikely because she had them out over 3 months ago. So, could it be a screw? She does have 2 plates and 11 screws in there.
Nixie, mopey that I won't give her a cookie.
October 4, 2003
October 1, 2003
Nixie saw the orthovet
yesterday for her 4 month post-TPLO check up. He says she looks
great and is moving just fine.
We asked him about the swollen spot below her knee joint, along the suture line. He examined her outside (how many other docs examine your dog while s/he is laying on the grass?) and commented that he could feel a tube from the pustule going to one of her plates. He thinks her body is starting to reject the plates. So, she is now on antibiotics (2 pills three times a day--ugh!) for the next 5 days. He told us to watch it and if it didn't get better in the next few weeks to schedule the plates-removal surgery.
October 6, 2003, Week 19 Post-TPLO
Well, the 5 days of antibiotics (Cephalexin), did work,
but then they didn't. The swelling went down (but it is still
there), and the redness went away, but it is still weeping (clear
liquid) and she licks the knee a lot. So, I called the orthovet this
afternoon, and Nixie is scheduled to have her plates removed sometime
tomorrow (I am so SICK of making that drive!).
I don't know the details yet, other than no food after 8 p.m., and that we have to haul the x-pen and area rugs back up from the basement--see, I knew there was a reason why we kept those ;-) We should know more about recovery time after he sees what's going on in there. It will be much cheaper than the full TPLO--they estimated $300 - $500--but grrrr, I don't want my baby cut up again! And, she has no idea what she is in for. Just another ride to Colorado, right, mom?
Also, now that I think of it, she has been laying around more than before, so maybe it is bothering her more than we suspect? At least her left knee is still intact. Gotta look on the bright side.
October 7, 2003
We got up before the crack of dawn and was on the road at 6:30 a.m. (dawn is after 7 a.m. here). She was fine until they took her to the back, and then she balked. She headed for the front door, and she did the donkey-balk--all four legs stiff. Scott coaxed her to the back, and they said that she behaved herself back there.
Nixie got out of surgery around 1 p.m., and everything went fine. Dr. Swainson said that it was a good thing that he took the plates out. She had developed a fistule tube to the plates. He was concerned about this because antibiotics wouldn't work well around/through the tube, and the chance for further infection increases. So, he cleaned up some of the scar tissue, and said that blood flow to the area should increase, and that she will be a happy dog again.
We'll find out more about the post-op care tomorrow when we pick her up. He mentioned that it would mostly be care for the incision area. I wonder about the 11 holes she has in that tibia from removing those screws. We'll find out tomorrow. Tonight, we get to haul the x-pen and runner rugs up from the basement.
Nixie's plates. October 8, 2003
October 8, 2003
Nixie is soooo happy to be home, but not as happy to be back in the x-
pen again. My husband is home sick today, so he can hang out with her. The area around her knee is shaved, and so is the spot on her left foreleg, where the IV went in. She has a bandage over the incision area that we can remove in a few days.
Nixie's screws. October 8, 2003
She was very happy to see us, and even happier to get out of there. I'm not sure we will be able to coax her back in there in two weeks to have the sutures removed! They sent us home with 3 days worth of Rimadyl. She's moving fine on the leg. We have 3 weeks of confinement and limited activity, though they said that she could go on the couch if she didn't jump (she walks onto the couch). And we have the ususal incision monitoring and ice / hot packing instructions.
We are supposed to return immediately if the fistula returns. After doing a little MedlinePlus research, I found out that fistulas can result from surgery or inflamation or infection. They sent a culture in to find out what type it is. They didn't give us any antiobiotics, so the area must not have been infected.
They gave us the plates and screws. Wow! Some of those screws were long! But then, she does have large bones.
Showing off her pretty red bandage. October 8, 2003
October 9, 2003
Nixie pulled off her bandage sometime in the middle of the night. The sutures look intact, but the incision itself is swollen, but not in an angry, red way. I left at 7 a.m. to go to Walgreens to get larger gauze pads and more stretchy tape. She was so excited when I got home that she jumped up on the bed and pulled something and bled all over the place. We bandaged her, but it slipped down to her ankle within a few minutes. We called our regular vet to see if she could be seen, but he was at a funeral, so we made an appointment for later that afternoon. The bleeding stopped, and we locked her in the x-pen, where she can do less harm to herself.
At 9 a.m., I call my husband at home to see how the Goober-Girl is doing. He told me that we need more tape, so I walk over to the closest drugstore, and then walk the 6 blocks home. We bandaged and taped up her knee again, but it sliped down within a minute. We add another gauze pad to the chain, and it also ends up down around her ankle. We figure that she isn't picking at the stitches, so she should be ok. My husband has a sinus infection and he stays home with her.
At 1 p.m. she is fine, no bleeding, and I can see that the three sutures are in place. We ice her knee, and cancel her vet appointment.
Munching on some food, as soon as we got home.
October 8, 2003