Day 1 Surgery and Post-Op

Waiting at the vet pre-op

Day three post-op from TTA surgery and Charlie is doing well.  He is used to his leg and has been walking on it since day one.    Everything you read about this is designed to scare you and for good reason.  They cut his bone in half and attached it with plates and rods to rebuild his knee.  You better listen to what they tell you to do.  Plus, as one person told me, "you paid $3,000 for that knee."  Here's the story so far.


Day 1, Friday: Surgery.  He came out and woke up well, but got a sedative just in case.  Once he could stand he was cleared to go.  I took him home and realized he was still too sedated to feel anything so I worried he'd try to walk too soon and get hurt.  The biggest problem was moving him because of the sedative.  He was too groggy to move well and I was scared to death of hurting him.  But he was home.  

Five minutes after getting home, three hours post-op.

However the bigger problem started quickly after.  He had so many fluids during surgery that the vet told me to take him outside soon for a pee.  But he has three steps to get down to the grass to get out.  And his stomach had some shaving burns that really hurt him if I tried to towel support him.  We were off to a bad start.  Finally after four hours of non-stop whining [and I mean NON STOP] I called the emergency room at 9:30 PM.  


He had really started to worry me.  The ER told me that this is normal and he was just feeling uncomfortable, but he'd be fine to walk on his own and go outside.  I knew that would be the end of his knee but I decided to listen to the doctors.  




Around midnight I got him outside when I decided to let him lead me.  He was able to walk and let me tenderly help him down the three steps.  He peed on a plant for about 3 minutes without stopping.  Twenty minutes later he had to go again.  So outside we went again.  This time he stood on his surgical leg and peed with his good leg in the air.  I almost died!  It is almost nauseating watching him do what he knows he can do.  I slept with him on the floor, as I was told to expect.  After going to sleep around 12:45 AM he woke up every hour and had something to adjust.  Since I slept on the floor with him, I got maybe four hours of sleep over eight hours time.  But the ER nurse was right.  Day 1 and day 2 are night and day different. 

Day 2, Saturday: he was dragging me out of the house in the morning and mentally 100% back to normal.  He was walking down the steps on his own, he was trying to bark at every noise and dog he thought he might have heard outside.  God forbid he let someone pass without barking at their dog.  "This is MY house."  The mail lady came at her normal 9:00 AM and we were outside "sunning" him.  As he heard her down the street he was adamant to go run and bark at her.  He was 18 hours post-op.  This dog is going to be the death of me.

Day two, 22 hours post-op.  He can sit up and stand on his own.

Most of the day he just needed to be entertained, but was totally better.  I tried everything not to let him lie down on top of his surgical leg.  I just knew he'd twist his knee or bend it the wrong way if he tried to lie on that side.  Luckily he did it during the second night, despite my efforts to prevent it, when I was finally asleep.  However he couldn't stand or prop himself back up later, so he woke me up around 3:30 AM to help him get to his other side.  Not an easy task with a 125 pound dog in the early morning hours with no sleep.  But he was fine.  


Day three, Sunday:  He has since laid down on his surgical leg several times during day three, and it's still nauseating to watch.  I keep waiting for something to happen.  But he knows what he's doing.  I would never believe a week ago that he'd be fine two days after surgery.  But he is.  [Now if only I was.]  I know he is not healed so I have him restricted in a pen and on full rest.  I don't plan to leave him for a few more days, but I'm already planning a short getaway to the store.  I even got a shower in today.  Everyone that comes over with something for me or Charlie is given strict orders to leave it in the driveway.  They are not allowed to come in.  So far so good.  It's been great too.  I got coffee, milk, flowers, and dinner delivered.  He stays put when I tell him "stay" and walk outside.  Today I got a load of laundry done.  But tomorrow is a big test.  Casey is coming over after football for a few hours, and Joel is coming back to seal the tile in the kitchen.  



He gets his bandages off on Friday, exactly one week post-op.  They were ready for him by Wednesday, but I feel it's too early.  So I bought two more days.  He's only on day three, so I know he'll be fine as long as I am.  His bandage is starting to slide down his leg though, so it may need to come off sooner.  I was terrified about getting him in the car.  But some engineering paid off.  I figured out a way to build a platform between the house and the garage.  I know he'd jump in no problem.  Today I could tell he was definitely back to normal mentally.  He walked up to the bed and started wagging his tail.  He was ready to jump up but I caught him.  He is such a stinker.  









In order to keep him down in the pen I also engineered a way to put boards in the pen across him so he can't stand up.  I'm going to try that this week if I get away for a run to the store.  Casey has an all-star game on Thursday so I may try to sneak out for that.  It still seems too early, but if he's going to the doctor on Friday maybe I'm being too cautious about leaving him.  I'm calling the vet in the morning to check in on what's he been doing so far, so we'll see what they say.







Poor Lucy is taking this whole thing in stride.  She makes no noise, doesn't bother him, makes no complaints about getting zero attention.  Lucy is an angel this week.  I can forgive her completely for eating the couch.  And a few other things.  When things calm down I know she'll get a lot more attention, since Charlie won't need as much caring all the time.  I'm so glad she either gets it or is okay with it.  Whatever her thinking, she's my perfect little helper.