As someone who likes to know exactly what is going to happen, what to expect, and how to best be prepared, I am always researching and reading up on current situations. This TPLO surgery is no different. When we found out about it the other day, the first thing I did was start reading up on it. What it is and how does it help:
"The TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) surgery has become one of the most popular orthopedic surgeries performed on dogs who have torn their cranial cruciate ligament, also commonly referred to as the dog acl. Developed by Dr. Barclay Slocum, the TPLO surgery it first was considered a radical procedure for addressing canine ACL injuries. Now in existence for over 20 years, the surgery has proven itself, time and time again, to be an extremely effective long term solution for addressing cruciate ligament injury in dogs. The philosophy behind the TPLO surgery is to completely change the dynamics of the dog’s knee so that the torn ligament becomes irrelevant to the stability of the knee itself. Let’s quickly review the basics. When your dog stands, if you look from the side, you can see that your dogs knee is bent, at a slight degree of flexion. Because of this bending, the ACL inside the knee joint is always load-bearing, meaning it always has tension on it. This constant tension on the dogs ACL, therefore makes this ligament the most susceptible to injury. In fact, injury to this ligament is hands-down the most common orthopedic injury in dogs. When a dog tears its ACL, every time the dogs goes to stand or put weight on the leg, the femur slides/rubs on the back of the tibia. This rubbing causes pain and inflammation, which is very uncomfortable. This is why most dogs with a torn ACL will not even put any weight on the leg, or if they do, they will just toe touch the leg to the ground. The true beauty of the surgery is that it completely alters the dynamics of the knee. Once the bone is cut and rotated the tibial plateau, where the femur and the tibia communicate, no longer can slide backwards. The knee is immediately stabilized. By doing so, this eliminates the need for the ACL ligament entirely and returns stability to the joint immediately. Once the knee is stabilized, the dogs will begin to use the limb again. In fact in most cases the dogs are weight bearing with-in a few days after surgery if not the very next day." - Top Dog Health
I called the vet to go over everything we would need to know for Monday. Titan would have to be there for 9am and he would be there for the day. That I expected. What I was not prepared for is Titan having to stay the night and well into the next day. Till 6pm on the Tuesday to be exact. On the one hand I'm happy that he will be monitored right after for any irregularities with the surgery and they will be able to give him what he needs to stay calm and out of pain. On the other hand I just want to bring my baby home. It's going to be hard knowing he isn't just downstairs on his couch (yes he has his own couch, he is very spoiled) and ready for a cuddle at any point. The house will not be the same without him here.
I'm also worried about a dog his size going under sedation. I've read and heard about dogs going into cardiac arrest because it's too much for the heart to handle. The vet assured us that this is a very common surgery and he would be monitored closely. He also checked his heart and lungs and they are strong and will handle this well.
Next information we needed to know would be the cost. We will have to pay for the surgery, bloodwork, xrays, sedation, overnight stay, the equipment going into Titan's leg (of course our big boy will need the extra large metal plates), a cone for recovery, and medication for afterwards. All together we are looking at $4364.00. Ouch. We knew getting a big dog would mean big vet bills, we just didn't expect them so soon as Titan is only 4 years old. I again stress the importance of pet insurance for these big guys.
Lastly I have started to research all about recovery. This is going to be a long process especially for a dog who loves his walks and digging up the yard outside. I never thought I would say it, but, I can't wait until Titan will be able to go and dig up some big holes again. I was told that the main recovery will be 4-6 weeks. Strict rest. No stairs, no walking unless he is to use the bathroom, no play, just rest. We are going to try and use good old fashioned monitoring as thankfully me and my husband work opposite shifts. We will have to find lots of ways to keep Titan busy with treats and games he can do laying down. As a last resort I have read that some vets will give you sedatives if needed. Titan will be confined to his living room area. We have opted to not use a crate (even though some vets recommend this to keep the movement limited) because Titan doesn't like walking on hardwood floors and always stays on the area rug, at least one foot always touching. It will be easy to make sure he stays in this area with that techinque and when we need to get him to other places we will put down runners for him. We will be getting him an actual mattress as a bed so he won't have to step up onto his couch. After the initial 6 weeks, we have a check up at the vet to see if he can move around a bit more. This full healing process will take possibly up to a year I have read, but if you want everything to heal right and don't want to damage things any further it is a must.
Some of the websites I have been using to get information from are:
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