Luxating Patella Recovery

[Eeyore's Dad]

My 18 month old best friend Eeyore, who absolutely has this "tough guy" wrapped around his little paw, is going in for surgery on March 15th to fix a problem he's having with a luxating patella on his right rear leg. Having been through a painful knee reconstruction myself, I'm very concerned for my buddy.

I have been cautioned by the vet who's doing the surgery that he needs to be crated when we're not with him for the first 6 weeks. This is to give the knee time to recover and avoid any spills that could cause serious setbacks.

Tonight I'm going to buy him...

- A low profile bed, so he doesn't have to "climb" in it.
- A crate large enough for his bed, food/water and toilet pad.

I haven't been through anything like this before and want to make sure my best friend isn't lacking ANYTHING that would make his recovery faster, safer or just more comfortable.

If you have any suggestions of things to buy or things I need to be aware of during his recovery, please feel free to post an answer or email me.

[Morkie4]

My 18 month old best friend Eeyore, who absolutely has this "tough guy" wrapped around his little paw, is going in for surgery on March 15th to fix a problem he's having with a luxating patella on his right rear leg. Having been through a painful knee reconstruction myself, I'm very concerned for my buddy.

I have been cautioned by the vet who's doing the surgery that he needs to be crated when we're not with him for the first 6 weeks. This is to give the knee time to recover and avoid any spills that could cause serious setbacks.

Tonight I'm going to buy him...

- A low profile bed, so he doesn't have to "climb" in it.
- A crate large enough for his bed, food/water and toilet pad.

I haven't been through anything like this before and want to make sure my best friend isn't lacking ANYTHING that would make his recovery faster, safer or just more comfortable.

If you have any suggestions of things to buy or things I need to be aware of during his recovery, please feel free to post an answer or email me.
We have just had a member here go throught this same procedure and recovery with her furbaby. She is not online now but when she sees your post, I am sure she will fill you in and give you lots of helpful suggestions and encouragement.

So sorry about his leg, seems to be a common problem in the breed! My maltese has grade 2 in both her rear legs but is not getting any worse and I hope it doesn't! So I know what you must be going through. You sound like he really has you wrapped around his little paws!:)

[I Found Nemo]

Hi,
I am so sorry also. Nemo had the surgery on Decenber 4.The first week was the hardest after that he was pretty much fine, he did limp for about 2 weeks. The recovery is around 12 weeks and Nemo has just hit that mark. I thought I had to go out and get a playpen and stuff, but nemo knew he couldn't
run or jump much, he really just rested in his bed. My kids were warned there would be no running in the house period..Nemo only ran when they did, Nemo wont jump off and on things so I didn't have a problem in that respect. I couldn't bath him also, I just brushed him and applied baby powder (Human) and he didn't smell at all.If your dog does jump he wont within the first week all he will want to do is sleep, after that if he is a jumper then I would get a playpen. It's not easy , but it's not as bad as I thought it would be, except the part about feeling terrible when I brought him home that part was hard he was in alot of pain . Once you get through the first week it will be okay...
The Best Of Luck,
AMDREA~:)

[Eeyore's Dad]

Thanks for all of the kind words and advice.

I'm taking off work the day after the surgery, so my buddy bas my 24/7 attention for the first 3 days after he gets home. For the 2 weeks after that my fiance's boss is letting her take Eeyore to work with her, where he will sit in a bed on her desk. Between that and both of us having an itchy trigger finger for calling the vet, we're hoping he gets through the first 2 1/2 weeks with little problem.

I'm glad to hear Nemo is doing well and please keep us updated on his recovery. It's a huge relief to chat with someone who has successfully gone though what we're about to do. It does scare me how reliant my happiness is on an 8 pound Maltese.

[I Found Nemo]

We all feel the same as you believe me. It nice to know he has you and your fiance..Believe me it's really just hard the first week or two on them, after that you just have to try really hard to control the jumping and running, the time will fly by...
Good Luck,
ANDREA~

[bek74]

My Sammy Maree had her Patella operation last year and is getting her second operation end of this month.
I would suggest to cut Eeyore right back to a short puppy cut, it makes things easier on you and especially Eeyore, the last thing he will want is to be groomed. Like Andrea said, Human Baby powder keeps them smelling fresh.
I used a x pen for Sammy Maree, I had her bed, toys food and water etc etc. At first she had very limited space, however as the weeks went by I was able to open it up more and give her more room.
The first week is the hardest, however these little babies bounce back very fast.
I wish you and Eeyore all the very best. I have a rehad program that my vet gave to me for Sammy Maree, if you would like to see it, let me know and I will post it.

Again Welcome to MT

[I Found Nemo]

My Sammy Maree had her Patella operation last year and is getting her second operation end of this month.
I would suggest to cut Eeyore right back to a short puppy cut, it makes things easier on you and especially Eeyore, the last thing he will want is to be groomed. Like Andrea said, Human Baby powder keeps them smelling fresh.
I used a x pen for Sammy Maree, I had her bed, toys food and water etc etc. At first she had very limited space, however as the weeks went by I was able to open it up more and give her more room.
The first week is the hardest, however these little babies bounce back very fast.
I wish you and Eeyore all the very best. I have a rehad program that my vet gave to me for Sammy Maree, if you would like to see it, let me know and I will post it.

Again Welcome to MT
Yes listen to her she helped me through it:smlove2: She is the one who told me about the baby powder and it does really work..
ANDREA~

[maltesemum]

Goodluck, i pray that all goes well:)

[Eeyore's Dad]

We had to postpone the surgery until this past Thursday, but it's finally done. The surgeon said it went flawlessly with no complications whatsoever coming up. Eeyore was in pretty bad shape on Friday and Saturday, but he's already feeling better and is back to his personality. Overall I'm very happy how it went and I'm extremely relieved that it's almost over.

Last night or this morning he managed to pull out 2 of the 3 sutures in his leg and I'm taking him to the vet tonight to see what we should do. The skin on both sides of the incision are holding together, but it does look a little bit stretched so I'm not taking any chances.

Future updates to come.

PS. Eeyore has a little baseball shirt that says "Put me in Coach", because that's his attitude. He just wants to make us happy and some stupid little knee thing isn't going to keep his spirits down.

[Morkie4]

Ouch!!!! Glad the surgery went well for Eeyore.....sorry he pulled some stitches out.........that had to hurt! I know Kallie opened her surgery cut licking when she was spayed and I took her back to the vet pronto. I could actually see a little hole but no blood! He said she was fine as he put a double row of inside stitches. And you know what, he was right, she healed up nicely with no scars!!! I was amazed! Hope all goes well at the vet today!

[I Found Nemo]

Im so glad it went well, Nemo had the surgery on Dec 4 and he was fully recovered in 6 weeks, they say 12 but he was fine in six.
He also pulled out ALL his stitches:o I tried everything but there was nothing I could do. He is now doing wonderful , he is using his leg like nothing ever happened. His right leg is grade 2 Patella so I just hope it stays that way and doesnt get worse. Only time will tell.
Im really happy it went well, I would love some pictures.
Best Of Luck,
Andrea

[ladyjazz]

I am soo glad to hear Eeyore's surgery went well. I wish him a fast recovery. :) :getwell: :getwell:

[MaxJack'sMom]

Glad to hear that the surgery went well. Sometimes the humans can't handle the pain and recovery time like the pups do!!!
Please let me know when your pup's birthday is. I'd like to add it to my calendar and send a greeting from the MT forum family on that date. I also do 'human' birthdays, so if you'd like a greeting , just let me know.

[maltchimom]

Hope Eeyore's recovery goes very smoothly. I'm sure he will get lot's of extra attention.

[starry]

Oh my, I just read this post on everyones babies LP!
I am in constant fear of this. Holly is soo jumpy and we have carpet hardwood and tile,plus stairs!!!

Eeyore, I hope you are doing better.... poor guy. Tell your daddy to give you all the pain medicine and not keep any for himself as he probably wants some.;)

Andrea, I think I remeber your talking about this in Dec. I didn't realize the surgery had to be done then, maybe I did, I am sorry if I didn't post a well wish. Sometime at night I try and remember evryone and at least say a prayer for all our babies.:maltese5:
It sounds like Nemo did great, that is wonderful as I know I would be a wreck!

Morkie, Poor Kallie, having to get stiched up twice!ouch. That happened to Star and of course on a Sunday so it was off to the cold emergency vet place.:( They put staples in!!!!!!! She was such a tough little thing, no complaining ever!
I hope Kallie's grade2 stays there!
Holly is getting spayed next week, I am almost ready to chicken out, I don't know how I will keep her still. God help me!!!!!

bek74, oh no. Another patella surgery. Is this your malt? Iam really sorry you both have to go thru this again. I will say a prayer for her. Please post on this so we can know how it is going. Are you ok? At least you know what to expect, as if that helps.:o

Cheryl! You sound organized!

[I Found Nemo]

:D Thanks Lisa!
Its a scary thing, but it's needed and the time goes so fast. I thought the hard part would be keeping Nemo controlled with his jumping, but I guess he knew not to so that made it really easy for the recovery!
Andrea

[Morkie4]

We had to postpone the surgery until this past Thursday, but it's finally done. The surgeon said it went flawlessly with no complications whatsoever coming up. Eeyore was in pretty bad shape on Friday and Saturday, but he's already feeling better and is back to his personality. Overall I'm very happy how it went and I'm extremely relieved that it's almost over.

Last night or this morning he managed to pull out 2 of the 3 sutures in his leg and I'm taking him to the vet tonight to see what we should do. The skin on both sides of the incision are holding together, but it does look a little bit stretched so I'm not taking any chances.

Future updates to come.

PS. Eeyore has a little baseball shirt that says "Put me in Coach", because that's his attitude. He just wants to make us happy and some stupid little knee thing isn't going to keep his spirits down.


Any news on how Eeyore is doing since his visit to the vet??????