complications after TPLO

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joachimt
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complications after TPLO

Post by joachimt » Thu Jun 26, 2014 7:11 am

My dog has had 2 TPLO surgeries, one on each leg. The first one went very well. She was 100% 6 months after surgery. The second one on her left leg was done in october of 2013. I have noticed the last 3 months she still lifts that leg up on occasion and when going downstairs she will hold it up on the last couple steps. I still had her out running retrieving and training with no problems but the occasional favoring. I made an appointment with the surgeon to have the leg checked out and he said the leg is solid, no inflammation or soreness. He said a pin used in surgery may be irritating a muscle when she moves a certain way and he could cut the pin out but he wasnt overly concerned. He said sometimes they remove the entire plate for dogs that continue to have problems and that solves the issue. So i decided to not do anything and continue to monitor. Now Iam noticing after heavy activity she has a limp following that activity that lasts a couple days. Iam wondering should I just get the plate and pin removed to see if that will clear up the issue. Iam wondering if anyone else has had this issue? Anyone have to get the plate removed? did it clear up the problem? if so what is the cost of that? (dont know how much more I can spend!! 3000 for each leg at this point!!) thanks for any feedback you can give.

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Sharon
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Re: complications after TPLO

Post by Sharon » Thu Jun 26, 2014 11:27 pm

joachimt wrote:My dog has had 2 TPLO surgeries, one on each leg. The first one went very well. She was 100% 6 months after surgery. The second one on her left leg was done in october of 2013. I have noticed the last 3 months she still lifts that leg up on occasion and when going downstairs she will hold it up on the last couple steps. I still had her out running retrieving and training with no problems but the occasional favoring. I made an appointment with the surgeon to have the leg checked out and he said the leg is solid, no inflammation or soreness. He said a pin used in surgery may be irritating a muscle when she moves a certain way and he could cut the pin out but he wasnt overly concerned. He said sometimes they remove the entire plate for dogs that continue to have problems and that solves the issue. So i decided to not do anything and continue to monitor. Now Iam noticing after heavy activity she has a limp following that activity that lasts a couple days. Iam wondering should I just get the plate and pin removed to see if that will clear up the issue. Iam wondering if anyone else has had this issue? Anyone have to get the plate removed? did it clear up the problem? if so what is the cost of that? (dont know how much more I can spend!! 3000 for each leg at this point!!) thanks for any feedback you can give.
Mine has had 2 TPLO surgeries. She will also have a limp for a day or two after HEAVY exercise. I use Metacam for pain and don't feel the limp is a big deal. She also has a slight limp for maybe 5 minutes after getting up after sleeping.

I just think removing the plate might = more trouble so have decided not to do that in my situation. As its' almost the same surgery as far as anaesthesia etc. goes it would have to cost a couple thousand I would think.
" We are more than our gender, skin color, class, sexuality or age; we are unlimited potential, and can not be defined by one label." quote A. Bartlett

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RoostersMom
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Re: complications after TPLO

Post by RoostersMom » Fri Jun 27, 2014 7:48 am

My dog broke her plate so we had to eventually remove it. No big deal, it took a very short time and she was healed up quickly. It would certainly eliminate the possibility of that being the issue if you had it removed.

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natel24
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Re: complications after TPLO

Post by natel24 » Fri Jun 27, 2014 9:24 am

My older dog got ran over a few years back and shattered his femur. Spent the money to have it fixed with a steel rod, 9 screws and 11 metal bands. Once in awhile he limps around holding that leg up, especially after a few hours hunting. the problem with him and probably most bird dogs is they don't know when to let up once they're in pain, he will go go go and just hold that leg up. Makes me wish I would have had it amputated when I see how well he gets around on 3 legs, j/k. I's frustrating but he is probably doing better than I would have expected. I give him a zoom dog chewable every morning and 2 aspirin when needed.
natel24
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MATT4126
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Re: complications after TPLO

Post by MATT4126 » Tue Jul 01, 2014 1:31 pm

My dog had TTA done on left leg and tight rope done on right leg. After a long day in the woods, or a long day running around the yard she tends to favor her tight rope leg. A couple days of light duty and she is back to as 'normal' as can be with two bum knees.

frontline
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Re: complications after TPLO

Post by frontline » Tue Jul 08, 2014 11:37 pm

It's possible for the dog to have a reaction to the metal, metal implants can also cause cancer and discomfort in winter where it's extremely cold. I would remove the hardware so there's no doubt about it being responsible for your issues. Get an estimate, it shouldn't be close to what the TPLO cost and recovery will be much much easier.

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