Noches hip dysplasia post FHO surgery **progress**
Hi all, and thanks for all the warm wishes and support.
I decided to start another thread since I could not alter the title in the last one, and so others may find this helpful if they ever have to go through a similiar situation.
3/21/09
2nd day after surgery, noche is still sorta out of it, he laid in bed most of the day, did walk around a few times but his leg seemed to be "lame" , the docotr did mention to get him exercising asap, but not sure if he meant that he should have some motion in his leg. I called him and he said that the "lamness" is perfectly normal, to expect it to be that way for about a week, but to have him walking immediately so he starts having the "urge" to use it. That being said I took him for a short walk with Sol and lUna, lasted about 3 mins and then he wanted back in, so that ended that. He went back to his bed and relaxed for the rest of the evening (still had to feed him in bed).
3/22/09
Well, today noche seemed a little better, he is "limping" around the house and as much as we didnt want him going up and down the stairs, he did it in the morning without us knowing. He tries to lick his wounds (he was fixed the same time his had FHO) , but seems to respond to "stop" very well, more so than sol when he got fixed (sol licked himself so bad that it got infected and we had to put him victorian collar on him). He went outside to pee, sorta an awkward balancing pee, but he did it none the less. He went fo a little longer walk, but still limping, and not much use in the leg.
In the evening though he did strech his rear legs at the same time, so at least we se movement now, just not pressure on it.
3/23/09
Wow, what a morning, Noche got up and was acting like his perking little self, he even wanted to play with his brother and sister. The swelling is down a lot (still a little bump though)I gave noche his pills and took them for what I expected the 5 min walk, but noche was much more active, he started using his leg for some support and even pushing on it as he ran (I know they say to make post FHO walk first, but If I pulled on him to slow down he would stop completly). Noche even used his post op leg to lift and pee...it was still very wobbly, but he manged to use it 100% on its own
. We did the whole walk around the complex, 15 mins, I also noticed that he uses he leg more in grass than on the sidewalk, this is probably because it soft and causes less stress on his leg, but at least he is using it. He did stop a couple of times because something bothered him, but I think its more that he is missing his "misters" not his leg, hehe
I decided to start another thread since I could not alter the title in the last one, and so others may find this helpful if they ever have to go through a similiar situation.
3/21/09
2nd day after surgery, noche is still sorta out of it, he laid in bed most of the day, did walk around a few times but his leg seemed to be "lame" , the docotr did mention to get him exercising asap, but not sure if he meant that he should have some motion in his leg. I called him and he said that the "lamness" is perfectly normal, to expect it to be that way for about a week, but to have him walking immediately so he starts having the "urge" to use it. That being said I took him for a short walk with Sol and lUna, lasted about 3 mins and then he wanted back in, so that ended that. He went back to his bed and relaxed for the rest of the evening (still had to feed him in bed).
3/22/09
Well, today noche seemed a little better, he is "limping" around the house and as much as we didnt want him going up and down the stairs, he did it in the morning without us knowing. He tries to lick his wounds (he was fixed the same time his had FHO) , but seems to respond to "stop" very well, more so than sol when he got fixed (sol licked himself so bad that it got infected and we had to put him victorian collar on him). He went outside to pee, sorta an awkward balancing pee, but he did it none the less. He went fo a little longer walk, but still limping, and not much use in the leg.
In the evening though he did strech his rear legs at the same time, so at least we se movement now, just not pressure on it.
3/23/09
Wow, what a morning, Noche got up and was acting like his perking little self, he even wanted to play with his brother and sister. The swelling is down a lot (still a little bump though)I gave noche his pills and took them for what I expected the 5 min walk, but noche was much more active, he started using his leg for some support and even pushing on it as he ran (I know they say to make post FHO walk first, but If I pulled on him to slow down he would stop completly). Noche even used his post op leg to lift and pee...it was still very wobbly, but he manged to use it 100% on its own
. We did the whole walk around the complex, 15 mins, I also noticed that he uses he leg more in grass than on the sidewalk, this is probably because it soft and causes less stress on his leg, but at least he is using it. He did stop a couple of times because something bothered him, but I think its more that he is missing his "misters" not his leg, hehe This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Speedy Recovery Noche!
3/25/09
Well, noche is still limping, the swelling still hasn’t gone down all the way, in fact on the 24th (yesterday) I mentioned it to my vets technician (she called to check up on noche) and she said she would have to consult the Dr, he called me about an hour later and asked me if I could bring noche in, he wants to make sure that the swelling isnt something else. I was a tad worried that his lymph’s may not be draining the fluid away fast enough, (read that someplace else) So off we went, Noche wasn’t to happy when he realized that we were back at the vets, The Dr checked him out and said he was fine, he also worried that it might have been fluid buildup, and he just wanted to see him to make sure. He asked me if noche was walking, I told him yes, in fact he even uses his "fixed" leg to prop himself up to pee, and even is using it a little to run; He was amazed, he said usually post FHO patients dont use their leg for at least a week, and noche already was using his after a couple of days, he has high hops that Noche will be 100% healed after all this.
Today noche is being a little daring, he is rough housing with sol a little more again. Sol doesn’t jump on him as usual, but the allows noche to pin him to the ground and play fight, its almost like Sol knows noche is a little weak so he is letting him win ( for now,) hehe.
The swelling has come down a little more today as well, the limp is still their, but it seems that he tries to use his "fixed" leg more often, oh and he sleeps on the post op side now, so I am guessing the pressure on the surgery side no longer hurts him.
I continue to give him massages, and stretch and flex his legs when he is at rest so he doesn’t loose any flexibility..and he seems to enjoy it
hope he will be all recovered soon!
Helps add to all the useful info on this forum, never know who it might help.
All we need now is... more pictures :P LOL
Seriously tho, happy to hear that Noche is recovering well. Fingers crossed for a 100% recovery!
How old is he? This seems to be a common issue with this breed.
It's awesome that he is recovering so quickly also.
To answer oliversdad question, noche is 6 months old
I will update with some pics this week as well
Hello all, sorry for no updates the last couple of days, been busy, also wanted to wait till I saw some changes. First off noche is doing much better, he is spunky all over again and trying to do everything he used to do. The one thing I learned after FHO surgery is that you NEED to make your dog walk, and shibas being a little more prone to run I had to keep Noche on a short leash, this forced him to walk with me and prevented him from "run hopping" (running on three legs in a hopping manner) The first few time I did this my wife felt bad for Noche (so did I , but I didn’t tell her) he would want to run up with Sol and Luna and didn't seem to like the fact that I wasn't giving him full range of his leash, but I told her it had to be done, he has to work his leg if not it will heal stiff and would have a harder time later on getting to use it. Well, the therapy seems to be paying off, he still limps and hops around the house..but he is using the post op leg more, he keeps his weight of it, but you can tell that he is testing it more and more.
I also developed a way to trick him into using his leg more, I actually pull on his leash while he walks, not a lot, but enough to force him to pull against me little, this forces him to stretch his legs and use some force on all feet to move forward,(he doesn’t complain, and no discomfort) again, wife thinks I’m torturing him,hehe.
Today I also let him run a little (we are now 11 days post op), as long as I didn’t see the post op leg "lift" in the air I let him have a little fun, and he was running pretty good, all legs being used, a "bunny hop" run is happening now, but it varies, in fact as he ran more the "bunny hop" method was used less, especially when he charged after lizards with sol.
I will get the camera out tonight and take some pics.
In the meantime here is a pic of the x ray:
I am not an ortho person so you will have to fill us in on what is seen in the image.
In any case it sounds like things are going really well so that is super great!
Snf
http://www.dolittler.com/2008/10/19/dog.cat.veterinary.veterinarian.hip dysplasia.surgery.Rimadyl.Metacam.html
http://www.dolittler.com/2008/10/27/dog.veterinary.hip dysplasia.veterinarian.cost.X-rays.diagnosis.OFA.PennHip.html
It just makes me wonder if that is because he was overcompensating on the right leg to avoid popping his left leg out of his hip.
To update noches progress, he is doing a lot better.
Hair is starting to grow back, its still just peach fuzz, but at least its hair color, you never really know just how thick shibas coats are until they are shaven, its like a thick coat
He is walking on his leg more, still hops and favors his right (good) leg when he stands and general usage, but you can tell that he is regaining control of the left leg. At times you can’t even tell he has a post op leg, but this is when he gets distracted, like chasing stuff. I have to say for 2 weeks post op Noche is progressing very well, he has even managed to jump on the coach a couple times while playing with sol (I’m letting them get away with it right now..hehe)
Still have to pull on his leash at times to make sure he walks on the leg because when he is not distracted he will start to try to lift his left leg, so I must keep him pushing it.
He is also off his meds, and he doesn’t seem to have any pain, no nursing the leg or anything (at times he will poke at it, but not more than a sec, so I think it’s just things healing up) I also have continued to stretch his leg so that the muscles stay flexible, and don’t heal to stiff)
So he is still going forward, The doc said that it will be a couple months before full usage comes back and he stops "babying" his post op leg, but if still keeps propping his leg up all the time while standing I read that some people used a bottle cap or something on the good foot to make them favor the post op leg again, If so this is something I will do while home and can watch him....but the way he is moving forward I think he will forget about the previous pain on his own
Here’s a current pic of all three, I’ll try to get a pic of noches leg up tomorrow.
PS: Hydro therapy at a qualified facility has helped some folks with getting the dog to put pressure on
all fours evenly and also building strength in the muscle lost during recovery. Check with your vet if
it is of interest, you really want the best center and physical therapy.
Snf
I highly highly highly recommend you look into rehab options near you and discuss them with your vet.