TPLO East Bay FAQs

Frequently asked questions regarding your pets recovery

This will be surgeon dependent as well as depending on the medications they have had prescribed by your regular veterinarian. A local anesthetic which numbs the surgical site is used at surgery and lasts 3 days. In general most pets will go home with an anti-inflammatory, additional pain reliever and an antibiotic. Sedatives and anti-anxiety medications may be needed

Generally patients should be urinating regularly although they may not have a bowel movement for some time. This is due to a combination of not eating prior to surgery and pain medications used during the surgery. Additionally, some pets may be reluctant to post year following surgery. If you have any concerns please call the hospital.

This is not uncommon and your veterinarian may recommend a bland diet such as rice, low-fat cottage cheese, boiled chicken without the skin or seasoning, plain yogurt, intestinal diets etc. This should always be improving and if your pet is not eating it may not be able to have all of the medication (anti-inflammatory particularly). Call us if the pets appetite is not returning.

It is completely normal and expected for fluid to drift by way of gravity from the knee to the ankle within 2 to 5 days of surgery. The swelling should not be painful and can be massaged and should be reduced after a few days.

Some dogs may have a small amount of self-limiting diarrhea after anesthesia or stress but both vomiting and diarrhea can be serious and life-threatening. Please stop medications and contact your veterinarian.

This can be due to arthritis, instability or tearing of the meniscus which can occur before or after surgery. If pain or lameness seems to correlate with clicking, further treatment may be required. If there’s no pain or lameness associated with the popping noise it may not require treatment but should be checked out by your veterinarian

This is the safest way to ensure a good outcome. Excessive activity can result in bone fracture or implant failure and a broken leg is considerably worse than the original problem so should be avoided. It is generally impossible for a pet to heal in less than six weeks and some pets may heal even more slowly. Off leash activity, even in the house, is not allowed until x-rays show it has completely healed.

Swimming tends to be an excellent form of rehabilitation but only in certain circumstances. Please clear any swimming with a rehabilitation professional or your surgeon.

Every pet recovers differently and as long as there is progressive improvement there is little to worry about. At the very least, consider that there are two phases of recovery, phase 1 is healing the bone and phase 2 is building muscle. Although some pets will make a full recovery in a short period of time, this may take even as long as 6 to 12 months to reach that plateau.

Have An Emergency?
Click or call the number below and we will be available to assist you