Cinny is a 4 yr old female pitbull that had torn ligament surgery (unsure exactly which procedure) about 5 1/2weeks ago. She is walking worse now then she did before surgery.
The 1st 2 weeks she was doing good. I was helping her with walking outside using a towel under her while I held her lower body up; she wasnt happy with me helping, but finally was settling in with it.
Now at 5 1/2 weeks she is doing worse then before surgery. She has an appt next week with doctor. She can’t even stand on all 4 without wanting to lay down. It breaks my heart to see what I think now was a very bad idea…
Since day 1 I have done exactly what i was told by my vet. I gave the pain pills, used a hot pad and ice pack when appropriate. Any help or advice anyone is willing to offer would be appreciated.
Update – After Vet Visit
Since I wrote my story it seems Cinny has taken a turn for the worst. She can not walk at with falling.
I called the vet that did the surgery that morning, and was told they can not see her until Monday; I told her she is a 5 week post op and can not walk. Still could not fit her in.
I called another vet which told me to bring her right in. They took X-rays and gave me the bad news. Cinny has arthritis in both hips and both back legs. Surgery will not help.
They started laser therapy on her right away and will do this for 2 weeks to see if it helps with her pain. She is also now on rimadyl and tramadol for pain, and I do give her joint vitamins too.
I went hope crying and haven’t stopped yet. I did order a wheel chair for her which will not be here for another 5 days. I don’t want to let her go, and I don’t want her in pain.
I just let my min pin go with God not even 2 months ago. what a holiday im having losing all my best friends.
Why didn’t the vet that did the surgery tell me about her arthritis or… Guess no X-rays were done? What have I done to my dog?!
Update – 2 Week Laser Therapy
Cinny had her 2 week laser therapy which seem to help some. One day she seems to be doing great, then next she is back to laying and depressed.
No x-rays were taken before surgery if so he would not have seen arthritis. She does eat and drink and go outside to do her thing. My husband has bulit a great ramp for her, and she seems to be happy with using it.
I take her outside everyday for 5-10 min; seems all she can handle. She still in pain, of course I keep giving her the pain/arthritis pill and her joint vitamins. She is giving me a hard time tricking her.
The therapy is supposed to last 3-4 weeks before she will need more. I see she needs it everyday. I don’t have the money to put in her, which is breaking my heart.
She is so alert and gives me dozens of kisses everyday. I have a feeling I will need to let her be with God.
We decided not to use the wheelchair for 2 reasons – 1 too small and 2 I would never be able to lift her to put her in it alone. I have a bad back now from carrying her up and down stairs to be with me haha, she hates to be alone.
God Bless and thanks for all the advice and help!
Hi, sorry about Cinny.
They didn’t take any x-rays before the surgery?
Is it both rear legs that are failing her?
Arthritis is not a death sentence.
One thing about arthritis is that decrease in movement can make it worse, for two reasons
– wasting of muscle mass
– poor lubrication of the joints
This could kind of explain the turn for the worse. What was your post-op rehabilitation plan and how much and what type exercise was she getting?
Laser therapy should certainly help. Since the situation sounds serious, if you have the possibility I’d consider underwater treadmill therapy also. If you can afford it I would consider stem cell therapy too. There are many great things that can be done for arthritis.
Please do find out whether any x-rays were taken prior surgery (should have been, I would think, though it is possible they weren’t)
Was her muscle mass assessed?
Given the rapid downturn, one more question comes to mind–are you in area with ticks? Did you find any ticks on Cinny at any point (doesn’t have to be too recent)
If so I’d also want to see whether Lyme disease might be at work here.
What grade is her arthritis? Was her spine evaluated? (I know from experience that a tweaked spine can cause quite a severe lameness–regardless of whether there is any arthritis or not)
The knee surgery itself should not actually cause arthritis, rather prevent it. You’re stabilizing the knee to avoid arthritis progress.
Less exercise and muscle wasting could make existing arthritis worse, but I wouldn’t think that much worse that quickly.
Please pursue further diagnostics to make sure you know what is really going on.
Pursuing laser therapy and hydrotherapy is a good idea on any account, but if other things are at play (such as Lyme disease) specific treatment needs to be done.