Recheck with the surgeon

Today we went back to the clinic to have the surgeon check Spice. It has been 10 days since his surgery.

The surgeon was happy with Spice's range of motion. The small incision healed well and the bruising is gone. Spice is still sensitive at his elbow joint but there is no swelling. The surgeon could not detect crepitus in the joint. One thing that he noted was that Spice does not want to extend his leg completely. I am not too surprised as I think that it will take some time.

No stairs for 2 more weeks and then he can be allowed to do the small set of stairs going up to the bedrooms. Going up is easier on the joint than going down. We will have to wait longer before he can go down the larger set of stairs to the basement. One thing that the surgeon suggested was to use a harness (tracking harness or seat belt) when Spice is going down the stairs and lift him a bit to take some weight off and reduce the impact.

I told the surgeon that I used a physioroll before to help strengthen Spice. I have the Get on the Ball DVD. He said that we can start ball work twice a week to start and see how he does. I will wait about a week before trying this and will be starting slowly. Yesterday I did some ball work with Taari and Spice was getting excited in his X-pen thinking that he would get a turn. He got cookies instead.

Another good passive exercise is having Spice give me his paw. I will have to review my other DVDs to figure what other exercises would be good.

Up until now I have only been walking Spice about three houses down the street for his bathroom breaks. We can start walking more (6 houses) but it will be a meandering walk. He is not ready yet for 10 minutes of continuous walking but we could just go out for 10 minutes - visiting with neighbours and enjoying the spring weather.

I am at a trial this weekend with Taari and it is okay for Spice to come along and get a massage.

It will take 6-8 weeks for cartilage to form. How Spice is doing will tell us how well things are progressing with his joint. There is a danger of damaging the scar tissue if the surgeon went in again so he will only do it if necessary (i.e. Spice gets worse).

I may find that Spice gets sore during his rehabilitation and if he does then I rest him for 2-3 days. I asked about his cartrophen shots and Spice can continue to get them on his regular schedule (he doesn't need to have them more frequently). I stopped giving him Metacam today. If he gets sore again later today can give him Metacam again for 2 or 3 more days.

He doesn't think that Spice's elbow will get bad enough that it will require more drastic measures - fusing the elbow joint, amputation or elbow replacement. I was glad to hear that.

The surgeon also said that Spice looked good for his age (12 years old).

We will go back and see the surgeon in two months unless he gets worse. Until then we will continue with his physiotherapy. I am feeling more positive about his prognosis.