TPLO Surgery Recovery for Dogs: What to Do & What to Avoid
While every dog will differ in their recovery timeline, the first 12 weeks after TPLO surgery are critical. Full recovery may take anywhere from 8 weeks to 6 months. Your dogs size, age, health status and breed may factor into recovery time.
Though a plate and screws will be used to secure the bone graft, your pooch will still need time to heal after surgery. During this recovery phase, we recommend:
Remember that preventing infection and restricting physical activity during your dog’s recovery period are vital to their health at this time. Dogs tend to heal quickly (or think they are healing quickly!) and want to get back to physical activity. However, she could be raring to go before her body is fully recovered.
While it’s on-leash walks for a few minutes at a time may be advisable, avoid high-intensity activities such as jumping, running and playing with other dogs. You’ll even want to avoid steep stairs.
Though you can likely leave your dog unattended during the day to go to work or school, he or she will still require bathroom breaks and exercise to prevent stiffness.
Avoid leaving your dog alone around other dogs or animals during the recovery period, as a dog jumped after TPLO surgery may sustain serious injuries, and suffer setbacks in recovery.
By the eighth week, if recovery has progressed sufficiently, the vet may be able to remove the stitches.
How does a torn cruciate ligament cause knee pain?
If your dog has a torn cruciate ligament, pain arises from the knees instability and a motion called tibial thrust. Tibial thrust is a sliding movement caused by the transmission of weight up a dogs shin bone (tibia) and across the knee, causing the shinbone to jump forward in relation to the dogs thigh bone. This forward “thrust” movement occurs because the top of a dogs tibia is sloped, and can not prevent unwanted movement.
TPLO surgery eliminates the need for the cranial cruciate ligament by reconfiguring your dogs knee.
To perform TPLO surgery, a surgeon makes a curved cut to the patients tibia before rotating the tibial plateau (top section) to level the tibia and femur. Once the tibial plateau is in the desired position the TPLO surgery is completed by attaching a metal plate to stabilize the knee as it heals around the new configuration.
What Should I Do if My Dog Jumped After TPLO Surgery?
Its extremely important not to allow your dog to jump after surgery, as overextending the knee (stifle) may compromise the repair and slow healing time. That said, sometimes accidents do happen and dogs test their limits before they are completely ready. If this is the case for your pup, dont panic. Contact your veterinarian, tell them whats happened and ask for their advice. If your dog appears to be limping or in pain, or they suspect injury may have reoccured, they may ask you to bring your dog in for an exam.
Why Is My Dog Jumped After TPLO Surgery? | DogVela
A dogs cranial cruciate ligament (also called the CCL or cruciate ) works much the same as a humans ACL and helps your pups knee function correctly. If your dog has an injured cruciate, your Charlotte vet may recommend TPLO surgery to stabilize your dogs knee and allow pain-free movement.