Day 10 Post-Op

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Not too much has been happening, so I anticipate I won't be giving daily reports as often anymore.

We're in the double digits now! I guess you can call us CCL Teeny Boppers. =P

As you can see in the photo to the left, 10 days post-op and 22 days post-rupture, her thigh muscles are already pretty atrophied. The x-ray on the day of surgery showed that her affected leg was already a bit atrophied, but now it's starting to get visually skinny. She uses it and puts some weight on it, although crate rest and limited activity is obviously taking its toll. I can't wait to get the go-ahead from our doctor to begin hydrotherapy so that we may begin to rebuild muscle tone.

I took the picture while giving her a rub-down pre- and post-PROM (passive range of motion). I am still having difficulty getting a smooth range of motion out of that leg. It's like she eases up and lets me do the bicycle motion with her leg (manipulating her hip, knee, and hock joints at various times), I extend her leg all the way, begin to flex her knee and hock, but when it comes to tucking the leg in to her belly to complete the movement, she yanks her leg in. It seems like something is uncomfortable or "catching" in the knee that prevents the knee from moving fluidly. I hope it is purely a matter of being too "fresh" in the knee still and more PROM work will help to stimulate the synovial fluids in her knee and allow for improvement.

I also do PROM on the individual joints of her leg so that I may monitor and improve the range of motion in the individual joints. Currently her hip and knee have good range of motion, but her hock (ankle) is not as free as the good leg. She can not flex the hock to as acute an angle as the healthy leg.

This may seem strange since the knee is what was operated on, so let me explain...

This is the surgery performed on Sophie's knee
http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/cruciatelrt.htm
(I hope that I am not infringing on any copyrights by posting their picture here, so let me just say that this image is NOT mine and I am just displaying it in this blog to illustrate a point. The link above is the owner and original location of the image.)


This is how the tibia "thrusts" forward when the hock is flexed when the cruciate ligament is ruptured. This is the tibial compression test. What I am speculating is that while the knee is stable from the surgery, it is still causing Sophie some discomfort when the hock is flexed as the tibia tries to "thrust" forward.

Then again, I am by no means anywhere near an authority on canine orthopedics and I am just speculating as to the reasons for her impaired range of motion in the hock.

I would also like to add, that while Sophie is out with us in the living room hanging out on the floor, she is ALWAYS on leash. This is so, so important for these post-op dogs. Keep them on-leash, even if it is just attached to their collar and you are not holding it!

And last but not least, today's photos of her incision: