ACL modified Flo Technique

Chauncy had the modified Flo Technique yesterday to repair his ACL which he ruptured on Jun 11th. The radiographs at the time of surgery showed minimal degenerative joint change and the expectation is he will develop arthritis and only time will tell how much.

He was not a happy camper at all on the short trip home.. He hurt and he let us know it. He developed diarrhea about 1/2 hr after getting home and that was certainly not pleasant for him. I suspect from intra-operative injectable NSAIDs which he was not supposed to have because of his reaction to them especially injectable anafen in the past. It is routinely given so I think it got slipped in. We had a rough first night with only Tramadol for pain. I iced him non stop last night, just rotated the sites so not to do any tissue damage. That helped, I know it did.. Thanks Karen.. if not for you I would not have started it when I did.

This picture is was taken just after I brought him home last night, he is a lot more swollen today.
With regular Tramadol and hourly icing he is doing better today. Emma and Aselin both came to help me look after our boy. Thank heavens for great grand kids no matter how young they are.

The Ruff Wear Harness I got when he injured his leg has been very helpful and I highly recommend it for anyone who has a dog with an acl injury.


This is an excellent resource for Canine ACL issues and repairs. 

Canine ACL issues

Tomorrow is surgery day

Well tomorrow is surgery day for Chauncy.. I am looking forward to it and not looking forward to it.. We have had a terrible time with the NSAIDS, he just does not do well on them at all and so far Anafen, metacam and previcox have caused him diarrhea and vomiting. I had to stop the previcox, the diarrhea just got too much and that is the last thing he needs after surgery. I had to increase his tramdaol dose last night and iced him up several times but he was more comfortable at least. It is easy to tell when he is in pain as he starts to lick his knee and then takes it in his mouth, and will refuse to get up and go out when I take the other dogs. He won't even move when I hold his leash up.. I hate this, hate seeing him in pain.

ACL surgery

Well the surgeon confirmed what our Vet said and we booked Chauncy for repair surgery next Monday. We are going with the traditional repair. Chauncy's weight is perfect, I have the ramp in, rubber backed mats are all down and he is being crated to lesson the risk of damage to his joint. Rob feels he is a good candidate for this repair and he has done lots of these and I trust him.. Keep my boy in your thoughts.

ACL issues

Poor Chauncy, my Vet is pretty sure he ruptured his ACL, he has the classic drawer sign. It is a little more than a week and he is still not weight bearing on it. He is using his toes to balance with it a bit though. We have an appointment with the surgeon on Monday to see what he thinks and see how soon we can get it fixed it that is indeed what he thinks is needed.
We had to stop the NSAIDS as he had a nasty side effect, diarrhea and then vomiting from the metacam and also from anafen. Paula put him on tramadol and he seems ok with that. You can tell so easily when he needs it, he licks and then will chew at his knee.. So I am trying to prevent that by giving it morning and evening. He is spending his days in the crate and he is doing so well with that.

Bill hurt his leg yesterday and spent hrs in the ER, so is on crutches doubt the crutches will last long, he hates them.. We were supposed to build a better ramp today since it looks like we will need it long term. So with Bill's directions I am using the chop saw and it is looking pretty good! Just waiting for the drill to charge up so I can finish putting it together.

Chauncy injured his leg..

Hard to get a picture of him but you can see he is holding it up. He is totally non weight bearing. I am worried he blew his ACL out. 
I took the dogs all for a swim like I have done several thousands times and they all ran ahead and by the time I caught up a the wharf he was already limping.. 30 seconds out of my sight, and of course it was Sat. afternoon. So crate rest, pain meds and icing. I got a Web Master Harness or rather my husband drove to Enfield for it. It was either that or wait 3 weeks for one to come from the US. It is a very good harness and will allow me to get him in and out of the car easier and support his leg. I have a Vet appointment tomorrow with Paula so we will see. I am really hoping for a soft tissue injury!!!
He is being such a good boy and is doing fine in the crate even though we have not used one for years..