Moo is home. YAY!
She is looking rather pitiful and is very glassy-eyed from the pain meds and probably still a bit from the anesthesia. The vet said that when they got in there, her cruciate was "gone". They use a new procedure now – instead of a figure 8 wrapping with fishing line (OK that is an over-simplification of it, but is generally what was done), they now use a sheath that is crimped at the top and bottom basically wrapping the joint to keep it stable (I am envisioning shrink tubing – anyone who has messed with electronics and wiring knows what I am talking about).
The vet also said he's started using surgical staples instead of stitches when closing up the incision – his claim was that his wrists are giving out on him and this is quicker and easier. Poor guy! He is SO great with the dogs, but he gets SO nervous when talking with people. He had finally gotten past most of that with me because I had been in there almost weekly last year with Moo's ear problems…I think maybe having Neil with me this morning made him nervous again. Hehe! Neil is very intimidating looking if you don't know him.
He also told us about new advances in what they know about pain and how it works – what they now know is that anesthesia affects the consciousness, but that the pain pathways were still active for patients under anesthesia, so though you weren't aware of the pain on a conscious level, you were still feeling it. Now, after the anesthesia, they inject a local pain killer into the joint before beginning surgery. They also use a systemic painkiller throughout the process.
This all has gotten me researching glucosamine and chondroitin formulas again. He highly recommends the one they sell there (at $54/120 tablets)…but after some digging, I think for long-term maintenance, my Costco ones for $30/300 tablets is better all around. My two main concerns being that the vet pills have 400mg of flaxseed oil in them. While that is a good source of omega fatty acids, animals (including humans) do not process it as well as omegas derived from fish oils. Also, the vet pills have sucrose in them. While I am sure it is a negligible amount (it is the second to last ingredient), it is still there and is unnecessary. It also has a ton of MSM and no chondroitin. And the research I have found on MSM is very inconclusive as to any benefits and little is known about its long term effects or side-effects. So anyway – I will give her the week's worth that the vet provided to us with her antibiotics and pain meds (Rimadyl) and then we will switch back to her regular ones with added salmon oil (which runs me about $17/month for both dogs).
SADIE is being such a good big sister – Moo went to lay down and made a loud groan/whine (she was laying on her sore leg, silly dog) and Sadie came racing into the room to check on her. The cats have been circling and are very wary of her – I think she smells funny and they know something isn't quite right. Mostly now she is resting under the desk here with me. She's moving slow, but is getting around OK when she needs to. Her poor leg is all shaved and looks funny but, I think she will be just fine. We go back in about 10 days to have the staples removed and to let the vet have a quick peek at the incision to make sure it is looking good.
Swimming Upstream 