Demmy needs knee surgery

[OakLeaf]

Two of my dogs had three ACL repairs between them.

Unfortunately the vet clinic really didn't give us any instructions on rehab. Plus, these were pretty active dogs who'd never been crated before, and nothing short of a straitjacket was going to keep them off their feet.

They were definitely better once the knees were healed than they'd been before. But, from everything I'm reading now about human surgery, I wonder if they would've been just as much better four months down the road without it.

But those were acute injuries, too. I don't know anything, but they normally wouldn't do an ACL repair on a human for a chronic laxity, so I'd kind of be leery about doing it with a dog.

So I guess what I'm saying is that it seems like my dogs did benefit from the surgery, but if I were you, I'd very thoroughly explore the options for conservative treatment. If it's six months rehab anyhow, why not try at least a month or two of therapy before deciding on the surgery?

The other thing is, pain control. One of the vets... well, I'm still angry, and that's been over 10 years ago. But even if they do give your dog good pain meds post-surgery, you know how stoic dogs can be, so you can't take their behavior as an indication of anything but the most extreme pain. Now that I've had a taste of the pain of very minor surgery, I would absolutely make sure she'll be on narcotics for at least two weeks. Probably longer - my mom who hates pain meds was on strong narcotics for six weeks following her double knee replacement last year. I just don't accept that any mammal "doesn't feel pain the same way we do." (Of course most MDs don't think humans feel pain either, but that's another thread.)

Anyway, hugs and healing vibes, and good luck to both of you whatever you decide.