TTA Surgery, healing, applying ice to dogs knees, tips for confining dog after TTA surgery

By Bosquebay

Let’s go step by step through the first three months following your pet’s surgery.

But first, it’s important to remember that our girl had bilateral TTA surgery – meaning she had both knees operated on at the same time – and this isn’t very common.

So let’s get started…

• The first and most critical step in your pet’s recovery is keeping them confined during the first eight weeks after surgery. Although there is less than a 4% likelihood the tibial tubercle may fracture during the early postoperative period, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

There are basically three options that are allowed:

1. You can typically have your pet in the house under your (or someone you trust) immediate control, on a carpeted area, with no play.
2. Keep your pet in a dog crate, especially if they’ll be left unattended.
3. And the option we used, was using two dog gates in our entry way, creating a fully carpeted pen. This gave her the ability to interact with the family and gave us the ability to watch her closely.

Plus, it helped with taking her outside to relieve herself, preventing her sister from interacting with her.

I can’t stress enough the importance of following the surgeon’s instructions to a tee.

We used a harness when we took our girl outside. This especially helped because for the first four weeks following surgery she required support with a belly sling to minimize stress on the surgery sites.

• It’s also recommended, for the first eight weeks after surgery, to reduce your pet’s food intake by 10-15% to prevent excess weight gain.

• The use of ice packs — 15 minutes, three times a day for the first three days — is highly recommended.

Inflammation and swelling are usually worse the first 2-3 days following surgery.

We iced our girl down with a frozen bag of peas wrapped in a towel, every two hours almost 24-7. She rarely had swelling and when she did, it was minimal.

Cold therapy helps reduce tissue swelling and decreases the sensation of pain.

Next post we will cover the first four weeks after surgery.