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matthewd · Jun 11, 2008, 03:24 PM

My mastiff tore her ACL.. 15 days ago she was operated on to fix it. Everything was going fine, she was limping to get outside, not too much on the leg, but we kept her still.. then 4 days ago it got real swollen, and she hasn't eaten in 3 days.. now she won't put her leg on the ground at all. We brought her to the vet 2 days ago that did the operation, and he made it like it was no big deal. Said she bruised her petilla muscle, and that's why its so swollen and she won't walk on it. He said to make her walk, and that blood coming out of the insision site is a good thing since it will get the swelling down. Well we took her out today to go to the bathroom.. blood trail left behind.. when we let her sit, we rubbed the leg, and a good 1/4 cup of dark red-purple blood came out. It reduced the swelling A lot.. now the leg is only about twice the size of the other instead of 3 times. The vet gave anti biotics and pain pills, but said to make she she takes them with food. But she won't eat now. Even if we force treats into her mouth, she'll spit them out. We got the pills in her by mixing it with doggie ice creamand putting it in the back of her mouth, so it would melt and slide down. But she really won't move now. Its like she's giving up. I know its only an ACL surgury, but there just seems like so much going bad right now.

bushg · Jun 11, 2008, 03:43 PM

I had a cat that got shot in the front leg with a neighbors bb,rapid swelling and infection set in. The antibiotics and draining helped him to get better. I would push above the wound a.m. and p.m. everyday to push out the infection. He went for about 3 days no eating, drinking. It was probably 2 days before he would even go potty.

Your dog should start to improve once the meds start to work.You always have the option of insisting that the vet. Give the antibiotic intravaneously or finding another vet.
Good luck

matthewd · Jun 11, 2008, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by bushg

I had a cat that got shot in the front leg with a neighbors bb,rapid swelling and infection set in. The antibiotics and draining helped him to get better. I would push above the wound a.m. and p.m. everyday to push out the infection. He went for about 3 days no eating, drinking. It was probably 2 days before he would even go potty.

Your dog should start to improve once the meds start to work.You always have the option of insisting that the vet. give the antibiotic intravaneously or finding another vet.
Good luck

Wow. That's horrible to hear about the BB gun.. what did you do about that?

bushg · Jun 11, 2008, 03:58 PM

I couldn't prove it was them, although they shot out the neighbors garage windows and finally got caught doing that. They finally ended up moving as they were in rental property. My cat is an old man now. He was preobably only 2 or 3 when that happened.

froggy7 · Jun 11, 2008, 06:35 PM

You might also want to try hot compresses on the leg. It will help the body fight infection and make any pus easier to get out.

carolbcac · Jun 11, 2008, 07:21 PM

I would call the vet again and tell them you need to bring the dog back in for a recheck. It's not unusual to have some swelling and even a little drainage after a surgery like that, but the fact that the dog has stopped eating and has a huge amount of drainage could be serious. An infection inside a joint is a major problem, and if you can't get the antibiotics in the dog they can't help. While at the vet's ask if one of the technicians can show you how to massage the leg and possibly apply a light pressure bandage to help with the swelling. The techs are the ones who will really know the day to day nursing care and physical therapy.

matthewd · Jun 12, 2008, 09:45 AM

We called the ortho again.. she was throwing up brown stuff.. bile maybe.. he had us come in, so his people can do blood work.. things came up real bad.. her kidneys shut down, and her white blood cell count is real high.. they're swearing its not from the operation. While I'm no doctor, I highly doubt it.. seems too much of a coincidence that it happened 10 days after the surgury. They claim she mustve had it before, but when I asked them about the pre-surgury blood test they said they didn't do one since she's only 5 1/2 yrs old. They had me bring her to my regular vet, where they are going to keep her for a couple/few days on I.V. fluids and anti-bodies.. and HOPE that she pulls through.. so far, not looking good.

bushg · Jun 12, 2008, 09:47 AM

Good luck, sending good thoughts your way.

matthewd · Jun 14, 2008, 02:45 PM

She went in Thursday.. Friday the numbers got a little better.. Saturday they got worse. Vet says things don't look good, and we should make a decission on Sunday or Monday.. I'm praying that she gets better, but losing faith fast.

westnlas · Jun 14, 2008, 02:58 PM

If you can get her to let you hold her leg in a tub of warm water with Epsom salts, that would help a lot in drawing out the infection ! I hope she gets through this OK.

carolbcac · Jun 14, 2008, 10:28 PM

Oh dear! I truly hope that your dog can come through this... best wishes to you both

matthewd · Jun 15, 2008, 12:24 AM

Originally Posted by westnlas

If you can get her to let you hold her leg in a tub of warm water with Epsom salts, that would help a lot in drawing out the infection ! I hope she gets through this OK.

I don't think that's going to get her kidneys working.. anyway, she's at the vets from this past Thursday to Monday.