Resurge Veterinary Surgical Specialists and Rehab Blog

TPLO Tuesday

5/10/2022

It's TPLO Tuesday! Layla is exercising in our Underwater Treadmill and receiving LASER therapy while in recovery from a TPLO surgery. Even though this is the most common surgery we do at Resurge, each one of our patients has unique recovery needs that we cater to. Our goal is to meet the needs of our individual patients and give them every opportunity to fully recovery from their injury.
If you want to learn more about how recovery from a TPLO can be successful, please visit our blog on 10 tips and tricks to make TPLO surgery successful:It's TPLO Tuesday! Layla is exercising in our Underwater Treadmill and receiving LASER therapy while in recovery from a TPLO surgery. Even though this is the most common surgery we do at Resurge, each one of our patients has unique recovery needs that we cater to. Our goal is to meet the needs of our individual patients and give them every opportunity to fully recovery from their injury.
If you want to learn more about how recovery from a TPLO can be successful, please visit our blog page: https://www.resurge.vet/.../10-tips-and-tricks-to-make...
#TPLOTuesday #veterinarysurgery #CrCL #ACL #cruciatedisease #caninerehabilitation #TPLO #surgery https://www.resurge.vet/.../10-tips-and-tricks-to-make...
#TPLOTuesday #veterinarysurgery #CrCL #ACL #cruciatedisease #caninerehabilitation #TPLO #surgery

Joni's Progressive recovery from paralysis

4/21/2022

Joni presented with no sensation to her right rear leg and it was delayed in her left. This set of symptoms generally yields a poor prognosis. Dr. Dena Lodato brought her to surgery and decompressed the paralyzing disc herniation but she’s still has a long way to go before being able to function on her own. We still dont know how much function she will be able to recover but we are very hopeful. Joni just finished her first two weeks of physical rehabilitation and she is coming back next week to continue therapy. In the mean time, please keep her in your thoughts and prayers, she needs them.
#neurorecovery #spinalcordinjury #nodeeppain

Happy Birthday Willa!!!!

4/21/2022

Cat Barzon CHT-V, our hyperbaric technician, is singing Willa Happy Birthday while she receives a hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Willa had a tibial plateau leaving osteotomy, or TPLO, to stabilize her knee from a ACL/CrCL rupture. She’s been recovering well from surgery and has been receiving hyperbaric oxygen treatments to help with swelling and inflammation. You’ll be running around in no time Willa and your mom says there’s cake for when you get home:) #HBOT #happybirthday #TPLO #vetsurgery #resurge

Technicians teaching technicians

3/29/2022

Veterinary Technicians facilitate treatments and are an integral part of how veterinary hospitals are run. Their responsibilities seem endless and are only matched by their skills, knowledge, loving nature and passion to care for our furry friends. Veterinarians rely on them for support in almost every part of their workday. We’ve had the pleasure to help mold and teach some of the students from the Delgado Community College Veterinary Technician program. Without spreading knowledge to others we risk the chance of not having great veterinary technicians furthering the field. We hope you all get to learn and grow throughout your surgical rotations here at Resurge. Keep up the great work!

Buddy Update!

3/22/2022

Buddy suffered multiple strokes to his brain at the beginning of the year. He stayed with us for about a month while he recovered the ability walk and function on his own. Yesterday, his rehab therapists got to hang out with him and awe in how well he has been doing. Never give up on the older dog. They have wisdom, perseverance, and a lot of love to still give. Thanks for always being everyone’s buddy, Buddy!
You can watch Buddy’s full video on the below.

Slow Motion Video Gait analysis

3/15/2022

Slow motion gait analysis can help objectively evaluate and record a patient’s gait. After data is collected a practitioner can calculate acceleration, velocity, joint angles and watch a patient’s gait in repetition to gain more knowledge of how they are doing or what may be abnormal. Further studies can compare data before and after treatments to quantify progress. Our Rehabilitation department works closely with surgery patients and staff to make better decisions about what treatments are best for our patients.

Krewe du Pooch 2022

3/7/2022

We all had a blast at Krewe Du Pooch 2022 this past Saturday! Thank you to all the organizers, volunteers, sponsors, and every paw that made it a success. Events like these save lives and we were so happy to be a part of it! Hope to see you all next year!

The Resurge unicorn Blessing (rehearsal)

2/18/2022

Who’s going to Krewe du Pooch?

We set aside a little time to try on our costumes for the Krewe du Pooch parade that we will be walking in as part of Queen Sadie Elizabeth’s royal court, or as we like to call it, her Blessing. However, Queen Sadie did not feel like getting out of bed that morning for dress rehearsal. Must be nice to be a Queen, lol.

Fact: A group of unicorns is called a “Blessing” and we feel truly blessed to have the hard working staff and growing culture that we have harnessed in this past year. A big THANKS to everyone who stayed after their shifts or worked extra hard to be able to dress up, as well as everyone that took care of our patients while we goofed off for a few minutes. Every one of you makes Resurge Veterinary Surgical Specialists and Rehabilitation a true blessing to come to work each day. Thank you all!

We hope to see you all at the parade on March 5th, 2022 at the Mandeville Lakefront!
Please visit the link below to register:
https://www.krewedupooch.org

10 tips and tricks to make TPLO surgery a success

2/15/2022

The TPLO or tibial plateau leveling osteotomy is a very common surgery done by veterinary surgeons for dogs that have ruptured their Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CrCL or ACL). This surgery involves cutting the tibial bone (lower leg bone) and placing a plate and screws to hold it together while tissues heal. Here are 10 tips and tricks to help you with recovery.

1. Read and re-read your surgical discharge instructions! Your surgeon should send home some detailed instructions to help you on your way. It contains surgical and post op care information that can help answer many questions. If you weren’t given discharge instructions or would like another copy, please call and ask for one.

2. Give pain medications. Many people stop pain medications because they don't think their dog is in pain. If your dog is limping, they are likely in some pain. Pain medications like anti-inflammatories help lessen the discomfort from surgery and the recovery process. If your dog is in pain, they will not bear as much weight as they should on their leg and recovery will take longer. Muscle atrophies and bone doesn’t heal if the limb is not being used some. However, overuse can also hinder recovery. Check your discharge summary for guidance.

3. Crate rest is the best option for minimizing activity in your recovering pet. It may feel like you are locking your four legged love one up in jail, but in reality you are protecting them from themselves. The tibial bone will take 8 weeks to heal, so activity restrictions should stay in place for at least that long. Always recheck with your surgeon to have an X-ray done to insure the bone is healed before allowing any more activity. In some cases sedative medications can be helpful if your pet is having a difficult time with activity restrictions.

4. Use the e-collar until your pet has their staples/sutures removed. Licking of the incision can lead to infection, serious complications and additional surgery. Using the e collar can decrease the chance of complications from infection.

5. Set up several crates or small exercise pens in places in your house that you frequent. You can move your dog from one place to another throughout the day to help them not feel as exiled. One can even be outside as long as you are with them and they are continuing to rest. Another common place is next to your bed, especially is your dog sleeps in the bed with you. Dogs are social creatures and having you in the same room may help with crate rest/ exercise restrictions. Exercise pens and crates should not exceed more than about 4’ by 4’.

6. Use a sling when your dog is having difficulty walking and/or when they have to walk on slippery surfaces. In a pinch, you can also loop your leash under your dogs belly to help support or spot them when needed.

7. Physical Rehabilitation can greatly increase overall function, outcome and gives your dog something safe to do while in confinement. Physical rehabilitation practitioners tend to be very experienced in common problems and recovery rates of animals recovering from the TPLO procedure. This helps catch problems early and keeps patients and owners on the right track. They can help guide you and your dog through the process and make life easier for everyone. Rehab also lessens overall discomfort and recovery times.

8. Make mealtime fun. Crate rest or confinement is generally pretty boring. Making mealtime a fun game can greatly improve quality of life. Some simple games you can play are hiding their food in their bedding while they are out using the bathroom. They then come back to a surprise. There are also loads of DIY puzzles and games you can find online. An easy store bought game can be a Kong filled with peanut butter or canned cheese with kibble stuffed in them, then frozen. This gives your dog something fun to work on and can relieve stress caused by crate confinement.

9. Change your dog’s environment that they are in by hanging out in another room, or let them watch some TV designed for dogs. There are many shows on Youtube and other networks that have interesting shows made for dogs.

10. Love them more. It’s difficult to be taken out of your normal routines and activities. Make up for it by loving and petting your dog more. If you’re able to so and it’s safe, spend some time with them on the floor and spoil them with your love.

TPLO or tibial plateau leveling osteotomy

1. Example of a surgical discharge summary

2. How to give you pet medications

3. Crate rest

4. Use an E-collar

5. Set up several crating areas

6. Use your leash as a sling

7. Physical Rehabilitation has many benefits.

8. Make mealtime fun

9. Let your dog watch TV

Do you have any tips or tricks that helped you and your dog during TPLO surgery recovery? Please leave your comments below and help others that are going through the same situation.

Buddy's Resurgence From a Stroke to his brain

2/4/2022

Buddy had a poor prognosis when he was first referred to our physical rehabilitation service. Dr Yates at Baton Rouge Veterinary Specialists had diagnosed Buddy with multiple micro hemorrhages/bleeds in his midbrain. Buddy had a lot to overcome. He couldn’t get up or walk on his own, has a heart murmur, and laryngeal paralysis. He also had developed several pressure sores from being unable to get up for so long. Our therapists, Robby Porter CCRP and Melissa O’Brien RVT, CCRP, worked with Buddy daily for almost 4 weeks straight to help him regain function and independence. Each day they rewarded Buddy for simple tasks and in turn Buddy rewarded them with more motivation and drive to get better. We utilized hyperbaric oxygen and LASER therapy, however the bulk of Buddy’s care and success was due to our therapists skills and a few rolls of kinesiology tape. Knowledge, wisdom, bravery, passion and love, beyond any technology are the cornerstones of overcoming adversity. We should all be a little more like Buddy, our world could be a much nicer place.
#caninerehabilitation #strokevictim #brainbleeds #resurge #resurgeveterinary #passion #love #wisdom #bravery