How to Prepare a Dog for TPLO Surgery

A canine TPLO surgery helps repair ligaments and is a very complex procedure requiring extensive at-home recovery care.

TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) surgery is a very involved process for a dog and its owner. It is very important to properly prepare your dog and your home to ensure a smooth recovery. Every step that is taken toward recovery leads to faster healing and more effective results. Lack of preparation can lead to your dog experiencing more pain and possibly reversing the effects of the surgery.

How to Care for a Dog After Neutering Surgery - The First 24 Hours

How do I care for a dog who's just been neutered? How do I keep my dog from licking his stitches? Keep reading to learn how to care for a newly neutered dog after surgery.

Spaying or neutering a dog is the only effective method of preventing a dog from reproducing. The surgical procedure used to sterilize a dog is called neutering, while the procedure used to "fix" a female is called spaying. This article will focus on surgery after care for a male dog who has just been neutered. A dog owner will need to take special measures to care for the dog after the surgery is performed to neuter the dog. Recovery from a neutering procedure takes between 10 to 14 days.

How to Care for a Dog After Surgery

Be sure to give your dog lots of TLC during its recovery from surger

When your dog comes home after surgery, it can be heartbreaking. Your beloved pet will definitely need some TLC, but it is also important to listen carefully to the vet's instructions and keep your dog calm. Read on for more information on how to care for a dog after surgery.

Aural Hematoma... A Blood Filled Pocket

A  hematoma is any abnormal blood filled space.  An Aural Hematoma is a collection of blood under the skin of the ear flap of a dog or cat.  (The ear flap itself is called the Pinna.)  Ear hematoma occurs much more commonly in dogs than in cats; a hematoma generally is the result of trauma to the pinna from an injury or from the dog or cat scratching at the ear.  The itchy ear can result from ear mites, allergies, infections or foreign matter in the ear canal.  Frequent scratching at the ear, or even vigorous shaking of the head, can result in a rupture of small blood vessels beneath the skin of the pinna.  Since there is little strength or depth to the tissues of the pinna, clotting may be delayed... especially if the dog or cat continues to upset the clotting by additional self trauma.

Bladder Stone Surgery In A Dog(Learn About Bladder Stones In A Dog )

A 1 pound bladderstone  removed from a Chow		Bladderstones removed from a dog

Bladder stones in dogs present an interesting medical and surgical challenge for veterinarians.  One of the most often-encountered health problems of dogs and cats is urinary tract infections.  A fairly large percentage of these infections are caused by or complicated by bladder stones.  Any persistent bladder infection should be carefully screened for bladder stones and if present, bladder stone removal should be considered.

Skippy is wondering when it will be his turn to visit the Surgery Room.

Pyometra In The Dog

NEWS:  The state of Rhode Island recently enacted a state law that will require cat owners, excluding farmers, to spay or neuter their cats by the time they are six months old... or face a fine if they don't.  Governor Dan Carcieri said "By signing this legislation today, we are taking the necessary steps to reduce the number of impounded cats that are euthanized in cities and towns throughout the state".

Pyometra in the dog is a very serious condition!  Before we look at what pyometra is, let's review the best way to avoid pyometra... and that is spaying.  Pyometra means pus in the uterine cavity; if a pet is spayed the uterus and ovaries are removed so there no chance of pyometra developing. 

(There is no such thing as SPADE or SPADED, the correct terms are SPAY or SPAYED). It is major intra-abdominal surgery performed under general anesthesia. If it isn't done precisely and in a sterile environment the outcome can be disastrous. During my career I've never considered any spay "routine"; every one is different and eachpresents a challenge.

Mammary Gland Surgery... Breast Cancer Surgery (Mastectomy) In The Dog

Mammary gland tumors are common in the dog, and surgery to remove cancerous mammary glands, called a mastectomy, is a routinely done procedure in veterinary medicine.   Male dogs almost never get mammary tumors; as well, female dogs that have been spayed before their first heat cycle rarely acquire breast cancer.  Statistics demonstrate that if a female dog is spayed after her first heat cycle but before her second cycle, her potential to develop mammary tumors is slightly greater than the dog that was spayed prior to a heat cycle.  If two cycles occur, then the spay procedure, an even higher incidence of breast cancer is demonstrated.  And spaying after three heat cycles has no effect on diminishing the potential to develop mammary tumors.  In short, the sooner a dog is spayed the less the chances for mammary tumors to develop in the future; but after three or four heat cycles, spaying has almost no effect on protection against tumor development.  Keep in mind that spaying any dog at any time (as long as the patient is healthy) may be advisable to prevent a very serious uterine infection called PYOMETRA.  Also see images of the SPAY (technically called an Ovariohysterectomy) surgery procedure.

Visual inspection and a physical exam probably will not be helpful in determining whether or not a growth is benign or malignant.  A biopsy can be done on these growths to determine the cell types, which are highly variable in canine mammary tumors, and to establish the degree of malignancy. Malignancy means that they have the tendency to spread invasively into surrounding tissues and also to be spread by the lymph system to other parts of the body.   Most veterinarians will suggest a chest X-ray prior to any mammary gland surgery to see if there is any evidence of metastasis (new tumors as a result of "seeding" from a distant, primary tumor).  If there is evidence of tumor spread to other areas, the decision to do a mastectomy may not be advisable because metastasis of mammary gland tumor to the lungs or other body tissues almost always signals a very poor prognosis for recovery in the dog.