Kirk's Hips =( **8/26 GOOD update!**"

[cloverfdx]

Ohh no Kate i am sorry you had to much such a quick decision . You are doing all you can to keep Kirkie happy & pain free, you will all be in my thoughts {{Hugs}}.

[pitc9]

many hugs to you both!!

[Kater]

Hello PT. I wanted to post an update on Kirkie.

On January 12th I took Kirk into the vet because I had noticed he was showing signs of increased pain. That week he had started lifting his left foot off the ground for short periods, something which I had never seen him do before that-- prior to that he was weight-bearing on his left leg, but obviously still favoring it while walking. (FYI --He had the TPO on his right side, and the left had not been operated on at all.)

At that point I did not have him on pain meds and was relying on supplementation with Hyaflex daily and Adequan injections weekly. Both of these are chondroprotective agents and the Adequan especially was providing obvious relief. However, that week I took him in I did not notice any marked improvement in the beginning of the week after his Adequan shot.

Anyway, we performed x-rays because we knew that dislocation of the hip was a real possibility. X-rays clearly showed that his left hip was completely popped out of the socket (the femoral head popped completely out of the acetabulum). This is incredibly painful and it is a testament to the absolute stoicism of dogs that he was continuing to weight bear on the leg. Crazy boy!! Anyway, this has always been something we knew was likely to happen to him after seeing his initial x-rays, but we certainly hoped that he would be older before this happened.

At this point we called the board-certified surgeon (who performed his TPO) and asked him how to proceed. His first recommendation was to wait until he was a year old (2-3 months) before operating and in the mean time keep him on high doses of pain meds and work on building up his hindquarter musculature. Then later, after sending the surgeon the x-rays, he informed us that the hip had been dislocated longer than a week. Hearing that made me feel like the most terrible Mommy ever. I swear, dogs are just so stoic!! He also amended his recommendation and felt that we should try to work on building his muscle for just a month before operating, unless he became any more painful and then we could operate sooner.

Well, Kirkie lasted two weeks on the high pain meds routine before things got really bad. Around the middle of last week he started hop on his back leg alone about 80% of the time and slowly all but ceased weight bearing on that left leg. I was afraid he had blown his left knee, or would be in danger of blowing the right knee if he continued the full on bunny hop. I upped his pain meds a bit more, but when I saw no improvement I notified my vet to let her know that I wanted to schedule the surgery.

He had the FHO (femoral head osteotomy) on his left side this Friday and the whole operation went VERY smoothly. I actually watched most of the procedure...which proved a bit difficult at times. I watched through a window outside of the operating room--- I couldn't be *in* the OR.

He came home Saturday night. He has lots of pain meds on board and I'm sedating him to keep him calm. In about 2 weeks he should be back to walking. I cannot wait!

The leg is hardly swollen. The sutures/staples are very neat and not looking red or inflamed in the least. He is much easier to look at than he was after the TPO. He is not whining or crying much at all, which is so much easier on everyone.

Here he is looking pathetic in his cone:



Thank you for reading. Please send us good thoughts for his recovery! I hope after recovery he can run, hike and play like a normal pup. He has been through so much already and he's JUST 10 months old.

[cloverfdx]

Ohh Kate i am sitting here in tears reading what your poor little man has been through.. he is so brave. Sending lots of healing vibes and gentle {{Hugs}} Kirkie's way... and a few {{Hugs}} for Mama too.

Thankyou for updating us.. i dont get to live journal too often to check up.

[shais_mom]

Oh Kate! I had no idea Kirkie was going thru this!
I'm soooo sorry!
HIP DYSPLASIA SUCKS!
Keegan breaks my heart with her's and she's 5 1/2! I can't imagine such a young dog.
Give him a kiss from me and a big hug to MOM!

[chocolatepuppy]

Tears here also. I will keep Kirk in my prayers.

[M&M's Mommy]

I can't believe he's been through so much, and still, manage to stay upbeat & happy (you can't really tell about his suffering by looking at his pic). There are so much we can learn from our dogs..

I 'm praying for his speedy recovery!

[BC_MoM]

You've been through so much in your short life, Kirkie! We're all praying that the rest of the procedures and recoveries go as smoothly as possibly so that you can enjoy your PUPPYHOOD in the future.

Looking as handsome as ever, Kirk.

[Ginger's Mom]

Oh Kate, I am so sorry to hear all of this. I hope this is the start of a healtier time for Kirk. {{{Hugs}}}

[Daisy and Delilah]

I am in tears here as well. Poor little fella He is the bravest boy in the world. Lord knows, he has been through so much in his short life.

It's really scary to know how stoic dogs are. I always worry what they might have wrong and they don't show any signs of discomfort alot of the time. It makes us love them that much more. They're such wonderful creatures aren't they? Only if we could be so tolerant.

I wish Kirkie all the best and hope he can live a normal life very soon. That beautiful boy deserves it for sure. {{{{{HUGS}}}}}

[wolf_Q]

I am so sorry to hear this. Poor Kirk, he has been through so much at such a young age. I hope that he recovers well and will be able to enjoy life like any other young pup. Get feeling better soon Kirk!!

[lizbud]

Kirk looks good in his cone picture. Bright eyed and comfortable. I am so
glad that you have had such good Doctors to count on during this whole
process.It sure helps so much.Lets hope no more setbacks now and Kirkie
can grow stronger from day to day. It won't be long till that sweet boy can
run all he wants.

[pessimisaurus]

just read the news on LJ- so glad to hear the sx went well and that he should be walking in just a couple weeks!! hopefully this will be the end of his repairs and he can enjoy a long life of running!!! ^__^ give him a kiss for me!

[Kater]

It has been 3 weeks since Kirk's latest surgery. I'm sad to report that he has not bounced back as quickly as expected. He may have irritated or even torn some of the underlying muscle. We're going to continue supportive care and therapy before we take xrays or contemplate "going back in." I don't know why this puppy always has post-op complications. It's frustrating when we are trying our absolute best to follow post-op instructions and end up keeping the poor thing sedated for months at a time. *sigh*

On the upside, tomorrow is his first appointment for hydrotherapy. It has been hard to schedule because the two women that do canine hydrotherapy locally are fairly booked up and both have had recent vacations. Anyway, we're finally gonna get him in the water!! Yay!! He really needs it; his poor little left leg is about as atrophied as it could possibly be. I'm going to try to take pictures to share.

Otherwise he is as much of a love bug as ever. Even though I stress about him a lot (all the time!!), he is really quite the happy fellow. I just know he misses his walkies, his doggie friends, and all the normal puppy stuff he is missing out on....

He makes 1 year next month. I pray that he is well on his final 'road to recovery' by that time…. And if he's doing well I want to have a big BBQ to celebrate. He would just love it if I brought over dozens of people to dote on him!!

Thanks to those of you who continue to follow his progress. I appreciate the support.

Trying to stay positive!!
Kate & Kirkie

[cloverfdx]

Good thoughts are often sent your way Kate and of course Kirk. Cmon mate get better for your big 1st Birthday {{Hugs}}.