LuvOurBasset

I used to post and enjoy reading this forum and then we lost our Basset, Annie to lung cancer and stopped...too hard to read about Bassets.

Now we have a new Basset Hound, Tootsie who is now five months old and adorable!

Yesterday she had to have surgery for Ulnar Osteotomy on her front left leg and wondering if anyone else has had to go through this with their Basset?

If so, would love to hear about your experience and what the healing and recovery period was like. We had an awful night last night and got very little sleep. Seems like she can't get comfortable and whining the whole time even though we do have pain pills for her. We do have a call into the vet and waiting to hear back.

Would really appreciate any feedback you might have and glad to be back on the forums once again!!! Thanks so much!!!!

Kathy

sadeyes2

Sorry to hear about Annie developing cancer. I do remember your name. Welcome back. Might be an idea to put your question in the health section.

Esther

My people were very sad. They lost BOTH their bassets in the month of January... Both to cancer. Lulu was sick for 8 months and the poor girl wasted away to nothing. She went to the bridge on January 8th (Elvis' Birthday). Right about the time that she was getting really bad off, Austin started limping. Two weeks after Lulu passed, Austie went to three legs. They found out he had cancer in his hip. The next week something ruptured and he cried and cried all night. My humans hadda send him to the bridge on January 30th. They were heartbroken but I cam into their lives just 19 days later--I am the fourth cousin of Lulu and I came to help heal their hearts. Lulu looked down from the bridge and made sure that they found me--because I'm a little hellion and they remember lulu and austin EVERY DAY because of it--she made sure they'd remember how sweet and well behaved the were b/c i'm so bad!! Bwaaaahahahaha! I love them and they love me and though it was a short bassetless period, compared to some, it's helped them to finish their grieving process and move along. they miss lulu and austin terribly but only remember the stuff that makes them smile now!

now, where did I hide mama's underwear... ahhh yes... back to the crate... bye!
Esther

Esther

oops
i thought you meant healing period from losing a basset.
didnt mean to be depressing and officially off topic.

Pricey

Hi there, My bassett pup had to have both of his front legs done, he had his first one done at the end of may beginning of june time. I know this is a pretty old thread but if you would like to chat about it I would be more than happy.

Wworm

haha Estha, ya crack me up!! was reading your post, and going "where's she going with this?"

but i do enjoy hearing your story and all the details, thanks for sharing.
--Worm

__________________
see what the Worm is up to: http://bassetworm.blogspot.com/

Hammock

Just took my 6 month old in today for surgery on both front legs....damaged growth plate at base of ulna, therefore removing a section of that bone to allow the radius to grow normally, and hopefully pull the ulna back into elbow joint. Is this the same procedure your pup had? If so, how was recovery? I was told he would be in pain and to take it easy for about 4 days. After that, however, to get him moving so the muscles would aid in the healing of the elbow.

Mikey T

IMHO this surgery is often not need and recommend way to often on vets not well versed in the breed The growth plate a a basset and other dwarf breed are not normal to begin with that is why the legs remain short. and propper base comformation requires some degree of elbow incongruity to begin with. Any time surgery is recommend on a basset front that is not an adult I highly recommend a second and even third opinion by orthopedeac specialist that are well verse in basset and other dwarf breeds.

The following is from the Basset Hound Faq by Judy Trenck


Ununited anconeal process

[quote]Some Joint Incongruity is considered normal in Non-arthritic elbows joints, increasing with increasing body weight, (Janach et al 2006)[quote]

Pricey

My pup had a different problem with his front legs. There was a large amount of incongruence in the ulna joint in both of his front legs, basically the bone was cut a pin inserted and the bone reattached then left to heal and fuse. Luckily I got several opinions and was referred to a specialist with a huge amount of experience in the breed. You could actually hear the joint click and he limped very badly.

As the surgery your pup has had is different to mine I can't really comment on your pups recovery time, however I will share my puppies experiences.

After the first op I will not lie he was in alot of pain, that being said it didn't pit him off his food. I believe the bandage was on for 3 days and once that was off he was much, much happier, for the first couple of days he really put very little weight on it, but by the end of the week he was using it more. His next op was 2 weeks after the first and by this time both I and the surgeon were happy with his progress and ready to proceed.

After his second op he didn't seem in quite so much pain, however getting him out for the toilet etc proved challenging as he didn't have much confidence in his new bionic leg. Once again one the bandage was off he was abit better. For the first few days he was really trying to find his feet again. After say 4 days he could walk unaided but needed some help to get up. After about a week from surgery I was told to start introducing short lead walks to help build up his strength and confidence (believe me it's confidence more than anything you and your pup need to work on). 4 weeks from his second op he was re-xrayed to check his progress, the surgeon was over the moon with his progress as was I. it's now been 6 weeks since his final op and there is no sign what so ever of any limp at all! We are still working on his stamina but tbh I you were to see him out you would not guess he has had an op at all.

My advice would be to make sure your surgeon knows about the breed and don't be scared to ask hundreds of testing questions lol. If your not sure get another opinion. I can't emphasise how much research and google time I took checking out my surgeon. And the final but biggest thing is This operation needs an amount of luck, if your pup doesn't heal well he could end up having more ops or permanently lame. I had 100% faith in my Pups surgeon and knew all of my options before proceeding.

If there are any more questions please ask away

Thatch

My 10 month old basset had surgery to correct his elbow incongruence yesterday. Our vet, an orthopedic specialist that we were seeing for another injury, became concerned about the problem two months ago but we decided to watch him for a little while. Two weeks ago we had xrays taken of his elbows and it showed incongruence in both, although one was considerably more severe both externally and internally with fragmentation already in the joint. The surgery he had yesterday included cleaning out the joint, lengthening the ulna and inserting a pin for temporary stabilization.

Pricey, does this sound similar to the surgery on your pup? If so, did they remove the pin after a few weeks and how long did full recovery take? Thatcher is a very active hound and I'm a little nervous about keeping him from going crazy over the next couple of months.

I'd like any advice you have on the situation, as I don't know anyone who has had this procedure done in any dog. I'm still trying to decide on whether or not to do the second surgery on the other leg, which is in better shape. My vet had suggested not doing it until 6 or 8 weeks after this procedure. It worries me to consider three or more months of recovery for my pup!