Every orthopedic surgery shares the common goal = Improve patient comfort and mobility.
Many times, this will involve the use of specialized implants, such as a metal bone plate, pin or wire. These implants are crucial, as they provide the stability that maintains your pets bone or joint in the optimal position that was set at surgery, until your pets bone has fully healed.
Every implant can fail (or break) in two ways:
Very high forces experienced as a one-off. Similar to a piece of glass breaking, or your pet jumping off the bed.
Repetitive overloading of the implant, which fatigues it. Similar to bending a paper-clip back and forward, or your pet trotting instead of walking.
The most common way that our pets implant breaks after surgery is through fatigue caused by “excessive” activity. So, what is “excessive” activity? To put it simply, excessive activity is anything other than slow, controlled leash walks, on a flat, non-slip surface. This is perhaps the most important sentence to understand leading up to your pet’s surgery, because it will answer many of the questions you’ll have in the weeks to come.
As an example, here are some of the most common questions that will come up over the next eight-weeks that can all be answered by the same phrase – Slow, controlled, leash walks on a flat, non-slip surface
What activity is my pet allowed to have, or do you expect me to keep them restricted to a kennel for eight-weeks?
Can my pet go hiking with me or run outside?
Am I allowed to let my pet play with my other pet?
Can my pet go up and down the stairs or get onto the bed/furniture?
Is my pet allowed to walk around outside off-leash?