General Recommendations

Activity Restriction

When your pet has any surgery there is going to be a period of activity restriction post operatively. A soft tissue surgery may involve a short activity restriction period (usually 2 weeks) while an orthopedic injury may require a more extended period of restriction. We KNOW HOW HARD THIS IS! We all have pets and have been through this ourselves. We do not say it to be difficult, we say it because THEY NEED IT!

In general ALL post surgical patients will not be allowed to be running up and down the stairs or jumping on and off furniture for a minimum of 2 weeks. We generally recommend they be limited to a smaller area in your house with no access to stairs and furniture. This is especially important if they are left unattended.

Your post operative instructions will outline your pets specific activity restrictions but you should count on this as a minimum. In some cases your pet can do stairs if these are kept to a minimum (up in the evening, down in the morning) but they need to be done controlled and on a leash. In many instances we will recommend a sling be placed under their belly to catch them in case they fall.

Our goal is to try to get them back to full function as soon as possible. If you do not follow these instructions it could, at a minimum, hinder the recovery or potential cause major complications which could result in a poor outcome or the need for additional surgery.

Slippery surfaces are our worst enemy and of course most of us have wood floors! Purchasing some cheaper rugs to use during the post operative time can help protect your pet from slipping and falling on areas that need to be accessed.

The day of the procedure - when surgery is performed as an outpatient the effects of the anesthetic drugs and pain medications can make your pet more unsteady on their feet and less aware of their surroundings. It is therefore especially important to keep them in a safe area away from stairs and other hazards during this period. In general they are back to their more normal self the following morning. Please also be aware that they may also be less able to regulate their body temperature during the first 24 hours.

The Incision

Thankfully for us our pets generally heal very well. If there are no complications with the incision they are generally healed in 10-14 days.

Unfortunately they do not know that they need to leave their incisions alone!

The most common complication we see post-operatively are incision related issues. We do know how much of a pain it is to have an E collar on your pet (Dr. Feldsien has a Great Dane. Now that is a BIG CONE!). The only way to think about it is that 10-14 days in a cone is MUCH better then 4-6 weeks if complications arise.

The flimsy soft cones only work in a small number of cases. The majority of pets are clever enough to get around the collar. It only takes a few seconds for your pet to get to their incision and cause an issue. Even a lick here and there are enough to result in some problems.

Unfortunately the majority of pets need the hard E collars and they usually seem much larger than you feel they need to be. This is because they can push it down their neck (they are pretty clever).

If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone tell me “I only took it off for a second so they could eat” or “he can’t get to it he’s too lazy / fat / old / ____”.

Complications can be costly (time, money, outcome). Please help us to keep these to a minimum. If you have concerns about how your pet is coping with the E collar please contact your veterinarian.

Feeding

Food needs to be withheld after 10pm the night before surgery (unless otherwise specified). We prefer you not give a large meal of dry food late that evening (dry food stays in the stomach longer). If you feed once a day, only at night, then try to feed earlier in the evening to give it a little more time to move through.

The night following surgery we generally recommend a very small meal if they are up for it. The effects of the anesthesia and medications can make their appetite reduced and slow their gastrointestinal tract. If they are pretty sedate on their medications then waiting until the following morning may be better.

In most instances a return to normal diet is expected the day following surgery. Offering smaller meals, more frequently, can sometimes be helpful while the effects of the anesthesia and pain medications wear off. It is not uncommon for a pet to not defecate for several days after surgery. This is common because of the food restrictions and medications given both during and after the procedure.

It is important to remember that if your pet is under activity restrictions post surgery their caloric intake should be reduced to compensate for this. This is particularly important in the orthopedic cases where keeping them on the lean side of normal is important long term. We all know what happens when we stop exercising and keep eating the same!!