16 month old female husky (40 pounds) had a double patellar luxation surgery on 6/30. Grade 4 in both knees, severe muscle wasting and arthritis. The surgery was more complex than anticipated and involved the addition of rod placement. First couple of days fairly uncomplicated except that she would urinate in her kennel while asleep despite attempts at potty breaks.
She has now developed two huge seromas, one on each knee. She’s walking well, eating and drinking well. If anything she’s so close to her normal self. She’s still on gabapentin, trazodone and rimadyl.
The seroma on the left “burst” between sutures on Sunday despite the meds and confinement. It has continued to “burst” and release a LOT of serous fluid EVERY day since (today is day 4 of this).
She’s been back to the vet twice for this.
They said to:
Keep the meds
Stop passive ROM
Confine and keep down as much as possible
Warm compresses 3 times a day
They want to push back suture removal and have assured me that this will eventually stop. And if it continues for the next few days then we may consider other options.
She is walking around, standing up and turning around in her kennel despite the meds and obviously needs short walks to go pee/poop. These things cause the ruptures.
I am beyond frustrated and worried.
Does this care plan seem reasonable?
Does heat actually help? She’s so squirmy when I come near her kennel that it hardly seems worth it.
Any advice? Thank you!