Surgery post 2 years? Numbers?

Hello pretty people :lotsaluv: I was wondering about something after reading the post on the lecture.
It us still very unclear to me what the number are, prognosis wise with the (titanium mesh) surgery. I know they have been doing it for only 5 years, but why are the numbers so unclear?
They are talking about "80 percent" success rate, and a 7 percent re-operation rate etc.. etc.. When do does numbers apply?
Somewhere online I read 50 percent of dogs still have a good quality of life two years post surgery? That just doesn't seem very high.. :bang:
Does anyone have a better view on the surgery success rate after two years or beyond? With success I mean stabilizing or minimal progression of the symptoms.

Thanks! Lynni*no:

The post from Pat from Dr. Dewey was great but it also frightened me. After hearing those numbers and knowing that Ella had FMD without the titanium mesh and thinking there was a 50% chance of recurrence, I got really upset. I did what I did before and started to read online Dr. Dewey's notes which are hard to understand but from case studies of a certain amount of dogs. I think that the information is very valuable but for me I don't want to think of Ella as a statistic. Here is the article I found that Dr. Dewey published with the statistics and it a scientific paper. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1532-950X.2007.00286.x/pdf

This study was based on 14 dogs. I think Karlin wrote about how it is hard to base success and statistics for different reasons. Some people will not follow up. Maybe the only people that will continue on this forum are people that still have problems. I know what you are going through and how tough it is to know if surgery is the right decision especially if you see numbers like 50 % after 2 years. The things I read made my skin crawl but not all of it is true. You can also read about dogs that continue without surgery and the % of them eventually being euthanized. There are many people on this forum that have Cavaliers with SM that are not one of those statistics.

I think the information about how the titanium mesh reduces the chance of scar tissue and recurrence is important to note, especially if you are trying to decide what surgery to do. I just think for me personally it is hard to hear these statistics even though I need to face the fact that Ella might relapse.

I made the choice to have surgery. If she is part of the ones that require another operation then that is something I have to accept. it will not change the fact that I feel I made the right decision for me at the time. I think for where Ella was it gave her the best chance for time to know what medication would work.

I know you are scared and I feel so bad for you. I will be there for you but I think if you decide to do surgery, then hope for the best. Do all that you can for Blondie's recovery and take comfort that you are doing the best you can. Right now you have a lot to think about and I know I worried so much about the future. Take one day at a time. E-mail me anytime and Ella and I are thinking of you. :hug: