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Post SM surgery: Please is there anyone who can share their experience w SM surgery

M

maddy31

Member
I brought Bella home yesterday- post op day 5- today she is crying out more. Little yelps with some head movement. She had PT yesterday w electric stimulation and I'm thinking maybe it was too much. It's upsetting to hear her cry so much today. Yesterday wasn't so bad. And besides 3 little walks a day in my yard she prefers to lay in crate most of day so she's resting. Maybe it's just a "bad" day but it was beautiful and dry out- I could see if it was a rainy day. Over the weekend she did better and better - almost didn't yelp- but I did notice the assistants make her cry every time they picked her up. I told doc and nurse to please check how they're handling the dogs. Anyway The doc did say to leave her for PT 2x day for another week, but I felt that was a bit much and she can heal better at home and go as outpatient. I'm an acupuncturist so I can do microcurrent stimulation which is more gentle and healing than regular stim. She's moving her head pretty well. A little stiff and holds head a little low so I'm getting her to move on her own by using her treats. Is there anyone who can please share their knowledge or experience on what to expect during the first few weeks of recovery? In addition the poor animal is on a slew of meds and steroids for 3 wks going on almost 5 by the time she's done. Shes on Cefodroxil 200mg 3x day which seems she's taking way too much. They're using it to prevent infection but she never had an infection. I called hospital but both surgeons were out today and this may be their protocol. Any advice regarding what to expect the first few wks of recovery would be greatly appreciated. Ty
 
Sorry, I've been on vacation so I haven't seen your posts until today. I tried a search for my posts when Riley had her SM surgery but couldn't find them. Riley had severe SM with a cerebellar cyst complication. She had decompression surgery with titanium mesh implant 7 years ago. She came home on the 4th day with a fentanyl patch for pain which was the best. The first two days when I visited, she barely wanted to interact with me and acted as if she didn't know me. At home, I set up an x-pen attached to a crate so she would have more room. I have a multi-dog household and my youngest was a rambunctious one year old at the time. Riley's main symptoms pre-op were never visible or audible pain (although she would hide under tables or chairs if the other dogs got too crazy, so maybe that was an indication of pain), but vestibular in nature. Recovery was long. I spent about 4-6 months wondering whether I had done the right thing, wondering whether I had actually shortened her life. She was still on meds after the fentanyl patch was removed and it seemed to take forever to find the right medication and dosage for her. Some meds made her unable to sit, stand, or walk. She ended up on prednisone and is still on it now, 7 years later. At some point she turned a corner, and I realized that she was better!

I agree with you about having her at home. You know her the best. Riley was either in her crate/x-pen or in my arms/next to me on the couch. I think being in familiar surroundings was good for her. I know it was good for me. I kept her crate in my room at night for the first week so I could tell if she was in pain at night, but truthfully, the fentanyl patch worked like a miracle. With that I didn't have to add any more pain meds. I think the recovery was harder psychologically on me than her. She looked like a half-shorn sheep, which made her eyes look huge. She could only go out for 5 minute potty breaks and that was on a leash to make sure she didn't try running with my other dogs. That lasted for several months. No running, no jumping.

Seven years later, Riley is almost 13 years old and is living the good life. She will never be normal, but she loves life. She certainly has her moments when she can't walk, when she falls over just standing or sitting, she has seizure-like activity, she can't jump, she still hides under tables and chairs when life gets too hectic for her (pain?), but she runs in the yard, loves her walks, lives to please, and is absolutely the sweetest dog. I know surgery was the right thing for her. After the first year or so (alright 2 or 3 years), I stopped treating her with kid gloves. But I really never stopped feeling like I know her best and am so attuned to subtle changes in her behavior.

Let me know if this has helped at all. My recall is somewhat poor as it was 7 years ago. You can PM me if you'd like. Hopefully Bella will be feeling better soon.
 
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my thread. The past four weeks were probably the most stressful times of my life. Regarding having the surgery, I don't believe I had a choice as she could not live in severe pain episodes a good 3x a day, which were actually getting worse despite 4 meds and steroids. I agree with you, the recovery takes a long time- besides the surgery itself, it takes a long time for the syrinxes to resolve and some may not if the dog doesn't outlive the course it takes. With Bella, she has zero pain episodes other than an occasional yelp which also are subsiding now since yesterday (8th day) But I am so happy to hear about Riley doing well and being out 7 yrs! Did he ever have a post MRI showing improvement after a few years? The Fentanyl patch is a wonderful idea- it is a great and very effective drug. I didn't realize vets can prescribe it as well. I will surely tell her surgeon to consider it-- besides it being effective, you're able to keep the blood levels constant for better pain control with the patch than with injectables. The good news is this past Tuesday was definitely a bad day but thankfully the next day, she was much better. I do firmly believe the physical therapy with electric stimulation (over the incision no less!) on an already painfully acute area aggravated her significantly. I can't believe they wanted her there another week 2x a day for PT! She started walking so much better just being home the very next day. I'm seeing signs of her little personality surely coming out. And it's great to see her eyes bright and curious again. She always needs to know where I am- usually my Blenheim boy, Bailey, has to be w mommy. She's been more needy naturally. Sometimes she stares endlessly at me it's the cutest thing, I wonder what she's thinking. When my fiancé and I walk through the door, Bailey always comes to me and Bella to him first. Now Bella comes to me first then quickly says hello to him. They do appreciate one I believe. So the road to recovery is looking good. I definitely know the decompression took that horrific pain away-- they never assured me that it would, so my anxiety bringing her home was heightened as I was afraid for her to go through that again. I do think we may suffer more than they at times. And boy can we learn from their care free spirit. After her pain attacks, within a minute, she would wag her tail. Thank God for that surgery. It's a tough decision, but one has to weigh their pet's quality of life, the progression of this terrible disease, and one's circumstances. I want to highly recommend to anyone who has a Cavalier with symptoms that are worsening even a little, should have an MRI if they never had one. About a year or so ago, Bella just slipped out of bed and didn't get hurt but walked like she was drunk (ataxic). She had no other signs, and she acted completely normal otherwise. The symptoms disappeared after 10-15 minutes. I attributed to possible low blood sugar as she threw up during the night, but made an appointment anyway for the neurologist to see her and left her NPO night before (which is so hard to not let her eat anything) in case they would do an MRI, which she had never had. Her symptoms were always only scratching, which was much better but never more than 70% on Pregabalin (gabapentin did nothing) and omeprazole. Well I was surprised the neuro doc steered me away from doing the MRI- that it may not show any reason and could've been a transient little stroke which wouldn't show up on MRI. I was a mess b/c I didn't want to put her under general anesthesia if the MRI won't make a difference in her management. But now in retrospect, I am so disappointed in this neurologist. Clearly the cerebellum has to due w balance, but I figured everything online was not current on treatment recommendations so I relied on her immensely as she's with Long Island Veterinary Specialists in NY - they have a Chiari institute and are doing big studies and advances with this disease. Even 2 weeks ago, she never even mentioned seeing the neurosurgeon or recommend an MRI- except to rule out a "disc" and "we keep assuming it's Chiari b/c she's a Cavalier- it could be a tumor also." My goodness, I def. knew it was NOT a disc (and if it was a tumor likely the pain would not be acutely, crazy episodic but likely more constant, chronically progressive symptoms, so that was very low on my list--I'm a P.A. and worked in ortho, neuro and rehab for years) and I told her it has to be Chiari. She recommended medical management and for me to know it could be weeks or a month before she gets better-- I couldn't imagine another day without seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I asked when do you refer to the surgeon, she stated she never refers for surgery. It boggled my mind. I asked what is the success rate, she said she couldn't comment. Well, it was my doing to bring her for a surgical consult and I brought her without eating to do the MRI asap. We made arrangements for surgery immediately when she called with the results- severe chiari and SM through her spine. She could've had the surgery a year ago! I dreaded the surgery but I dreaded her attacks even more that I was counting the hours before they took her in. So one, just like with their own health, needs to be proactive in their pets' care as well. Sorry for the long thread! I want everybody to have all the info I wish to God I had a long time ago!
 
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