Meet Stella, our June 2020 Pet of the Month! Stella had Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) surgery performed on her right stifle on August 19, 2019. Her recovery was progressing a little slower than usual. After a reassessment, a revision surgery was recommended and the procedure was performed on October 23, 2019. Rehabilitation was recommended post-operatively to help encourage Stella to use her right rear leg.
We first met Stella on November 12, 2019. At that time, Stella was still refusing to use her right rear leg and had several tense thigh muscles because she consistently held up her leg. We started with some basic exercises to encourage weight bearing and strengthen her core muscles. We also had her family focus on massaging her tense thigh muscles at home. Over time, we were slowly able to build up Stella’s confidence in using her right rear leg and we were able to add more exercises to strengthen the muscles.
Eventually, Stella started to use her leg more and more, until she was able to go for a 2 1/2 mile walk without any signs of lameness! Stella continues to do well with her homework exercises and enjoys her walks. She is even starting to play with her toys in the yard again, something she hasn’t been able to do since last fall.