Patch Home from Surgery

Yesterday, Patch had surgery. We were planning to remove the plate from his right leg due to not being able to get rid of the MRSA, but Thursday night Patch tore his left ACL. We knew there was a chance this could happen. I'm sure the extra pressure being put on that leg for so long didn't help matters. The ACL repair went well, but the plate removal didn't go as well as it could have. There was definitely an infection, so it is good the plate is out. However, one of the screws was stuck in the bone & had to stay in. The surgeon isn't too worried though. The real problem is that on the second xray (after the plate was removed) it shows that the bone is not completely healed yet. He will be on antibiotics & has a splint on that leg. We are going to need to be extra careful until it heals. We will go back to the surgeon in 10 days to remove all of the staples & put a new splint on the right leg. In three weeks, we will get an xray of the right leg to monitor the healing and see if the splint can come off. Patch will be on restricted activity for the next 8 weeks so the new ACL repair has time to heal. This will be the real challenge because Patch is an active guy! The vet techs were amazed at how much energy he has for a dog that just had surgery on both of his legs. I pray both legs heal without any complications & the MRSA stays away!

Poor Patch...