Lor & Mac
New Member
MALE - French Bulldog
Posts: 3
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Post by Lor & Mac on Feb 10, 2023 11:07:10 GMT -7
[Original subject line:Severe stiffness and leg contracture ]
Has anyone on the surgery IVDD Board experienced the following post -surgical complication?..
Let me give you a little details about our dog… Mac🐾 is a not quite four year old French bulldog.
He had emergency IVDD surgery on Christmas Eve.
He is now seven weeks post surgery. He has bladder and bowel control . At his latest surgeon visit follow up which was yesterday, the surgeon felt he was trying to move his legs and his hips. Those are the positives.
Mac’s main issue is that he has severe contracture in both of his back legs. He is so so stiff. We cannot do any range of motion on him. He just has stiffened up pretty quickly.
We are going to begin physical therapy at a rehabilitation clinic on Thursday, February 16, 2023. The doctor wants the PT therapist to assess him and then we will make a plan. Although the doctor was not completely pessimistic he did sound an alarm that we need to get these legs more flexible. The surgeon even mentioned that Mac may need to go under general anesthesia again to try to flex his legs.🥺. This would be a last resort as because of Mac’s breed , the preference is to not put him under anesthesia again.
When Mac is in a DEEP sleep, I have had some minor success in bending his right leg some. His left leg is worse than his right leg as he had more spinal cord pressure on the left side than the right.
I have not really read too much about IVDD dogs having such a severe stiffness issue. If you can give any encouragement, advice, thoughts, anything I would greatly appreciate it.
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Post by Romy & Frankie on Feb 10, 2023 14:28:34 GMT -7
There have been some dogs with this kind of stiffness on Dodgerslist. Muscle tone is controlled by signals that travel from the brain to the nerves and tell the muscle to contract. This kind of stiffness can happen when the regions of the brain or spinal cord that control these signals are damaged, and so there is a lack of input from the brain to the involved limbs. This can then lead to stiffness due to lack of movement.
Physical therapy at the rehab clinic, with the therapist stretching and straightening the muscles, should be helpful for this kind of stiffness. At home, massage and exercises in a warm bath could help relax the muscles. Some examples of bath exercises can be found here:
Additional surgery seems like it should be an absolute last resort.
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Lor & Mac
New Member
MALE - French Bulldog
Posts: 3
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Post by Lor & Mac on Apr 4, 2023 17:00:05 GMT -7
Update: Sadly,Mac still will not bend His back legs. It has been over 3 months since surgery. We have done 7 weeks of therapy that includes: therapeutic ultrasound, hydrotherapy, laser and some acupuncture. Mac “walks” in his own peg-leg way. His back legs will cross and his left paw often knuckles. Mac’s surgeon, vet and rehab specialist are all perplexed by this lasting contracture and say this is not a “textbook” case. Can anyone relate to this experience?
He has maintained control of his bladder and bowels,
He does not seem to be in pain.
One other odd thing: he has “episodes” about twice a week… he will throw up and at the same time poop involuntarily because of the pressure of throwing up.; he also may pee during an episode and get scared and shaky. This lasts a few minutes, and he seems fine shortly afterward. He does have chronic pancreatitis. But, before IVDD, he would not poop while vomiting. Has anyone experienced this?
Any help, advice, comments appreciate!
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Apr 4, 2023 17:33:57 GMT -7
Lor, could you get a 2nd opinion on the rear leg contracture issue? A neuro consult on what could be the reason. Then you'd better maybe know the direction for seeking the right treatment. Also you may find out more about the relationship of vomiting causing release of poop/urine.
Is Mac's surgeon a neuro (ACVIM) or an ortho (ACVS)?
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Lor & Mac
New Member
MALE - French Bulldog
Posts: 3
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Post by Lor & Mac on Apr 5, 2023 10:03:36 GMT -7
His surgeon is ACVS (ortho)
Yes, perhaps we need a 2nd opinion. It’s hard to believe that Mac still doesn’t bend his leg. I guess I thought he would have progressed by now.
Thank you very much for the response!
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Apr 6, 2023 7:39:05 GMT -7
Please do keep us posted after your 2nd opinion consult what the neuro's thoughts are if neuro related or something else.
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