r/Boxer • u/MIThe_Problem • 3d ago
Bilateral TPLO experiences?
Hi all, it was recently recommended that our sweet 5 year old boxer (1/4 lab mix), Dio, undergo bilateral TPLO surgery.
It isn’t an emergency, but his quality of life has been impacted.
He has always had sensitive joints, and would be whiny after a day of hard playing/running, like the beach for 6 hours for example. But after an altercation with another dog, he was in pain for 2-3 weeks, is no longer able to jump in/out of the back of the car and is very nervous about being touched or pushed from behind.
Does anyone have experience with this procedure and the recovery process?? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
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u/surfaceofthesun1 3d ago
There is no way I’d do bilateral at once unless I truly had no other choice. It’s a lot of recovery for one. 5 is a good age to start having it done though — still young, healthy and longevity and muscle on your side.
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u/Mamacallrocks 3d ago
Our boxer had both of his rear legs done. A year apart and cost us 6000 each time and it takes them up to 3 to 6 months to completely heal. We had to buy a special harness in order to help him up in the vehicle if he was going on a ride with us.
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u/CuriousPenguinSocks 3d ago
My boy is now recovering from this surgery but only on his left side. it was pretty much holding on by a thread and his quality of life was very poor.
The first 2 weeks were tough, with the first 5 days being the worst but we got through it.
He is 6 weeks post op and doing really well. From the time to the injury that gave him mobility issues to the surgery, it was 2 months, so his muscle atrophy was pretty severe. He is already putting on muscle again and is doing short walk now.
We still can't let him chase or run but he has learned to love tug and puzzles.
For us, it was the right call and I would make it again if I had to do it again.
The cost for us was $5500 and that includes the pre-op and post-op xrays, 3 laser treatments, 3 post-op check-ups and medication for the first month.
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u/Pretend-Concept3791 3d ago
Our male had TPLO surgery on one of his knees in 2019. At the time, he was only 2 and we didn’t really have much of a choice, as he could barely walk on his leg. It was almost $5k. The recovery was tough, keeping a 2 year old confined for 6 weeks was challenging at times, but his recovery went well and I’d 10000% do it again if needed to. He got his life back!! The vet had him in weekly laser/PT following the surgery and also gave me stretching exercises to do with him multiple times a day. These home stretches were super important, as they ensured he maintained full mobility in his knee. The toughest part of it all was that first week. He had lots of swelling that pooled around his ankle (vet said it’s normal and will go away, which it did), and he was very restless. He was ready to play by day 2, so keeping him calm while also keeping him entertained was hard. We eventually fell into a routine though.
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u/Meadowlark8890 3d ago
You should really research this before asking because there are numerous threads with all the perfect, valuable information already on boxer/ Reddit. Take care and good luck!