In The Hands Of The Surgeon

This morning we got up early, packed a few snacks for the road, and helped Henrietta get into the car. She seemed as eager as always to go for a ride, but we're all still trying to figure out the best way to use a ramp.

Then we headed up to Sugarland for Henrietta's surgery consultation. She was very laid back and relaxed during her examination, and the Vet tech was baby talking at her, which Henrietta loves. Then, after reviewing her x-rays, the main Vet/Surgeon came in to talk to us. She showed us this neat model of the surgery, and explained how her knee is slipping out of place, what they would be doing to fix it, how the reshaped knee would function, and what kind of recovery we could expect.

They are going to have to basically break the top of the leg bone, change the angle of the knee, and pin it back together with a metal bracket. While they have her knee open, they'll remove the rest of the ligament that was ruptured, and reshape the cartilage inside the knee, which will allow the bones to come together at a slightly different angle. This will stabilize the knee and keep the joint from slipping out. The Vet said some dogs even start to put weight on the leg just a couple of weeks later. We are excited about that, because it took Henrietta months to start using her left leg again after she had her LSS surgery, and she still doesn't like to put her full weight on it even 2 years later. We also talked about getting a knee brace made for Henrietta's left knee. Since she is suddenly having to rely on it exclusively, we want to do everything we can to keep it stable, and from deteriorating any further.

And then we talked money. They gave us a low estimate and a high estimate, and told us we would have to pay for the surgery upfront. We were able to apply for a PetCare account, and they gave us $5000.00 credit at 0% APR for 6 months. So we made our surgery payment for $4500.00. They told us that if it ends up costing more that they can add it onto the account, and if it costs less that they can do a refund onto the account for the difference. 

So we scheduled Henrietta's surgery for tomorrow morning. We had to leave her there at the surgery center, but she didn't seem distressed about it. Hopefully she knows that the people there want to help her get better. The Vet told us we would have to leave her overnight on Wednesday too, so that they can monitor her recovery from the surgery. If she does well, we will be able to bring her home on Thursday afternoon, but if she has any complications, they will keep her another day or two. Corey and I gave her a tummy rub and a hug goodbye. Now she's in the hands of the surgeon, but we have confidence that everything will be fine.