[skinse82]

Last Tuesday (1/19), my dog had knee surgery (TTA). She's been doing great so far for the most part. She keeps somehow managing to yank her cone collar off and she popped a couple staples, but I called the vet and they said that was okay, as long she wasn't bleeding or oozing.

Last night, I noticed she had a moderately sized lump towards the top of the incision site that was sort of squishy if I pushed on it. I iced the area and applied warm compresses and this morning, the lump was gone and everything looked great.

So now, well about an hour ago, the lump reappeared. It's somewhat bigger this time. Smaller than a golf ball, but bigger than a large marble. And it's sort of squishy, which leads me to believe that fluid's collecting. It's not warm to the touch or red, it's just swollen. It kind of looks like when someone gets hit in the head and it swells into a perfect little ball, only it's not hard. She's acting okay otherwise: eating, drinking...being her normal self, but she hasn't been putting as much weight on that leg.

I plan on calling the vet in the morning, of courseeeeeee they're closed now! I was just wondering if anybody's ever heard of this. Is it common? Is it okay to wait and call in the morning or should I bring her the ER vet right now? Any suggestions on how to get the swelling down for the time being? Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions.

[Bacis Dad]

Not to sure the exact procedure of the TTA surgery but if the used any pins, it sounds like the body could be rejecting the pin. But I am no vet, but that sounds like a normal symptom of a pin rejection...
Well I wish him a speedy recovery

[Yogi]

Majority of TTA surgeries use titanium implants so as Bacis Dad noted, this could be the problem otherwise I would say it is post op infection that just needs draining and antibiotics. Not that uncommon with post op surgeries.

[Lara's mom]

My guess would be that the wound has become infected. A course of antibiotics should do the trick. The vet may have to drain the lump.

[Cheree]

Hi there, I work for a veterinary surgeon who performs TTA surgeries pretty much every day of the week. I can tell you that swelling is the rule rather than the exception. It is almost NEVER due to rejection of the pins. With all of the surgeries we do using titanium implants, I think we've only had to remove the hardware on a couple -- and those were hip implants, not knee implants -- due to rejection.

Infection is a possibility, but I'm thinking it probably isn't an infection. You say it's "squishy", that leads me to believe it's a seroma. When you touch it, is it hot? Not just warm, it will probably feel warmer than the rest of your dog simply because you are feeling the skin directly and not through a layer of fur. If it is an infection, the site would actually feel hot and feverish. Also, take your dog's temperature and make sure it isn't elevated. How is your dog feeling otherwise? Good energy or lethargic? Eating or not interested in food? Drinking water? Has your dog started to put a little bit of pressure on the leg? If all of these things are normal, they would definitely point against an infection. Also, did your doctor send you home with a round of antibiotics? We always do. It's also typical to administer antibiotics during this surgery to prevent infection. So, really, infection after a TTA is pretty rare.

You can continue to use compresses, but if it's a seroma, your dog's body will reabsorb these natural body fluids over time. However, it can take a couple of weeks, so don't be worried if it doesn't happen right away.

This is a highly successful procedure. Keep your dog exercise restricted during the recover period, and in a few months you'll never know there was an injury!

[skinse82]

Originally Posted by Cheree

Hi there, I work for a veterinary surgeon who performs TTA surgeries pretty much every day of the week. I can tell you that swelling is the rule rather than the exception. It is almost NEVER due to rejection of the pins. With all of the surgeries we do using titanium implants, I think we've only had to remove the hardware on a couple -- and those were hip implants, not knee implants -- due to rejection.

Infection is a possibility, but I'm thinking it probably isn't an infection. You say it's "squishy", that leads me to believe it's a seroma. When you touch it, is it hot? Not just warm, it will probably feel warmer than the rest of your dog simply because you are feeling the skin directly and not through a layer of fur. If it is an infection, the site would actually feel hot and feverish. Also, take your dog's temperature and make sure it isn't elevated. How is your dog feeling otherwise? Good energy or lethargic? Eating or not interested in food? Drinking water? Has your dog started to put a little bit of pressure on the leg? If all of these things are normal, they would definitely point against an infection. Also, did your doctor send you home with a round of antibiotics? We always do. It's also typical to administer antibiotics during this surgery to prevent infection. So, really, infection after a TTA is pretty rare.

You can continue to use compresses, but if it's a seroma, your dog's body will reabsorb these natural body fluids over time. However, it can take a couple of weeks, so don't be worried if it doesn't happen right away.

This is a highly successful procedure. Keep your dog exercise restricted during the recover period, and in a few months you'll never know there was an injury!

I brought her to the vet today and everything you said was dead on. I initially called and they told me that it was probably what you said, just fluid build up, but they could tell I was worried so they said I could bring her in. They drained the fluid and put in another staple. (At one point I left her alone for MAYBE 10 minutes and in that short time, she managed to get her cone collar off and pop a few staples, but she didn't bleed.) They also gave me some tranquilizers (Ace..something) to give her for when I go back to work. (I took off this last week to be home with her.)

So all is well. They gave me the same advice you did: if it happens again, give it some time and it'll reabsorb.

Thank you for all of your comments and ideas, was much appreciated.