Client Education

Bonnie has undergone surgery to repair a ruptured left cranial cruciate 
ligament. It is very 
important that you follow these instructions. Please feel free to call our 
office at any time 
if you have nay questions about BonnieÕs recovery.

_ There is a bandage on her left leg which will need to be removed in about 10 
days. It 
is very important that you keep Bonnie clean and dry throughout the recovery 
process, but especially until the sutures and bandage have been removed. If the 
bandage gets wet, please call our office to schedule an appointment for a new 
bandage to be applied. A wet bandage is very  irritating to the skin which makes 
it 
important to minimize contact with the skin. 

_ The bandage will prevent you from seeing much swelling of the leg, but if 
Bonnie 
seems extremely painful or begins to act depressed, stops eating, etc please 
call us 
immediately.

_ We have included some pain relievers for Bonnie and you should administer 
these as 
directed.

_ Bonnie will have little to no strength in her left hind leg for about 6 weeks, 
so it is 
very important that her activity be completely restricted. For the next ten 
days, keep 
Bonnie in a crate, cage or playpen, keeping in mind that she should not be 
permitted 
to jump or run at any time. If you have trouble keeping Bonnie quiet, please 
call our 
office and we can prescribe a sedative or give you some behavioral suggestions. 

_ Bonnie will return in 10 days to have her sutures and bandage removed and she 
will 
be re-evaluated at this that time to determine the level of activity permitted. 
Most 
likely, at that time, leash walking can be started. 


_ For the first few days, walk Bonnie for 10-15 minutes and increase the time by 
5 
minutes every 3rd day. Swimming is also an excellent form of rehabilitation, so 
if you 
have access to a swimming pool Bonnie can swim for 10 minutes a day. The leash 
excercise should be continued daily (at a walk only) for a minimum of twelve 
weeks. 

_ In three to four months Bonnie should be walking normally, and gradually she 
can 
begin to return to her normal activities, although care should be taken to 
increase all 
exercise very slowly. A full recovery is dependent on gradual return to 
exercise. 

_ Most dogs that undergo cranial cruciate ligament repair will experience some 
degree 
of arthritis later on in life. If this occurs, we can offer several options to 
make Bonnie 
more comfortable.