1 post tagged “pilchuck veterinary hospital”

Nope, that's my big boy Gus wearing his new orthopedic knee braces from Wound Wear.  He has to wear them 24/7 for the next eight weeks.  He's not exactly thrilled with them, but they don't seem to bother him terribly and they give me some peace of mind.

The reason he has to wear them is because he completely ripped up the tendons and ligaments in his left knee and he has a partial tear in his right knee.  There are surgery options for some dogs who incure this type of injury.  Gus isn't a good candidate for the surgery; primarily because he is, at his size, considered "geriatric" at 7 1/2 years of age. That's okay with me anyway.  Even if he was younger, I don't think I would want to subject him to a 4 month recovery period.

So Gus, like it or not, will wear these to protect his right knee from further injury and to allow him to bear weight on his left knee so he can build up the muscle he has lost.  He has a great veterinary team at Pilchuck Veterinary Hospitalin Snohomish Washington.  Some of the treatment options available for him at Pilchuck are acupunture and chiropractic for pain management, exercise on an underwater treadmill to build up muscle without too much weight bearing on his injured knee and massage therapy. 

While these orthopedic braces might not be the most fashionable thing a dog can wear, I think they look pretty sporty; and I've even managed to stop laughing now.