I had so hoped that we'd be well on our way to the finish line by this point, but unfortunately that's just not the case. This week, after so many weeks of obsessing over "the wobble" in Jedi's leg when he walks, I finally learned that it has a name. It's called a pivot shift, and it's seemingly a very uncommon phenomenon that happens in a small percentage of TPLO patients. Some reports make it seem like a very small number of dogs, like <5% experience it. A vet in a Facebook group where I posted said it's probably more like 30%, but your average pet owner probably doesn't notice it.
So here we are, 15 weeks post op, still dealing with something that I have been expressing concerns over for the last 10+ weeks. Everyone has always said, "give it time." This week I swear it has been worse than ever, which is what prompted me to really start digging online. I saw someone in the TPLO group mention the term pivot shift, so I started to dig through the group to see if there were any other conversations about it. I'm really a bit surprised by how very little there is to find. I made a post on a canine conditioning page, though, and that's where I got a lot of good responses. One of the professionals on the page has a dog who had TPLO done in both legs and ended up with pivot shift in both (from what I did find, it seems as though it's more common in border collies).
The news doesn't seem all that encouraging from the people who have been through it. It is possible to correct the condition through very specific and focused exercises that build up the correct muscles to support the leg. This conditioning then has to be maintained. For some dogs, the only way to correct the condition is by going in and doing a lateral suture, which is basically a whole 'nother CCL surgery.
Given that his leg seems to be getting worse, not better, Jedi has returned to being on leash for our walks. He still has freedom in the yard, in the house, and when we're out back setting up for classes, but he's on leash for walks to ensure that he gets focused time each day where he's using his leg correctly. I'm quite sure that his off leash time on walks have not been helping to build up muscle as hoped, or at least not the correct muscle. For example, he lopes around on his left lead 100% of the time, so clearly he is compensating.
I reached out online to Dr. Leslie Eide, a rehab professional who does virtual consultations. Unfortunately the earliest time slot I could get to meet with her was Monday, August 2. I'm not even sure if I meet with her at that appointment, or someone from her staff, as it sounds like more of a information-collecting meeting to determine the best way to help me. My hope is to get a very specific exercise plan to build up the correct muscles. Until then I will keep plugging along with the stuff I've found online for canine fitness work. I am now working Jedi for both breakfast and dinner.
I have no idea what this means for his return to agility timeline. I'm hoping that Dr. Eide can help to answer that question. I'm also hoping that she has experience with this issue and will be able to tell me at what point we need to contact our surgeon to discuss those options.
Here's our video from today. It just really bothers me to see his leg moving like this. (Link for mobile: https://youtu.be/hlCSUVeWId0 )
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