Sebastian's IVDD 2015 journey

[alfina]

Per Lisa's request I will document our journey with Sebastian in this thread.

Just a little background. Sebastian is 11 years old. No major health issues. He does have laxating patella in one knee. Since he was about 5 our vet warned me that he is probably a ticking bomb with his back. Every annual we went she felt that he was tight in the middle of his back. But I had on glucosamine and desperately tried to curb his furniture leaping. But you can't control him all the time, he is a dachsie afterall.

About 2 weeks ago I noticed his drinking habits and took him to the vet where after lab work it was discovered that he has elevated pancreatic enzymes. It was followed up with CPL test, which confirm pancreatitis diagnosis. That was a bit of a shock since he was not displaying any symptoms of it. His abdomen was tight on the exam table and he made grunting noises when he was touched in his back and abdomen by the vet. Few days later in the evening I noticed that he was off, not his happy self, timid, etc. I chocked it up to his pancreatitis symptoms coming to the surface now, we switched the diet to low fat and I called my vet in for some pain medication. In the morning he was fine and per my daughter report she took dogs out at 4pm for a potty break. I came home at 8pm to find him sitting under my kitchen table looking very sad. He would not come to me as Sofie was wildly dancing around me. I saw stool on the floor, tracks on it and knew immediately what happened. I tried to stand him up for a toe test, but his rear would just fall to a side. His rear legs didn't seem to have any tone to them. I wrapped him up in a towel and called emergency clinic. In the room I could see that he probably lost control of his bladder and bowels and dragged himself around.

Since I found DLC it has been a tremendous source of information. I have "witnessed" other members go through this. And as much as I hoped I would avoid this fate, I was prepared. I picked a regular vet who was familiar with dachsie back problems and one of the vets in the practice has a dachsie herself. I researched who is a neurosurgeon in my area. And unfortunately in 2008 had to use her services for our black and tan Sabrina. She recovered beautifully and is now 12 years old that zooms around the house. But she never went down completely like Sebastian was now. She was just wobbly. I followed Dr Chauvet's career (neurosurgeon) since then to make sure I knew if time came again I knew where to go. Since then she closed her office and opened Critical Care Vet office in our town. Sebastian is 11 and I hoped that I dodged the bullet at this point. But I guess not. So, my call was immediately to clinci and I told them they need to page Dr Chauvet as I was coming in with IVDD down dog. They confirm that if surgery was needed she'd be able to do it right there immediately. From DLC I knew the first 24 hours are very important. The last time he could walk was 4 hours ago that I could confirm with my daughter.

Upon our arrival to the clinic, it was confirmed that Sebastian failed the toe test, he still had deep pain sensation, and did need to see neuro specialists. Sebastian also cried when the e-vet touched him in the middle of his spine. Dr Chauvet arrived within 30 minutes got on the floor with him right away. She draped him over her leg and felt that he was trying to move his rear legs, he had good tail tone. She felt that surgery was not needed right away, that he should be placed on pain medications, steroids, and reevaluated in the morning. I couldn't sleep that night and called twice to check on him. He ate dinner and was resting. And in the morning there were no changes to his status. I spoke with Dr Chauvet and she felt that he had good chance at walking again, so I agreed to surgery. Later that afternoon she called with report that he had large amount of herniated material that was removed, she felt the surgery was very appropriate in his case in light of that finding. Sebastian was very drugged at that point and would be evaluated in the morning for function recovered.

Morning after surgery I was told that Sebastian was in hyperbaric chamber (it is oxygenated chamber that forces oxygen into the tissue and promotes healing), he had some movement in both legs but was unable to walk. And that we could visit him today. I can't wait to see my snuggly boy.

So, my advice to dachsie owners, be prepared. Research your area and know what vets and specialists deal with IVDD. Because when it happens, you will be emotional, you will be panicking and hoping it is not what you think it is. But knowing where to go and who to call is a great help in the situation and great comfort because you know your baby will be taken care properly.

Updates at #3,13,15,18,24,27,32,35,45,49,54,57,59,63

[oceangirls]

Great account, and even better advice!

[alfina]

We went to visit Sebastian. When we walked in, a beagle after back surgery was making his way outside with a staff member. His rear was being supported and didn't move much. That was difficult to see. My daughter went with me because I wanted her to see what is going to be involved. I work 12 hour shifts, and she will have to take care of Sebastian while I am at work. My manager did offer to allow me to split my shifts into 6 hour parts if I can find someone who is willing to work my other 6 hours. We will figure something out.

Sebastian didn't appear to be in pain. They did say he refused dog food this morning and they fed him canned chicken. He never fussed about food before. He took 2 cookies from us and we snuggled for a bit. He fell asleep in my lap. His incision looks really good. Stitches are internal. No staples in case they have to do another MRI. The staff tech said he has been urinating on his own. Not standing or walking. Tomorrow morning the neurosurgeon will evaluate him and decide if he can come home.

[LexieLuvr]

Urinating on his own is huge! I had to cath Jack for a week or two. More . And yes, great advice!

[Yolanda]

Great update especially the urinating on his own. How is his tail movement - still there?

[alfina]

He didn't wag his tail when he saw us :(

[Ivan]

Thank you for documenting Sebastian's IVDD. It'll help us all. Yes, and excellent advice about finding a veterinary practice (in advance) whom knows about IVDD, because ours first vet certainly didn't know. Btw, Dodgerslist.com had a list of them.

Sebastian's stitches look nice. Good that he can already do stuff, like potty, on his own. Wagging his tail will come back later, you'll see. We had to express Buddy's bladder for a while after his surgery, so you're already ahead of his schedule. Yay!

Buddy's IVDD journey was ( http://doxielovers.com/dlc/showthrea...walking-wobbly ) in case you want to compare Sebastian's progress.

[LexieLuvr]

Update? Years ago, lots of vets did IVDD surgery, whether they knew a lot or not. Lately, where I live, most family vets refer you to a surgery center in Dallas for back surgery specialists. I drove miles and miles to Austin for Jack to have surgery by an excellent neurosurgeon and had terrific results!

[alfina]

Picked Sebastian up at 3pm today! It is 49 hours after his surgery. His incision looks good, it is large as Dr Chauvet does do fenestration above and below herniated disk. We were given prednisone, antibiotics, and tramadol for pain. Antibiotics are for 3 more days, prednisone will start tapering off in a couple of days. I will pick up some Pepcid for him. We were also given a DVD that Dr Chauvet filmed with rehabilitation exercises, massage, etc. It also has a section on bladder expression but luckily he can pee on his own. She also goes over slings and how to make one out of a beach towel or what commercially made are available. She also goes over accupuncture and laser treatment options in recovery. Sebastian already received 2 treatments in hyperbaric chamber.

When we got home, I took him outside. I set him down and supported his rear with my hand. He started urinating immediately. He did not wag his tail today, he does hold it up about mid-point when he pees. As I was holding his rear up, I could feel that he had some strength in his legs, so I let go for just a second and he was able to stay up. Before surgery he couldn't. So, that is very encouraging. His back is very hunched up. It does not look swollen. We then sat on the sofa with him in my lap (yes, I know strict crate rest) but he just got home and I was icing his back. And I saw him move his left leg in my lap a bit. And of course, as a truck drove by in the street and he saw it out the window, he started barking and Sofie joined in. But I couldn't be mad at him, he still is spunky!

I set up a large crate for him, but have half of it blocked off to limit his movement.


His incision looks good. I was told to put some neosporin on it.


The DVD with exercises. She demonstrates exercises on two of her dogs. One is Tommy, a red smooth doxie from Florida Rescue, that had back surgery in the past.


Here is what she recommends for him now


I was told he was fussy about his food at the clinic again this morning, but he ate his entire dinner at home. He has not had a bowel movement since the day of his injury. I will pick up some pumpkin which the clinic also recommended. We have an appointment to come back on May 8th.

I reviewed his discharge papers. His herniation was L3-4. He had no superficial pain sensation, only deep pain sensation on admission.

[LexieLuvr]

He looks good! The DVD is awesome! Wish more vets provided that. Use a lomg towel or bathrobe belt to hold up his back end. Good that he could stand for a second, but don't push it. He will have a bowel movement when there is enough feces in his intestine, food in, food out. Don't worry too much about that.

If you can get acupuncture or laser therapy, I think it would help his healing and mobility. Water therapy is good, too. So glad he's home already! More recovery

Jack's back stayed hunched for months, by the way.