Hi,
Our 5 month old puppy, Lennon,  underwent surgery on his spine on 25th March, following the discovery that he had abnormal bone growth between 2 of his top vertebrae (which was causing him to appear drunk when he tried to walk).  The extra bone was drilled away and the membrane around the spinal cord was also cut to release excess fluid that had built up.  According to the vet, his recovery is "within the normal parameters" following such surgery, but won't say any more.  He can now move his front legs and wag his tail, and has very slight movement in his back legs.  He also has deep pain reflexes and is not incontinent, which apparently is a good sign.  However, we are still concerned/scared, so I was just wondering if anyone else had experience of this kind of surgery/recovery and could offer any advice/share their experiences?
Helen

Hi Helen
Not quite the same problem as yours but our bitch had a fractured spine following an RTA. She also had a ruptured collateral ligament which needed surgery. However her spine was fused with several pins and screws and cement. For some time after we found that although she controlled her urine and would try to pass faeces she used to leak from her back passage. Pretty messy as she was quite immobile at first. However as time went by she made a pretty good recovery. She goes to the toilet normally now but just occasionally passes a 'marble' in her sleep. The vet says it is just a slight loss of tone in her anal sphincter. Her spine has healed fine although she cannot carry her  tail horizontally any more. She can still wag it but it is more of a 'bum wag'. Considering what she went through she is marvellous and she went onto have a healthy litter of pups, one of which was bought by the orthopaedic specialist who treated her. Fingers crossed that Lennon will go onto make a full recovery. Just be patient  and in a few months time you will hopefully not know the difference.
The hardest thing I found was having to keep Dime on crate rest as she is such a good girl she only goes in a crate when travelling.
:)
Sue

Hi Helen
No direct experience, but my understanding is that recovery is quite slow and unpredictable with spinal surgery, and it wasn't done long ago at all. Look for little signs of improvement, but don't expect too much too soon. Poor little love, hope he's better soon. Kat

Sue and Kat,
Thanks for you replies, they are very much appreciated!  The vet rang last night and we can bring Len home this weekend.  They said that he was so much brighter on Sunday after we visited him, that they feel he would recover better/faster at home, providing that we keep up with the physio (which goes without saying!! Anything to get him back on his feet!).  They put him in a harness on a treadmill yesterday, and while he is not "walking" he is starting to try to make stepping movements, so as you said Kat, he is starting to make slow but steady progress.  So now we have to cross everything and be patient!  Thank you again, Helen

Hi has the vet talked about swimming him at a hydrotherpy pool?
I work at one we have a few dogs that come have had spinal surgery op. one a doberman could'nt stand at all on his back legs when he first came a year ago you wouldnt belive its the same dog now. just a thought.

Hi Madstaffy,
He's still at the vets at the moment and they have been doing some form of hydrotherapy on him, but he's got to have another MRI scan this week as they are concerned as his recovery is taking longer than it should.  The vet said there could be a build up of scar tissue in the area, which is hindering recovery, so there could potentially be more surgery for the poor little mite.  However, I'm going to find out if there is a hydrotherapy pool in my area which we could take him to if he starts getting better and can come home.  Thanks, Helen