Client communication stressed the
importance of keeping Maya quiet
during her recovery in order to
prevent surgical failure.
Maya on Physioball
was placed on the limb immediately
post-operative. The surgeon was less
optimistic once she was saw the
severity of the lesion and informed
the owners that unfortunately there
was only a 50% chance that the
surgery would be successful. Maya
was sent home with gabapentin 6.5
mg/kg orally twice daily, tramadol 4
mg/kg orally every 8-12 hours, and
trazodo ne 4 mg/kg orally twice daily.
Two weeks post-operative, the
rehabilitation specialist fitted Maya
with the costume-made orthotic. A
tarsal orthosis provides stability in
extension (165-170 degrees) during
the tendon healing phase, and
allows for a controlled approach to
tendon reloading. This also allows
for the return of digital dorsiflexion
and normal movement of the
superficial digital flexor. 1 Owners
were instructed to have Maya adjust
to wearing the orthotic 24/7 with 15-
minute breaks every two hours and
monitor the limb for abrasions and
digits
for
swelling. Outpatient
rehabilitation
therapy
was
recommended twice weekly for 16
weeks. Adjustments were made to
the orthotic 6 weeks post-operative
in order to gradually increase the
tarsal flexion allowing reloading of
the calcaneal tendon. The orthotic
was adjusted by 10 degrees every
two weeks until 14 weeks post-
operative.
Maya’s rehabilitation treatment plan
consisted of therapeutic ultrasound,
which uses low frequency sound
waves to facilitate healing by
optimizing inflammatory mediators
essential to tissue repair. Therapeutic