Upfront: we are working with a vet we trust just looking for general stories/advice as i have trouble processing information and seeing opinions from experts i think would help organize my thoughts. We have more appointments for more discussions.
Dog: 11 year old yellow lab mix. About 90 lbs but not fat, just a big girl. Started labrela a year ago. No other issues or medication (historically speaking).
Issues: dog had TPLO 6 months ago and while she walks and uses the leg, she was only able to be off of pain meds for 1 day before she tore her other knee. Gave it two weeks after vet visit to see if she could recover on her own, but she didnt. It was decided to do an elderly dog bloodwork panel. I dont know the exact details as my partner took the results call, but it sounds like her phosphate levels are high but nothing else is elevated. So kidney or gallbladder issues but other kidney indicators are normal so gallbladder most likely. Partner says levels were like 3 times higher than they should be.
We were prepared to eat the cost for another TPLO so she could have a few more years, but another possible surgery (gallbladder) has us severely concerned about what her quality of life would be after. We read sometimes gallbladder can be managed with meds but we dont know if that is a real option in our dogs case. We are devastated right now because as we see it, the least painful option for her is being out to sleep rather than 2 intense surgeries. She is happy, tail wags, eating mostly normal, likes toys and treats. But she cant really put weight on her injured leg and its causing a lot of stress on her barely recovered leg. Shes in a lot of pain and having accidents often. We dont feel like we can go no TPLO for long, but if we go TPLO we feel like we also need to do the tests and surgery for gallbladder disease/gallbladder stone. And both those surgeries have us concerned. All or nothing basically, and unfortunately the cost is definitely a factor.
So, in a vacuum given what I understand is limited information, does our assumption of all surgeries and limited QOL versus put to sleep make sense? We know of the HHHHM scale and are reviewing it.