Hugo is having a very slow recovery, still at the hospital, not making any real progress. They were concerned about an irregular heartbeat today and did an ultrasound. The cardiologist there felt his heart was structurally sound so they decided not to be alarmed about this, that this is common in large breed dogs. I mentioned that I didn't think this had ever been heard by the vet before and he was going to get more details from the cardiologist.
They changed his pain medication from hydro morphone (I think that's what he said, maybe it's morphine) and kept him on the fentinel patch. They said he's somewhat more alert now and they felt they may have had him over-medicated. He ate a slice of cheese from me the other day but other than that has not been eating (very unusual for Hugo). The surgeon admitted that he did not make a notation of fenestration during the April surgery but that because it is his habit to do the fenestration he believes he did. I appreciated his honesty. I will visit him tomorrow and it looks like he'll come home Saturday (but not able to walk or stand yet). I recall last time that he did not seem comfortable with Torbutrol and wonder what the best pain medication for him might be. He has tolerated Rimadyl quite well, but will that be enough? Last time they told us we could use Benedryl to help him sleep at night, which did help. If you have thoughts, please email me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] as I'm on digest. Donna and Hugo, SoCal