Last night during a 2 a.m. TPLO recovery, the IV pump decided to sing every 90 seconds while I guarded the epidural line like crown jewels and re-counted the last 10 sponges just in case. Anyone else doing e-collar parkour and Doppler tango at the same time, or is that just my post-op cardio?
On those 2 a.m. TPLO recoveries, I make a small service loop in the IV line, VetWrap it lightly to the limb, and tape the loop to the pole — cuts down on the pump’s ‘sing every 90 seconds’ occlusion routine and gives the epidural tubing some slack; just don’t wrap so snug you kink it… Does yours act up more when they roll onto the e-collar?
That “sing every 90 seconds” at 2 a.m. is a special kind of . For TPLOs with epidurals, I run the epidural on a syringe pump with a short microbore line and leave the main pump just for fluids — way fewer occlusion alarms when they curl. I also drop the occlusion sensitivity one notch and pad the elbow with gauze so the line doesn’t kink; @lucas_w89’s loop trick plus this has been gold.
I feel you on that chaotic post-op workout routine — sometimes it feels like we’re training for the ‘Vet Olympics’ rather than just managing recoveries. Ever tried putting a little music on to drown out the IV symphony? It helps keep the mood light.