Looks like my 5 1/2 year old dog has a partially torn cruciate ligament in her back leg. My vet says surgery is the only treatment. I've read some other information on the internet suggesting that some dogs fair just as well without surgery as they do with surgery. It was also suggested that without surgery dogs will get arthritis, but dogs that had the ligament surgery may also develop the arthritis anyway. When I asked my vet about these claims, he said such websites were disseminating misinformation.

This surgery is not cheap, approx. $1500. TLPO surgery is over $4,000. The TLPO does not appear to be an option for us financially. I want what's best for my dog, but there's no guarantee for a full recovery from the standard surgery and if she "may" be just as well off without the surgery, why put her through it?

I understand small dogs can recover from the torn ligament without surgery, but my dog is 45 lbs. and is not in that category.

Although we are leaning toward the surgery treatment option, I am wondering if anyone out there has any experience with this type of injury and what you did and what happened. If you could share your tale (no pun intended) and what advice you have, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

My berner suffered a partial tear in her left ACL - she would limp on and off. Then one day (she was 7 years old and she weighs 90 pounds), after tearing down the fence line at full speed, she blew it completely. We did the surgery (not TPLO). Recovery took quite awhile and we had to make sure that she did not tear around on that leg until fully healed - so that meant taking her out on leash for walks and potty.

She limped quite a bit, as arthritis did indeed set in, but we are giving her the NSAID Perioxicam once a day and that has made a great deal of difference. while she will never walk the same, she enjoys running and playing and with the aid of the anti-inflammatory, she is not in pain.

It's been 2 years now.

Perhaps you might want to wait and see if your dog actually tears the ACL completely. It "could" heal if you keep the dog off that leg as much as possible and limit its activity to only going out for potty breaks on a leash, and otherwise the dog should be on strict cage rest. See if that works.

You'll know when the ACL tears completely, as the dog will not be able to put any weight on it at all.

Cheers,
BIS

Two years ago, I took my limping cocker to 3 different (reputable) vets and got 3 entirely different diagnoses!!! One said it was a hip injury. One said it was 'drawer knee' cruciate ligament injury and very strongly recommended/pushed immediate cruciate ligament surgery which he said he "did a lot of in his office" (???!!!). When we researched it, we then opted for the TPLO he had to send us miles away to an orthopaedic surgeon who did the same manual manipulation of the knee and immediately said "it's not the knee and she doesn't need surgery" !!! He said it was calcium deposits on the hock!!!! He took x-rays to verify. The advice was to take her home, keep her from jumping up/landing on her hind legs (she loves to catch a ball)....and no medication for now.

I recently talked to another woman who took her 10-month old puppy to the same vet who gave her the same (pushy!) 'surgery' recommendation ... fortunately she sought out another opinion and it turned out the dog had a sprain!!!! I can't help but wonder how many of these surgeries are really necessary! I think anyone who is told by their 'regular vet' that he/she recommends this type of surgery in his/her office should get a referral to an orthopaedic specialist. Albeit an expensive consultation (it cost me around $600 for the consultation/xrays etc.), it was far cheaper in the long run not to perform unnecessary surgery...not to mention the trauma and pain and suffering to the animal.

Fortunately at the time, I was hosting a UK vet who was speaking at a local veterinary college seminar, and he cautioned me against rushing into surgeries and said a lot of them are unnecessary. So "buyer beware" !!!

I know this is an old thread but I wanted to post my experiences to try and help other people who have dogs with this awful injury.

My dog a medium sized hairy terrier ruptured her ligament while out on a walk one day, we left it for a few days to see if it was just a bump and when recovery didn't happen took her to the vets.

He knew exactly what it was immediately and said that she could have surgery but she would stand the same chance of getting arthritis post surgery...he said the surgery was traumatic for the dog as the recovery period was so long (3months) and that there were no gurantees. I am a believer in not putting an animal under unesserary stress so decided to opt out of the surgery option. We lead walked for about 2months (much to the dissapointment of our other dog) and she is using the leg again and has been let off the lead and isn't holding it up or limping at all. We know she might get arthirtis but that we can deal with at a later stage for now she is happy and enjoying life without extensive painful surgery.

The vet did say you'll hear contrasting arguments for surgey dependent who you talk to, he was great gave me a really balanced view of both options so I could make my own decision.

The main thing is even when she'd ruptured her ligament she managed just fine and the little tail did not stop wagging (a sure sign of a happy dog) the vet advised against pain killers as it could give her the impression the leg was fine because she felt no pain and start using it again causing more problems and hindering recovery.

This is of course for small dogs only, the vet said that her size was on her side because she was quite happy to hop around on three legs while it hurt. she weighs 17lbs and for larger dogs surgery generally is the only option.

I hope that helps anyone in a similar situation. :-)

Originally Posted by looblee

I hope that helps anyone in a similar situation. :-)

loonlee,

Thank you very much for sharing that. We are experiencing the issue now with one of our kids (our Pups are our kids) and do appreciate it. It has been hard to find reliable information regarding ACL injuries and corrections using TPLO.

Thank you!!

Yes, I think that may be true for little dogs but my 130 lb. dog needed it. He's actually had the surgery (not the $4500, the other one) twice. The first time it cost us $2200, the second time (different leg) two years later at a different vet it cost $1200. The good news is he's recovered fine from both surgeries!

I know when Teddy got his diagnosis (Sept. 08) of a possible tear in his left hind paw and needed surgery I was unprepared. My vet recommended surgery. Since I knew nothing about the injury...yet (and she didn't do the surgery) I spent the next few months reading anything I could find online about the injury, just how common it is, and the possible treatments.

I practiced conservative management w/ Teddy (meaning only pee n poop breaks on a short leash, and NO running) and the vet prescribed Deramaxx (an anti-inflammatory) while I started saving for his surgery.

Upon researching the injury and people's experiences with their dogs, I came to learn that the risk of injury to the other hind paw is pretty high within the following few years. Well...wouldn't you know my pup tore his right cruciate on Feb. 1st of this year. So my decision on a surgeon had to be made. Quick.

Upon researching TPLO, TTA, and Tightrope CCL surgery. I decided on the latter. It's a relatively new(er), less invasive way to "repair" the knee. I emailed University of Missouri veterinarian James L. Cook, DVM, Ph.D., for surgeons in my area. He developed the Tightrope CCL surgery. Teddy's surgeon was Dr. Ian Holsworth of Ventura, CA. He was great!

I'm not going to lie, it's not been easy. I wait tables, so money was an issue. I am single, so care of a dog w/ two casts was...interesting to say the least. But there was no other option for me, I love this pup w/ all my heart. He's only 4 years old and deserves to run. He has been such a trooper through the whole thing. Rarely, making a complaint, always taking his meds. They're soo resilient. I thought the crate rest was going to be the hardest b/c he loves his freedom, but I made it very bear den-like so he found comfort in there and that part was pretty easy.

He had his surgery Feb 23rd and is doing really well. We go for our second post-op visit w/ his surgeon May 7th. So far, so good.

I hope this helps. My advice is to READ, READ, READ whatever you can get your hands on and make an informed decision based on your circumstances, not on what one doctor or another tells you have to do. Dogs give us so much unconditional love...the least we can do is to spend some time and think about what's best for them (even if inconvenient for us).

p.s. I now have pet insurance. But beware, not all pet insurance policies cover cruciate ligament tears and if they do there are restrictions.

I've attached some pix of Teddy

[sports2011]

Dogs who have ruptured their cruciate ligament will appear suddenly lame, and usually hold the foot of the affected leg off the ground. The knee may become swollen. In time, the dog may start to use the leg again, but often lameness returns. Dogs with a degenerating ACL may also show some pain, and there may be some swelling in the joint.
Diagnosis of a ruptured cruciate ligament

The diagnosis of a ruptured cruciate ligament is made through observing abnormal movement of the joint. A veterinarian will place one hand around the femur and one around the tibia in a precise manner. By applying pressure on the knee, the veterinarian will feel the bones move abnormally in what is called a 'drawer sign.' It is called that because the movement of the femur in relation to the tibia is similar to pulling and pushing in the drawer of a cabinet. If an animal is in a lot of pain, or very nervous, the muscles near the knee may be so tense that they prevent the drawer movement from occurring. If a veterinarian suspects a ruptured cruciate ligament in a dog but cannot elicit the drawer sign, the dog may be heavily sedated to relax the muscles and then re-examined for the drawer sign. Many dogs with a ruptured cruciate ligament will have swelling on the inside aspect of the knee, and this is called a medial buttress. Radiographs are commonly performed to better assess the amount of arthritis that may be present.

Treatment of a ruptured cruciate ligament

If the ligament is completely torn, the dog (especially a large dog) is generally treated with surgery. There are several different methods used to repair the knee joint when an anterior ligament is torn. Some entail using synthetic suture material, or a portion of adjacent fibrous tissue to basically re-create the ligament. The suture or tissue is made to extend from the outside lower portion of the femur to the inside upper portion of the tibia. After the surgery, the dog must be strictly confined for 2 weeks. By day 10 after surgery, most dogs touch the toe of the affected leg to the ground and will start bearing minimal weight on the leg. Once the dog has reached this point, it is often very difficult to keep the dog quiet until complete healing has taken place. The dog generally has to be restricted to only leash walking for a minimum of 4-6 more weeks; the exact amount of time depends upon the extent of the injury and the corrective procedure performed. This is extremely important to prevent the surgical correction from tearing. The veterinarian's instructions regarding exercise during the recovery period should be followed very carefully.

[boxadorlover]

I have a 1 1/2 year old boxador (boxer, lab mix) who got diagnosed with an ACL tear. So far it hasn't ruptured completely, but he's extremely active so trying to keep him inactive for the six week trial recovery is really difficult. Any suggestions for ways to still entertain my dog?

[pupsicles]

The rupture of the cruciate ligament is also known as dog acl. In my research, it is said that it is the most common orthopedic injury in dogs.

This is what I've gathered about the condition--

"Though there are several types of surgeries to repair the instability that injury to this ligament creates, still to this day the Extracapsular Suture Repair or Imbrication Suture Technique is the most common procedure performed."

surgery is indeed very expensive and we have to seek out the best options that will work for our dogs and what we are financially capable of. If there are university vet hospitals near you, I guess they are a better option for they might have cheaper rates. Goodluck