ACL injury in dog

[FalseImpression]

I will ask again which method we used. I remember mentioning TPLO at one of our meetings and both my husband and vet said no… I know it was not the one for small dogs… and nowhere on the paperwork does it say which one it was, but I know he has hardware in there… too confusing.
Today, I noticed his lower leg was deep purple… the tech said to apply warm compresses every hour on the hour for a few hours… then repeat the cold compress again once more today.
They will check tomorrow again and then may ask me to bring him in. I assume bruising is normal, esp. if he slept on that leg for any length of time. He is walking fine, hardly a limp.
I am using a halti with him since he does have another incision in his neck.

Good luck for your girl… another 12 weeks of rehab… sigh…

[SquishTheBunny]

FalseImpression - was it a TTA?

Bruising is common, but should start to go away within a few days. They should do a free recheck though just to ensure its not a cellulitis.

[FalseImpression]

I will ask tomorrow to make sure it was TTA… I know there was an A… They offered for me to bring him in tomorrow and I may just do that to be sure! I am by myself on Wednesday so I want to be sure he is fine… they did repeat that all rechecks are free, so I would rather go back there than risk the ER!

I did not notice bruising (at least to that extent yesterday) but the tech said it was normal, but they could see him if it would make me feel better.

Thanks Squish!

Dr. J. Rousseau did the surgery. I have heard good things about him from other people.

[FalseImpression]

Yes, it was TTA.
We went to get the sutures removed today, at least the ones in the neck for the lump. I guess the knee sutures had been removed by a canine vet tech… He is doing well, a bit of normal swelling which warm compresses will help.
She will see him again at 4 weeks… then xrays at 8 weeks.

He is trying to escape the PT… but we keep on going… Full time job!

[superD]

My girl did well with her surgery. She had it last Wednesday. The surgeons said she really shredded both her cruciate and meniscus. She is doing pretty well but whining a lot. I think she just wants to go out with the other dogs.

Hope the swelling goes down in your boy soon!

[FalseImpression]

We are having quite a time keeping him quiet. He has had it with being on a leash at all times, with the PT… I may need something to keep him quiet… the swelling did go down, but then he decides that he wants to “run” to the door. We have mats all over the house but he is always choosing the spots without to sleep… sigh… and getting up slowly is NOT in his MO!!
Glad to know your girl is doing fine. Do the PT religiously and keep her as quiet as possible.

[superD]

Keeping her quiet is not working. She is also refusing to go to the bathroom while on a leash with me watching her. UGH. I am so glad this is her second knee and I won’t have to do this again.

Glad you guy is feeling better!!

[FalseImpression]

lol our dog will go pee in our backyard, on a leash, if I take him to his spot. BUT he won’t go poo… as soon as we cross the street though… his walks are increasing ever so slowly.
I cannot crate him. 1. the crate is too small if I close the door and 2. he will howl bloody murder the whole time… He can stay in the mudroom but, although we have a sign on the door to NOT knock or ring the bell, stupid door to door sellers do not think it applies to them!! Instead of selling anything, they get an earful and the co. gets a call… sigh… he cannot help himself… .he has to go see… same when he hears his food bowl, even if we are extra quiet. Grr.

Hoping your girl relents… and I don’t want to ever do this again… I will be paranoid about the second knee going…

[superD]

I spoke with the surgeons yesterday. It seems that my girl and I have differing opinions on the state of her healing/confinement. She feels that she is done and can go play again. She was much easier to deal with last time. The surgeons said they did find that dogs are quicker to rebound from the second knee. So far with a week since surgery she has bolted up and down the stairs. Gotten out of the house and was running the fence line (idiot room mate). Jumping on/off the furniture and finally I can not keep an ecollar on her!!! She is a dobie so the whole her neck is bigger than her head is not helping.

I was also dreading the second knee. It happened really quickly. She had her first surgery last November and started the tearing in her other knee in February. I did wait to do the surgery till she had a long time for the first side to heal completely.

Hope all is going well with your boy.

[FalseImpression]

We are at 5 weeks and doing well… I think! The swelling is totally gone now and we have started the second phase of rehab with longer walks, figure 8s, sit and stand… We have not let him off leash at all, but I can’t wait until I can just open the door to let him out! esp. first thing in the morning!
I REALLY don’t want to have to deal with no. 2!! Another friend had to deal with both knees on her dog last year!! argh!

I agree that these dogs have a different idea of “healed”…

[ddb]

[QUOTE=ddb;6888977]
My dog injured her ACL this week. Vet said 3 months of no activity and it should heal. She said surgery could have her walking on the leg faster, but still would need 3 months rest. Vet said she wouldn’t go the surgery route at this point.

She is a 6 yo Golden Retiever and so far is doing OK hopping on 3 legs to get out to potty. She doesn’t seem to be in pain, but is on meds for inflamation and pain.

I’m concerned of additional injury especially as she starts to heal.

Anyone have any experience with this type of injury in a dog? Would love to hear from anyone that has dealt with this and has any advise to pass along.[/QUOTE]

Well I started this thread March '13 and my girl did great with healing her CCL injury. We were back to long walks and then Sunday the darn squirrels won again Vet visit yesterday and yep looks like she has injured the other CCL.

Glad to see so many recover without further incident, but vet said this is very common

[M_al]

This is weird … this was in my list of offered topics, despite it being 8 YEARS OLD!! Interestingly, it doesn’t seem there has been a ton of advancement in surgical offerings since this thread was started in 2013.

I’m dropping my little (chubby at 23 lbs) 12 yr old Shiba Inu off for Tightrope surgery this Friday. I took her to a local vet to get the diagnosis and they sent me home with a TPLO quote. Hello, old, sedentary, small dog? TPLO is overkill.

There are apparently only 2 vet practices in the state who do Tightrope and one is Colorado State University. (They are stupid expensive, seemingly!) I am literally driving my dog more than an hour to another “local” vet who does this one. Interestingly, it’s only a little less than the TPLO quote … but I really feel better about this one knowing she only has a few years left.

I’m surprised this surgery isn’t getting more traction!

Anyone else want to bandwagon jump? What new doggy CCL experiences are out there?

[pompeiii]

I’ll jump in!

My 12.5 year old partially tore her ACL a couple months ago. My vet actually encouraged us to go the brace route (which is good because we were not going with surgery).

She’s doing very well with a custom brace from My Pet’s Brace. She’s been in it for 2 months during day time hours and is healing very well. She goes to the vet tomorrow for an annual exam, but she does need to keep the brace on for 9 months for complete healing (and at her age, the recommended she just keep wearing it). Anyway, she’s on restricted exercise now (less than 3 stairs and minimal other movement), but she’s a senior who sleeps much of the day. At 3 months, she can play a bit more.

[M_al]

Interesting! I have a friend who works in an office creating and fitting specialist braces.

I’m glad it’s working, as I think a brace makes much more sense when possible. I’m really sad that my little dog is as bad as she was. How is your dog doing with stairs, or is that not an issue?

[Casey09]

I just went through this with my dog. After she started limping, I tried rest. When that didn’t work we went into the vet, and were referred for surgery. The angles on both knees are not necessarily good. She is lean, but she’s active. She’s almost 4.
Her surgeon said he didn’t think they need as much restriction as some do. When she came home the next day, she was touching her toe to the ground. I used an ex pen for a few days full time, and then when I wasn’t watching her. She wasn’t supposed to to rough house or jump on the furniture. After two weeks, she was able to slowly increase her walking. She went back at 8 weeks and had new x rays and was released from the surgeon then.
Honestly, as far as things that go wrong with dogs, this was not bad. I have had some bad things happen with dogs. This was pretty easy. Of course the pet insurance helped with the cost, but overall I don’t think it’s nearly as onerous as it used to be and she’s feeling great.
If my vet had recommended medical management, I’d have definitely tried it. I wasn’t terribly excited to put her under anesthesia and all that entails, but she’s doing great. Of course I hope the other knee holds up, but it it requires surgery, I don’t think of it as the worst thing in the world.
By the way … If you do surgery, check out the Lick Sleeve. It saved us!

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Are these getting more common in dogs? One friend’s Westie blew out two ACLs within the span of one year, and another friend’s corgi did the same. Are some breeds particularly prone to them? Both dogs were moderately active and not overweight but don’t do high-impact sports.

[tabula_rashah]

My Mastiff x Cane Corso had a complete tear of his CCL and meniscus Dec of 2020. TPLO was pretty much our only option. The surgery itself was pretty rough on him but we followed our post surgery instructions to the letter, kept up with pain management and happy pills and did a 16 week rehab plan including some red light therapy and PEMF. He healed beautifully and the leg has been pretty much 100% since. Fingers, toes and everything crossed that we do not need to do the other one. We currently have him on Dasuquin/ Welactin for maintenance

[M_al]

I posted on the other thread that I screwed up and she did a tricky dog-door-to-steps departure. Crap. Here’s hoping that didn’t invalidate the whole thing.

[Weezer]

A few years ago my 10 year old Australian shepherd got tightrope surgery on both back legs. Most vets in the area didn’t offer it but my vet swore it was a far better approach. She healed beautifully and had almost 5 more active years before she passed.

A couple of years ago my beagle had a partial tear that we were able to successfully heal without surgery. Both dogs LOVED to play fetch and my vet explained that the sudden stops and turns in fetch were too hard on their bodies, so we should only play for a few minutes a few times a week. Now we play fetch mostly in the river.

Both our dogs who tore their CCLs were very fit, high energy dogs. Our vet talked about ways we can be more careful in our activities with them, and we are doing that with our newest addition. It seems no matter how you approach animal care, you need a big vet fund

[M_al]

Update: went back to vet, cast was removed and all looks good! I have a knockoff lick sleeve that is only cotton so really only good for keeping clean.

Thanks for the great stories of different approaches and outcomes.
Poor pooch was so depressed in her cast and now has perked up noticeably with her cast off.