My lab has torn his ACL. Most likely will be having surgery very soon. I am leaning towards the lateral suture procedure as opposed to TPLO. Can anyone share their experiences? Good and bad. Thanks!
Dee
We did TPLO on my dog July 2015. She tore her ACL chasing a deer, so it was what the vet called “trauma” not degenerative. She runs and jumps and plays just as much as she did before – you wouldn’t know she had the surgery if you saw her. Talk to your vet, get their opinion. Don’t forget to take the dogs activity level, age, etc. into consideration. Good luck!!!
How much does your lab weigh? How active is she? How old is she? I have seen lateral sutures fail and have to be repaired again, have never seen a TPLO fail. Personally I would likely go for a TPLO, but by a boarded surgeon. We do about 5-8 TPLOs a week and they are more invasive and require more recovery time but are worth it in my book.
I’d be worried about a failure of the suture as well. How old, and how heavy?
My Brittany bitch had a CCL rupture “scare” and my regular vet was willing to do the lateral suture repair. Years ago I had a dog get a TTA, and it worked great - so I went back to that specialty clinic. The good news was that they didn’t, in fact, find laxity and did not recommend surgery. But when I told them that my vet would have recommend the lateral suture they said “no way.” She was 30lbs and very active - they felt it was a bad match.
My 95 lb bully mix tore both ACLs within 18 months of each other. Had them both repaired using suture. He will be 12 next year and is doing great with both stifles. We did pull some weight off of him for his left elbow (arthritis that was exacerbated by a fracture) down to 90 lbs now.
[QUOTE=Horsegal984;8951131]
How much does your lab weigh? How active is she? How old is she? I have seen lateral sutures fail and have to be repaired again, have never seen a TPLO fail. Personally I would likely go for a TPLO, but by a boarded surgeon. We do about 5-8 TPLOs a week and they are more invasive and require more recovery time but are worth it in my book.[/QUOTE]
I agree with this. I have seen so many successful TPLOs. If done by a good vet, the dogs tend to come out as good as new. So good that the other side tends to go right after the dog recovers 
but I’ve also known plenty of dogs with both sides done go on to be active and normal in the end.
I had a Bouvier with CCL issue. I opted for TTA over TPLO.
She was about 4 at the time. Followed post-surgical instructions meticulously and lost her at 11 from old age. Never had an issue with either the TTA leg or the other leg.
My corgi had the suture method 4 years ago and is going strong. It was recommended that she not have TPLO due to the shortness and curvature of her leg bones. She is approaching 10 and is as active now as she was prior to surgery.
The suture surgery is for small dogs …won’t hold up on big dogs which ends up being a waste of money and additional pain. My agility dog had two tplo surgeries within three weeks of each other. She’s back to agility and was training again six months later. It’s worth it. Get a good surgeon and bite the billet
For what it is worth, understand there is always a risk with any surgery. My friend, who happens to be a certified vet tech, had a TPLO done at a very reputable clinic with a very qualified surgeon. The dog was an otherwise healthy young guy. 7 days later he was dead from an antibiotic resistant infection. I hate to be a downer but her experience has sure made me think twice about ANY surgical procedure for my dogs. Prior to that I had gone through 2 suture repairs on my 44 lb Boxer and 2 TPLOs on my 85 lb Boxer. I never hesitated to do a surgical repair…now, I am a bit more cautious on what I will put my dogs under the knife for. Of the two methods I have experienced, TPLO was far more invasive and the recovery & rehab was much more intense. Both dogs were very sound afterwards. Just a cautionary note to consider. I used to be very cavalier about recommending major surgeries and now I am not. I know that infection is a very rare occurrence, but when you know someone with a broken heart because of it, it becomes very real.
Here’s another corgi with successful suture repair…he weighed 28 lbs. I think recovery was more traumatic for me than him! We used a neighbors pool 3x a week and I think it made a huge difference for him.
Very common surgery!
Big dogs typically do “better” with a TPLO or TTA. Smaller dogs (under 40lbs) usually do just fine with lateral sutures.
FWIW, we see MANY large dogs come in that have had a lateral suture at their regular clinic, that ends up requiring a TPLO as the lateral suture did not hold up. There’s lots of big dogs who do fine with a lateral suture, but I would definitely talk to your ortho surgeon regarding failure rates. 2 lateral sutures will end up costing significantly more than a TPLO, especially if a TPLO has been recommended due to the steep tibial angle.
I went through a TPLO surgery with my mastiff/rotti mix when she was about 4 years old, she completely distroyed both tendons and her minisucs (sp?). Vet reccommened this route given her size and activity level, and again with her other back leg as she had a tear starting in her other leg. Even though it was such a small tear starting my vet let us know that for large-larger sized dogs it is the best way to go for long term success.
It is a very tiring surgery, and the post op care takes a very long time to rehab. We had to confine our dog to a small play pen type set up because all the movement she was allowed was to maybe stand for short periods, and we had to walk her out to the backyard for her bathroom breaks in a sling (I have a great home-made sling idea if you’d like it, it works amazingly).
In the long run she did great, we opted not to do the second TPLO and it didn’t cause her any grief.
Rehab for the corgi was tough but we used a collapsible puppy play pen for a month with longer and longer walks…then added in the swimming.
My Corgi had a TTA repair by a well recommended Board Certified Ortho and had a nightmare of complications. Did eventually recover and a month later tore the other CCL. Opted for conservative treatment. He did well except a rare gimp the day after tons of activity. I understand larger dogs are less likely to do well with conservative treatment. Good luck to you and your guy.
My younger dog is four weeks post-TPLO. We had a minor setback over the weekend when he made himself sore with some unauthorized shenanigans, but a few days of rest have him back on track and the rest of the recovery process has been really quite smooth. I struggled with the invasiveness of the surgery given that he was pretty sound (partial tear, meniscus intact), but he’s young, not small, and very, very active, and I wanted to give him the best possible shot at being comfortable and sound for as long as possible. We went with the best surgeon I could find.
The TPLO Treatment for Canines Facebook group is a very kind and supportive place.
Thank you all for the replies. He currently weighs 95lbs, down from 118 when he first came to me 1.5 years ago (he was a re-home). He’s not very active and would prefer to hang out on the couch…he’s one of the most un-lab Labs I’ve ever met! Finances are currently the problem, but am trying to get him the best possible care I can afford.
Will check out the facebook group…thank you!
Dee
As someone who works as a surgical vet tech at a specialty practice with two boarded surgeons, I can say very confidently that a dog of this size and conformation NEEDS a TPLO. Lateral sutures have a very high rate of failure in all but the tiniest of dogs (ie any dog over 20-25lbs) or dogs with corgi like conformation. There was a recent large scale study published on TTA vs TPLO and the results showed that TPLOs have better long term success and greater return to function rates. Have a board certified surgeon evaluate your dog and radiographs (measure tibial plateau angle, amount of effusion and arthritis present) to determine what is warranted in this case. I think a a lateral suture would be inappropriate and end up costing more money in the long run. Sorry you and your pup have to deal with this!
