ACL Tear in Dogs - UPDATE post 20

[Amy]

My furry baby, Charlie, has been diagnosed with a torn ACL in his left rear leg. He's a 70-lb lab mix, about 8 or 9 years old (got him from the Animal Rescue League). Took him to the vet this morning - initially, they were going to do some x-rays to see what's going on, but after observing him limping and a thorough exam, the vet is 99.9% certain it's a torn ACL. Our vet is referring us to an orthopedic surgeon, and our vet called the surgeon who said they'd do their own x-rays anyway, so no x-rays this morning.

Our vet said there were 2 types of ACL surgery: one where they use a fishing line-type of thread to stitch the ACL back together, and another one called TTPL(?) where they go in and cut away some of the bone and re-align the joint. The TTPL sounds REALLY painful, but he said for large dogs like Charlie it's usually the one with the higher success rate. I've done some quick checking on the internet, and most of what I read agrees with our vet.

I'll know more after talking with the surgeon later this afternoon, but I thought I'd ask here to see if any of you have had this happen to your dogs and what your experiences were like. I have a feeling it'll be a long recovery, keeping Charlie quiet and not jumping on the bed. But he's got a lot of years left and we want them to be healthy ones. And the longer he goes on limping, the more stress he's putting on his good leg.

Thanks!

 

[Maryr1]

Amy-hugs to you and your dear dog. I don't know much about the 2 different types of treatments, but what I have heard from a number of friends is that many dogs who tear one ACL, tear the other one within a short period of time. I am not sure if it is secondary to stress on the other leg duroing the process or that the dogs have been favoring the bad leg prior to the tear. I would ask the vet about this and if there is anythong you can do during recovery to prevent this. Good luck and all the best to you and your furry baby!

 

[momof5boys]

Thankfully my dogs have not had this problem(my Rottie is not a jumper) But I have had two co workers that recently went through this with their dogs. One was an Akita and the other was a Rottie.(the dogs not the coworkers ) My one friend confined her dog to their downstairs, took the bed out of her room and slept on an air mattress with the dog until she recovered. She also put down rugs thoughout the areas that had hardwood so her dog wouldn't slip. The dog has done very well and is back to getting into trouble(she should write a book about that animal!) The other co worker learned alot from her experience and followed most of her instructions. That dog has also recovered fully. It was a long 6 weeks but they both said they would do it again! Hope that helped.

 

[crjack]

Our dog is also a rescue lab mix (around 55 lbs) and we just had this surgery this past spring.

Ours was the "TPLO" I believe it is called and for our dog it was very successful. (biggest pain was to my bank account)

Jack is also between 8 & 9 yrs old and very active. All of his running and jumping eventually caught up with him. The ortho surgeon we worked with highly recommended the TPLO and felt that our dog would get back to about 95% of where he was with his injured leg. I have to say about 9 months later that's pretty accurate.

We also wanted that leg to be as strong as possible because re-injury rates can be high if the leg doesnt properly heal. Also, they can overcompensate using another leg if the injured one can't support them properly and that lead to more problems.

The first week was tough with recovery. I also did the sleeping downstairs, rugs on our hardwood floors, etc. Into week 2 things got better and after a few weeks he was doing great. (I know...crazy dog mama)

We really try and watch his weight, we walk but don't run and limit his jumping as much as possible.

Overall things went very well and I have no regrets with the surgery choice. Jack is doing great and is back to being active and happy.

Best of luck to you and Charlie!

 

[crjack]

My one friend confined her dog to their downstairs, took the bed out of her room and slept on an air mattress with the dog until she recovered. She also put down rugs thoughout the areas that had hardwood so her dog wouldn't slip. The dog has done very well and is back to getting into trouble(she should write a book about that animal!)

Your friend and I could co-author the book!! That is exactly what I did as well.....I'm sure I seemed crazy to most people at that time but it really was the best way to ensure our dog didnt climb stairs or get into trouble.

We dont have pet insurance on our dog unfortunately so this surgery was expensive and out of pocket. The thought of doing it again was enough to get DH on board!

Glad to hear the dogs are all doing well.

 

[ambgoph]

CJ (pictured left) who is a 70 lb. Golden/Saluki had the TPLO surgery 3+ years ago at age 8. She was weight bearing within 48 hours and full recovery was about 8 weeks. No confinement needed after 72 hours, she wasn't supposed to climb stairs for a week, but that didn't happen as she insisted on being upstairs.

The TPLO cost about $4,000 (including follow up visits) - worth every penny, even though it cost me my vacation and then some that year. She continues to run around like nothing ever hapened. The TTA surgery that would have cost less than half did not have good results for larger dogs. I also didn't want to deal with keeping her confined for 4-6 weeks.

Good luck with the surgeon - let us know what happens.

 

[mamamary]

Baxter hurt his back leg a few months ago. They thought ACL tear (although he did have a tiny tear his main problem was lux. patella). While getting the one surgery done they did fix the little acl problem. He is currently on week 7 of rest - oh it's hard on a lab. I have a little pen for him right next to the couch where I've been sleeping to keep him company. Everytime he needs to go to the bathroom he needs to be on a leash so that's been kinda tough. I really thought it would be alot harder but it's been going by pretty fast. We go for xrays again tomo. to see where we stand. Yes with this problem also as in yours there is a chance of it happening to the other leg - great. I heard these problems are with little dogs and labs - go figure.

Good luck.

 

[Amy]

Just back from the surgeon, and the TPLO is scheduled for this Thursday. Scary....just like human surgery, they have to tell you everything that can possibly go wrong. But I feel that this is the right thing for Charlie, and I feel confident in the surgeon - he said he's done around 1,000 of the TPLO procedures. They'll keep him overnight, we'll pick him up Friday; if there are no complications, he should be able to be at full weight-bearing by the time we take him back for his 10-14 day checkup. 2 months of restricted activity, and then gradually getting back to full speed.

Our dog is also a rescue lab mix (around 55 lbs) and we just had this surgery this past spring.

Ours was the "TPLO" I believe it is called and for our dog it was very successful. (biggest pain was to my bank account)

The first week was tough with recovery. I also did the sleeping downstairs, rugs on our hardwood floors, etc. Into week 2 things got better and after a few weeks he was doing great. (I know...crazy dog mama)

I know what you mean about the pain in the bank account! $1,000 more for the TPLO vs the thread repair. YOWZA! And you're not a crazy dog mama - I was going to have DH dig out his sleeping bag and air mattress for me when Charlie gets home.

Thankfully my dogs have not had this problem(my Rottie is not a jumper) But I have had two co workers that recently went through this with their dogs. One was an Akita and the other was a Rottie.(the dogs not the coworkers ) My one friend confined her dog to their downstairs, took the bed out of her room and slept on an air mattress with the dog until she recovered. She also put down rugs thoughout the areas that had hardwood so her dog wouldn't slip. The dog has done very well and is back to getting into trouble(she should write a book about that animal!) The other co worker learned alot from her experience and followed most of her instructions. That dog has also recovered fully. It was a long 6 weeks but they both said they would do it again! Hope that helped.

CJ (pictured left) who is a 70 lb. Golden/Saluki had the TPLO surgery 3+ years ago at age 8. She was weight bearing within 48 hours and full recovery was about 8 weeks. No confinement needed after 72 hours, she wasn't supposed to climb stairs for a week, but that didn't happen as she insisted on being upstairs.

The TPLO cost about $4,000 (including follow up visits) - worth every penny, even though it cost me my vacation and then some that year. She continues to run around like nothing ever hapened. The TTA surgery that would have cost less than half did not have good results for larger dogs. I also didn't want to deal with keeping her confined for 4-6 weeks.

Good luck with the surgeon - let us know what happens.

Thanks! It's good to hear success stories. Hopefully Charlie will be another successful TPLO-er! Right now he's snoozing - visiting 2 vets in one day is very stressful to my baby!

Surgery is Thursday - I'll check back in later this week to let you know how it all went. I just hope he doesn't injure his good leg in the meantime.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

My cocker spaniel tore both of her ACLs when she was around 9 years old - she'll be 17 this March. The first one happened when she got into the sill of the bay window and slipped - didn't fall, though - and "cracked" her knee area. I'm not exactly sure what surgery she had done; the way the vet explained it, she has a "braided false ligament" implant in there. She had to stay overnight. Within a week, she was running around and jumping on furniture again; no keeping this one quiet. When we took her back for her 2-week post-op, she surprised the vet by jumping up on the bench in the waiting room. He first looked shocked, then shrugged and said, "Okay, I guess she's doing well."

Two months later, while sleeping on a chair, she was startled by the doorbell ringing and tried to go off running before she was completely awake. Tore the other ACL. Another overnight stay, another false ligament...again, running and jumping within a week.

So now, almost 8 years later, she hasn't jumped on furniture for the past 2 years or so, but she's still trucking. The vet claims she still has no arthritis back there, "just some muscle weakness...happens to us all when we get old." She can still make it up and down a full flight of stairs.

Good luck to you and Charlie!

 

[golfgal]

Our dog had what we thought was an ACL tear but a second opinion showed Perth's disease and she had to have her hip joint removed (she is only 12 lbs). She was pretty zoned out for a couple days from the surgery and in a lot of pain (that we controlled with meds). We had to do some simple exercises, moving her leg mostly, at first. Once her stitches were out we started her on hydro therapy, which is a fancy term for putting her in our bathtub and making her swim. They instinctively move their legs in the water so we did that in our whirlpool tub so she had some resistance. She is back to 100% most of the time but the cold weather does bother her quite a bit.

 

[crjack]

OP, Best of luck on Thursday to you and Charlie. I'm sure he will do fine. Keep us posted!

 

[WDWBarb]

My GSD had ACL surgery 4 years ago, when she was 4 years old. She was quite overweight (over 100 lbs) but a VERY VERY hyper and active dog. We had the surgery done at Ohio State University. Long story but we were sent there for a total hip replacement and the vets there told me it was a wrong diagnosis - she had only torn her ACL. But they went ahead and did the TPLO and I was very glad I had it done there. Long drive, but worth it.

I won't sugar-coat the recovery. It was awful. My poor baby is manic anyway, and 7 weeks of confinement about did us both in. I cleaned out the family room and put an outdoor-type pen across half of it. It was a difficult time for the whole family. She couldn't go outside without having to go up and down a few steps and the "sling" just really made her grumpier.

But it was worth it in the end. Her leg is as good as new - she's never even shown any type of achiness in it since it healed. We took her down to about 85 lbs, a much healthier weight for her, and we've managed to keep it off (thank goodness someone told me about the green bean diet! )

Good luck with your baby!! Let us know how it goes.

 

[qtwns]

My Lab/Pit Mix (55lbs)had ACL surgery (thread version) about 2-3 years ago. He did great. After he "fully" recovered he twisted the same leg and we thought "Uh oh, here we go again." But he got over it with rest and Rimadyl. I was really scared 2 weeks ago when we had so much ice. He would go tearing across it and slide in the ice like he was Brian Boitano! I had to really watch him, because I know how easily he can tear it or the other one again.

It is a lot of money, but worth every penny! I know I'll never forget when we were about to have our dog's surgery done. I mentioned the cost to a co-worker and she had the nerve to say "Oh, that's too much--I'd just put him down." Good luck!

 

[minkydog]

My big standard poodle, Minky, tore his ACL last summer during a seizure. After talking it over with the vet, we elected not to do surgery. Minky is 10yrs old and has had a past experience of atrial fibrillation when put to sleep.We felt strongly that the risks of surgery outweighed the potential benefits. So we took a very conservative approach. He's a big boy, but we managed to keep him at rest pretty well for 3 weeks. After about 8 weeks he was walking around with minimal to no limp. It's pretty amazing to me how his body has been able to heal itself with very little intervention.

Unfortunately, Minky has gotten pretty frail this year. He has reinjured the knee twice, and his hips and shoulder twice. At this point it's pretty much patch, patch, patch. He takes SAM-e, Meloxicam(Mobic, an NSAID), and occasionally Tramadol(Ultram) when he's really hurting. He sleeps a lot these days and I have quilts put down in several spots in the house. But he's eating and drinking well and still wants pets & belly rubs, so it's all good.

 

[Amy]

My Lab/Pit Mix (55lbs)had ACL surgery (thread version) about 2-3 years ago. He did great. After he "fully" recovered he twisted the same leg and we thought "Uh oh, here we go again." But he got over it with rest and Rimadyl. I was really scared 2 weeks ago when we had so much ice. He would go tearing across it and slide in the ice like he was Brian Boitano! I had to really watch him, because I know how easily he can tear it or the other one again.

It is a lot of money, but worth every penny! I know I'll never forget when we were about to have our dog's surgery done. I mentioned the cost to a co-worker and she had the nerve to say "Oh, that's too much--I'd just put him down." Good luck!

"Put him down"???? Your co-worker obviously never had a dog! That option wasn't even on our radar!

My big standard poodle, Minky, tore his ACL last summer during a seizure. After talking it over with the vet, we elected not to do surgery. Minky is 10yrs old and has had a past experience of atrial fibrillation when put to sleep.We felt strongly that the risks of surgery outweighed the potential benefits. So we took a very conservative approach. He's a big boy, but we managed to keep him at rest pretty well for 3 weeks. After about 8 weeks he was walking around with minimal to no limp. It's pretty amazing to me how his body has been able to heal itself with very little intervention.

Good for you and Minky! Sounds like you made the right decision for your dog.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Just back from the surgeon, and the TPLO is scheduled for this Thursday. Scary....just like human surgery, they have to tell you everything that can possibly go wrong. But I feel that this is the right thing for Charlie, and I feel confident in the surgeon - he said he's done around 1,000 of the TPLO procedures. They'll keep him overnight, we'll pick him up Friday; if there are no complications, he should be able to be at full weight-bearing by the time we take him back for his 10-14 day checkup. 2 months of restricted activity, and then gradually getting back to full speed.

Although I don't have a dog, I am a human who has gone through 3 ACL reconstructions. They are painful and it's probably a good thing that he will be at the vet's overnight - the first night was the worst after surgery.

Good luck to you and Charlie! Please keep us updated as to how the surgery went!

 

[TLuvsD]

Our Standard Poodle had an ACL tear, we did the fishing line repair...it's 4 years later and she's still running around, hops up on the bed when she wants, etc. You do have to be careful during recovery--we were all ready to sleep in the den with her, she got up, hobbled into her bed in our bedroom. Guess she showed us! I didn't leave her alone at ALL for about a week, then only for short periods while she was confined to a small space.

I hope everything goes smoothly and your furbaby has a quick recovery.

 

[Hercules10]

My male shepherd had TPLO surgury 4-5 years ago. Still going good. Aside from the $$$ the biggest pain was restricting his movement for 14 weeks. Got him a orthopedic mat (egg-crate foam) and large 5X5ft enclosure. Only let him out to eat and do his bidness outside. Of course the granite head insisted on going off carpet and into the tiled kitchen once and nearly gave me a heart-attack...

 

[mookie]

Our 100+ lb lab had it done almost 3 years ago. (thread version). Recovery was definitely rough, and he's still very cautious to this day, but healed perfectly. We have a prescription for Rimadyl on hand at all times in case he over does it, and it's helped a lot. No re injuries so far (knock on wood!). The best thing that helped us was that when he went outside, we used a very large beach towel and put it under his back legs to help lift him up and down stairs when he went outside. It was rough on us since he's so big, but it helped him a lot. And yes, DH and I took turns sleeping on the couch next to his big pen for over a month.

Good luck!

 

[Amy]

Hi all! Charlie had his surgery on Thursday and we brought him home last night. He seems to be doing pretty well - occasionally "toe-touches" the bad leg, but otherwise still is getting around on 3 legs. He's on 2 diff. pain meds plus an antibiotic. What seems to bother him the most (and what he tries to lick the most) is the razor burn on his front paws from where they put the iv; he's only tried licking the incision once or twice. I hope it stays that way! I'm amazed at how much of his hair they shaved off, poor thing. But by the time he's able to go for walks and see his doggie friends, his hair should be growing back and he won't have to be embarassed.

DH and I are taking turns sitting with him, and I slept downstairs with him last night. We're using the e-collar overnight and when we can't watch him. He's not used to spending so much time in the family room, so that's taking some adjusting for him. From the family room, there's only 1 step out into the back yard. But so far, so good! Back for an incision check in 10-14 days, then more x-rays in 2 months to be sure the bone is healing well. Hopefully by summer he'll be good as new!

Thanks so much for all your prayers, advice and good wishes for my furry baby!