Dog advice - torn cruciate ligament - TPLO Sugery Update

[Cougar Gold]

TPLO is a waste of money. I have had this happen twice. I was advised to give dog glucosamine in doses close to what you give a horse. Joints stayed lubed up and knee stabilized. Tissue in front and back of knee thickened and took place of ACL. Vet said dogs were good as new. These were big labs that hunted til they were 11 and lived to 14.

[Sundog57]

Nice
Maybe we can get her signed on as an advisor for the Prime Minister - interspecies life coach might be just what he needs

[baticus]

Originally Posted by dodger

Edgewater Companion Animal Clinic in Fort Macleod does a new state of the art operation for this at half the price. Dogs are walking in a day or two. PM me for info.

Dodger.

I have no problem seconding this. Chris is an amazing vet. She has looked after 2 of our dogs, as well as two of the families dogs. I would not hesitate to take an animal there.

[HVA7mm]

Originally Posted by Cougar Gold

TPLO is a waste of money. I have had this happen twice. I was advised to give dog glucosamine in doses close to what you give a horse. Joints stayed lubed up and knee stabilized. Tissue in front and back of knee thickened and took place of ACL. Vet said dogs were good as new. These were big labs that hunted til they were 11 and lived to 14.

Good to know, I was beginning to think that dogs are now made of glass. Growing up on a farm, if a dog got kicked by an animal or even clipped by a car and it wasn't too serious, they would typically lay in their house or under something until they felt better. As long as they were eating food and drinking water they would lay around, then limp around and then go back to being a dog. They are pretty resilient animals that are good at healing themselves.

[Albertadiver]

Originally Posted by baticus

I have no problem seconding this. Chris is an amazing vet. She has looked after 2 of our dogs, as well as two of the families dogs. I would not hesitate to take an animal there.

I've heard good things as well. A friend of mine recently had his pup cared for there.

My lab Duke is doing well on his repaired leg, and now the other one has gone. We've been to a few vets and we're going to leave him as-is, with some daily medication to help with swelling. The way they've explained it is the joint becomes loose, and not necessarily in pain.

Now he's developed arthritis in his front left wrist, and getting the fatty tumors up and down his sternum. Only 9, but he's aging.

Still happy though! Photo taken last week

[AndrewM]

Anyone try CBD oil for dogs? Wonder if that would be a better option than medications as most medications have long term health affects.

[Zuludog]

We wound up getting a high end custom brace for ours. Unfortunately I can't seem to find a picture lol It was expensive but we thought that it was better than putting our 12 year old dog through surgery.

[threeforthree]

Originally Posted by AndrewM

Anyone try CBD oil for dogs? Wonder if that would be a better option than medications as most medications have long term health affects.

Yes .. from a 13 year old dog that could not get up, to if the door bell rings its at the door in 2 sec..its amazing,

[Big Bull]

Originally Posted by Albertadiver

I've heard good things as well. A friend of mine recently had his pup cared for there.

My lab Duke is doing well on his repaired leg, and now the other one has gone. We've been to a few vets and we're going to leave him as-is, with some daily medication to help with swelling. The way they've explained it is the joint becomes loose, and not necessarily in pain.

Now he's developed arthritis in his front left wrist, and getting the fatty tumors up and down his sternum. Only 9, but he's aging.

Still happy though! Photo taken last week

Headed to the vet in half an hour. Fitz injured his right hind leg last night chasing a raven off his turf. He's 12 and a half years old, and definitely slowed down these past few months, but still happy. He's been limping on his right front leg for a while and has lots of lymphomas. We have changed him to a raw diet, have him on herbal supplements and he has been getting acupuncture from the Edmonton Holistic Vet clinic. This morning, when I took him for a very short walk, he still wanted to bring his water toy! Hoping that he has just pulled a muscle in his leg, and won't need surgery. Feeling so sad for my little sidekick right now.

[Albertadiver]

Originally Posted by Big Bull

Headed to the vet in half an hour. Fitz injured his right hind leg last night chasing a raven off his turf. He's 12 and a half years old, and definitely slowed down these past few months, but still happy. He's been limping on his right front leg for a while and has lots of lymphomas. We have changed him to a raw diet, have him on herbal supplements and he has been getting acupuncture from the Edmonton Holistic Vet clinic. This morning, when I took him for a very short walk, he still wanted to bring his water toy! Hoping that he has just pulled a muscle in his leg, and won't need surgery. Feeling so sad for my little sidekick right now.

I hear ya. Rest helps, and I'd be open to the CBD concept, but I saw something on the news that it's still illegal?

https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/vet...cats-1.4422821

Hope Fritz heals up. Its tough seeing our buddies getting older.

[Big Bull]

Our vet feels that he has torn his cruciate ligament and is suggesting TPLO. She ran full blood test, full set of X-rays and was impressed at his overall health. He also has a large lipoma(not lymphomas as I previously stated), under his front armpit, so we are going to get that done at the same time. He is my best buddy and sidekick, so I just want the best for him. Waiting to hear back from surgeon in Edmonton now.

[AndrewM]

Originally Posted by threeforthree

Yes .. from a 13 year old dog that could not get up, to if the door bell rings its at the door in 2 sec..its amazing,

Figured it should be better than most meds as it doesn't have the long term harm. People swear that it's amazing for pain management and migraines so was hoping it would work with dogs as well. Thank you for the reply. Might be an option for some of the dogs here in their later years and surgery isn't an option.

[Pixel Shooter]

if you have a big active dog and it actually tore the ACL no amount of down time will heal it. TPLO is the only way to go on an active working dog. the challenge is the average vet cannot tell you for sure and xrays don't show anything, they try the drawer method but again dogs are great at guarding and secondly are very stoich but specialists can tell explicitely. not fun to go thru and it sux, then there is the 50% odds the other goes, those are about the only odds I have beat in the past 40 yrs with labs lol
p.s tennis balls and dogs don't go together

[Albertadiver]

Originally Posted by Big Bull

Our vet feels that he has torn his cruciate ligament and is suggesting TPLO. She ran full blood test, full set of X-rays and was impressed at his overall health. He also has a large lipoma(not lymphomas as I previously stated), under his front armpit, so we are going to get that done at the same time. He is my best buddy and sidekick, so I just want the best for him. Waiting to hear back from surgeon in Edmonton now.

Sorry to hear pal. Having met Fritz a few years back I know he's a great dog.

Hope all goes well. Just be ready for the recovery period. I read through the this thread and re-lived a lot of it. Don't be afraid to ask for help from friends. It's pretty critical to follow the recovery steps religiously.

Looking back, I think we did the best we could for Duke and I'm glad we went through with it, but I'm still paying that debt off....

[mds694]

Originally Posted by Pixel Shooter

if you have a big active dog and it actually tore the ACL no amount of down time will heal it. TPLO is the only way to go on an active working dog. the challenge is the average vet cannot tell you for sure and xrays don't show anything, they try the drawer method but again dogs are great at guarding and secondly are very stoich but specialists can tell explicitely. not fun to go thru and it sux, then there is the 50% odds the other goes, those are about the only odds I have beat in the past 40 yrs with labs lol
p.s tennis balls and dogs don't go together

X-rays definitely show changes that are essentially pathognomonic for cruciate injuries in larger dogs and I would highly recommend a new vet if they can’t pick up on it. The small guys can be a bit more challenging. But yes TPLO is the way to go and anyone who has the means to do so but still chooses “medical or conservative management” for large breed dogs are simply selfish.

[Pixel Shooter]

My point is X-rays may be needed to rule out a bone fracture. However, X-rays do NOT show soft tissues, such as ligaments and tendons and is not used for to diagnose. Most use a drawer method but again dogs are good at guarding so may use sedation. ... An MRI can show the extent of an ACL injury and signs of damage to other tissues in the knee, including the cartilage.
X-rays are necessary after Tplo surgery to calculate the “slope” or angle at the top of the skin bone to ensure success

Originally Posted by mds694

X-rays definitely show changes that are essentially pathognomonic for cruciate injuries in larger dogs and I would highly recommend a new vet if they can’t pick up on it. The small guys can be a bit more challenging. But yes TPLO is the way to go and anyone who has the means to do so but still chooses “medical or conservative management” for large breed dogs are simply selfish.

[mds694]

Originally Posted by Pixel Shooter

My point is X-rays may be needed to rule out a bone fracture. However, X-rays do NOT show soft tissues, such as ligaments and tendons and is not used for to diagnose. Most use a drawer method but again dogs are good at guarding so may use sedation. ... An MRI can show the extent of an ACL injury and signs of damage to other tissues in the knee, including the cartilage.
X-rays are necessary after Tplo surgery to calculate the “slope” or angle at the top of the skin bone to ensure success

Trust me it’s used to diagnose. Drawer sign or tibial thrust all but confirms the diagnosis however just because it’s absent doesn’t mean there’s not a tear. While you can’t visualize the soft tissue you can certainly see the swelling inside stifles with ligament and meniscal injuries. It’s silly to run a $1000 MRI when a $100 X-ray will suffice.