Bachi is a 4 year old fox hound canaan mix. He blew his left ccl last July, and we did TTA.

He luxated his patella after that. We had that repaired, but it did not take long before he luxated again. We waited to do anything more and now he has blown his other ccl. The vet wants to repair the left again (3rd time in) TTA the right at the same time.

We decided to try chiropractic and laser to be followed by stem cell. Roughly the same cost as tta. He is not improving after several voms and laser; he has an intermittant lameness. We started in March.

What to do… Forget it and tta and fix the luxation or go forward with eventual stem cell?

TTA vs. Stem Cell Treatment – Bachi is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Lola is a German Short Haired Pointer – very active, spins and bucks like a bronco 30 or 40 times a day!

When she was about 7 she started favoring one back leg, not even weight bearing at times. We took her to the vet when this went on for a couple days and he said it was a ACL tear and recommended surgery. When informed we would have to keep her calm for many weeks we were overwhelmed – there is no keeping this dog calm so post op would be pretty difficult. I read about it online and talked to some people whose dogs had surgery and who still have a lot of pain due to arthritis. We decided to take a wait and see approach using Glucosamine and Rimadyl.

Within 4 months she was her old self – truly amazing! Then two years later she started limping again. We took her to a new vet who specializes in holistic medicine. He offered surgery, but said he thought a wait and see approach was okay, too. He squeezed Lola’s leg and showed us it wasn’t really painful and that the arthritis is minimal. He said she seemed to be favoring it like it was a “trick knee” rather than from pain.

He encouraged us to take her off Rimadyl, but to keep Glucosamine and add Fish Oil. He told us that he thought adjusting her spine through chiropractic measures would be worth trying. He adjusted her spine and she hopped up and started running around like her old self. We brought her back in 3 weeks and then in another 3 weeks for two more adjustments even though she was acting perfectly normal after her first visit.

It has now been 6 months and she has continued to be her crazy, spastic, spinning and jumping self. We are very happy that we gave her those months to recover the first time. Her quality of life is amazing, I believe better than if she had gone through the pain of surgery and certainly it was less costly than surgery! I encourage everyone to see a holistic medicine vet before making a decision on surgery.

Conservative Management for Knee Ligament – Lola is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

I have a very active 4 1/2 yr. old Boxer/Rott mix. I adopted her when she was 6 months old from the animal shelter here in Bozeman, Mt. It was Love at first sight! I was suffering from severe depression/servere anxiety disorder at the time, and when we met she put a smile back into my heart and life – I guess you could say she saved my life and I saved hers!

About 4 months ago I noticed that she was having severe difficulty rising from a sitting position, and also just sitting down, and she was favoring her right rear leg. I thought she just ran a little too hard, as she also has a very stong prey drive. She also loves to run (man can she ever go). I took her to our vet, and he thought just a mild knee sprain at that time.

However, she has pogressively been getting worse, and now it has turned into both rear legs. We have since seen the vet for a third time last month and he has now said more than likely she has a partial ccl tear in both of her knees. I was devasted to hear this news, and I have cried alot of tears watching her struggle, and not be able to run or even get up on her own.

I have her on Tramadol for the pain, and high doses of Dasuquin daily, my vet also wants her on 10,000 mg of fish oil too. He has said she will more than likely have to have surgery if she tears her ccl’s all the way, and I just do not have the 4,000 dollars to do this at this time. We are hoping and praying that this CM will work for her.

So far she is doing a little better, as long as I do not let her run AT ALL, and have to keep our walks short. Needless to say, she seems to be getting more and more depressed as the days go by, as she is not happy if she cannot get out and run off some of her high energy. It breaks my heart, but I know that it is for her own well being – I just hope that she understands that too!

I will keep you all posted on her progress. Thank you everyone for all of the stories, it has really helped me in dealing with this setback. I wish all of you and your doggies a healty recovery!

One last thing – I forgot to mention the surgery that my vet wants to perform is the Tightrope, I am going to be getting at least two or more opinions before I do make that decision if it comes down to that.

Conservative Management for Bilateral Ligament Tears – Brandi Lee is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

My golden retriever Carly was diagnosed with a CCl injury. My vetnarian gave me a list of orthopedic surgeons. I came home and started researching everything I could about this injury and all of our options.

I contacted several surgeons over the phone and came to a conclusion. The cost of surgery was very expensive and I had read many reviews of dog owners who had decided to opt. for surgery and stated that their dog either re-injured themselves on the same leg or the oppisite leg. I did not want to put my dog through surgery and the amount of pain associated with that.

I decided to try conservative management first. I spoke with the vetnarian and she was very supportive of my decision. I ordered a casting kit from Ace Ortho Solutions and when it arrived at my vetnarians office she casted my dogs leg so that she could be fitted for a custom leg brace. The brace cost about $650. Since the company did not accept care credit my vetnarian allowed me to pay her using the care credit so that I was able to make payments and she paid the company for the brace. It couldnt have worked out better.

It has been approximately 4 months since my dogs injury and she had to wear the brace for about two months. I would leave it on during the day when she was most active and took it off at night. I am very happy that I made the decision to choose conservative management. The surgery is not guaranteed.

I also bought Carly a dog life jacket and let her swim as much as possible with a feeling of security. I purchased a handheld lightweight massage and Carly enjoys every second of it! Also, not to mention that the brace I purchased was waterproof so she could swim with it on.

If you are struggling with the costs I just want to inform everyone that their are other options and resources you just need to do your homework. I hope this will be of some helpful information to anyone who is in the position I was in 4 months ago and had never even heard of this injury before.

Conservative Management and Knee Brace – Carly is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Well I thought I may have been lucky but now, I think not. My beautiful Sophy had her first TPLO at 4. She is a very active, joyful Lab and after doing the research I thought the TPLO surgery was the best option. Three years later, she has just started holding up her other leg. I have been treating her with Acupuncture and chiropractics but the vet said she would not be doing her job if she took my money for alternative treatment and my Sophy needed surgery after all.

So I will try alternative therapies and conservative management, but I have to say I am so torn. Sophy is a joyful lab that absolutely loves to run full-out, all the time. Restricting her activity forever just seems so wrong. I do not want to put her through TPLO but at 7; I just think maybe I should get it over with and let her be Sophy again.

The TPLO is a brutal surgery but in 12 weeks she will be right as rain. Conservative management and/or alternative treatment may avoid it but I would hate to string it out for a year or more and then have to do surgery anyway.

Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks!

Deciding Between Alternative Treatment or Surgery – Sophy is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Our golden retriever Bailey is ten and a half years old and has endeared two surgeries(TTS) for a torn cruciate ligament, the second time being to remove one of the failed/broken implants.

He has now torn the ligament in the other leg, our vet said he is healthy and would benefit from surgery, but we are very hesitant about surgery/recovery at his age.

Considering the first surgery was not completely successful we do not want to put him through that again. We want to do what’s best for Bailey to improve his quality of life and to keep him happy and healthy for years to come.

Any advice from similar situations would be very helpful and appreciated!

Advice on Senior Dogs and Ligament Injury – Bailey is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

About a month ago my dog Zep began mildly limping. I took him to my vet. and he prescribed an anti-inflammatory and rest. Zep seemed to improve and then all of a sudden he wouldn’t put his right leg down for anything and had a horrible time getting around and going outside.

While waiting to see if Zep would improve I researched all the surgical procedures and their various success rates. None of the surgeries which I researched showed anything better than a 50/50 chance of a good recovery.

I decided to opt for the A Trac Dynamic Brace because of all the the success stories and this brace seemed to make the most sense when compared to the others. None of the surgeries which I researched showed anything better than a 50/50 chance of good recovery, so the brace seemed to be a good conservative treatment.

From the moment I put the brace on Zep he began to put more weight on his right leg. After 3 weeks he is putting full weight on the leg and even has started to use the right leg when he urinates.

Although I had my doubts because of the severity of Zep’s injury. It has performed beautifully!! WoundWear has created an outstanding product, and has helped me along with excellent technical support when I needed it. It seems to me Conservative Management is the sensible first step for most injuries. The A-Trac Brace is a no brainer. Thank you WoundWear for helping Zep. I now have my best friend back.

I took video of Zep’s process to see if the brace would actually work. Well, it did! I sent it to WoundWear and they put it online!

Conservative Management with Brace for Full Cruciate Tear – Zep is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Hello! In June my 7 year old English Bulldog, Kata, was running on her walk when she seemed to step wrong or something. She continued to run and play, not seeming to be bothered much. I assumed it was just a pulled muscle or something.

Then last week we had her off leash and she took off after a cat. She came home limping and would not put any weight on her left rear leg. I took her to the vet a few days later and the vet thinks it is a cruciate ligament injury. The vet did not do x-rays (as she knew if we decided on surgery the surgeon she referred me to would want to do her own) so I do not know the extent of the injury.

She is currently on Rimadyl (only a week’s supply as of now) and is putting weight on the leg, but not a lot. I can tell it is uncomfortable for her to squat when going to the bathroom. Overall she is pretty mellow, only trying to jump and “trot” when someone comes home. We have not been walking her and she is devastated since right now it is finally starting to cool off (we live in AZ). I am so torn as to what is the best choice for a 7, almost 8, year old bully who still seems full of life and not in much pain.

I want her to be able to run and play though, but don’t want to put her through a painful surgery and recovery if she can recover with just CM.

How to tell? I know that there is no rush to make a decision, however, I feel like the more time that passes the older she gets and more risk comes with age for surgery. HELP!

Conservative Management Advice for CCL Injury – Kata is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Looking for more information on experiences using canine chiropractic, laser therapy and nutrition to help your dog heal form a CCL knee ligament tear or rupture? Keep reading to see how Pepe is progressing using Conservative Management.

I’ve also put him on a raw food diet to ensure that he’s getting the best possible nutrition.

He’s a laid back boy so it’s not too hard to keep his activity at a minimum. I’ve been picking him up to get on the bed, but after reading some of these posts maybe I should not let him go up and down the stairs. I’m also looking at chiropractic and acupuncture as complementary treatments.

I spoke with the Dr. in my office today, and he is going to use a chiropractic instrument (activator) to adjust his spine, and also a cold laser on the knee. This is one of my huge benefits of working where I do! Complementary and alternative medicine is hopefully going to be beneficial for Pepe.

June

Pepe is doing okay… Still not using the leg but does touch his foot down quite a bit.

Two weeks ago Pepe was treated with the activator by going three times down his spine. It’s spring loaded, and as he goes through each vertebrae, he can tell where there are energy blockages by Pepe’s movements after each. Then when he repeats he can tell if those spots “clear”. He had his 2nd treatment last week, and then well wait 2 weeks for the next.

Pepe is also getting the cold laser, but it really works best if you can treat every day for multiple sessions.

I can definitely see a difference in Pepe’s demeanor after the adjustments. He just looks perkier and the way he holds his ears just look like he’s happy and normal!

I still have him on 2 Gotu Kola Complex (MediHerb) tabs per day, as well as 2 Boswellia Complex tabs per day. Additionally, I am feeding him raw “meatballs” from Nature’s Variety and break the herbal tablets in half and stuff them in chunks of the meat. I also sprinkle his food with 1/2 t of Canine Musculoskeletal Support (Standard Process) each day as well.

Our Dr. has seen quite a few dogs completely recover and stabilize the joint on their own, but it’s a slow process. I’m still convinced that with the alternative treatments avoiding surgery may be possible.

4 Months

Alternative Treatment for CCL Injury – Pepe is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Hello Everyone,

But sadly, against my better judgement, I let her rip when we were out, because she has such a high prey drive, it was the only way to rid her of some of her restlessness. She is supposed to be Chow/Border Collie, which explains the high prey drive! So last week, at the park as so many times before, ZOOM, man she’s gone chasing a squirrel up a tree.

She came out of the bush, with her left rear leg, just gimpy, limpy along. Not until later at the house that night did I notice the extent of her injury. I freaked, cause I knew this was not good. The injury occurred on (I believe) Sunday, and by Monday we were off to the vets.

Long story short, she has blown her ACL and I am devastated. Moving along to a few weeks later, after getting her on Deramaxx for the pain, I wind up at the Idaho Humane Society. I had a visit with the executive director of the center, who is an orthopedic surgeon. We did the exam, had x-rays taken for the first time, and much to my despair, not only is her left leg shot, her right is even worse!

Much to my horror, she also has hip dysplasia in both hips with arthritis and arthritis in both legs also. So in trying to decide to do surgery or CM, after reading about all of you guys that have taken that road I figured, what the hell…. I can not do surgery on legs, hips, and God knows what else! I was so bummed, I am so worried about my girl.

It is horrid to see my wild child, become crippled. (tears, and more tears) So as it stands, right now I too am having to just try to keep her comfortable and out of pain. I restrict her movements, am trying to get a little weight off her (she’s 48 lbs or so) and I have her Rimadyl and Tramadol also. Doc. said to give her 2000mg. of MSM and Glucosomine, which is good to know cause I only was going to give her 1000 of each. That for about 2 months, (2000mg) while she is trying to recover.

This is a difficult thing to watch, but thank goodness I will be home with her not having to work (unemployment!). I can assist and watch over her! I am an old lady myself, but have no children, so you know how neurotic us pet owners can be with “our kids!” So, keep writing guys, this is very helpful – I don’t feel so alone and sad, knowing others out there are struggling with the same problems! Thank you all, and I will keep you guys informed, as we travel this very bumpy road of destiny!!

Appreciatively,
Eilen Baldwin
Star, ID.

Healing a CCL Tear Without Surgery – Jasmond Baldwin is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries