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 and Leg Injury, Canine Cruciate Ligament Recovery, TPLO Surgery, CCL Injury Diagnosis, Dog Knee Brace Information

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 and Leg Injury, Canine Cruciate Ligament Recovery, TPLO Surgery, CCL Injury Diagnosis, Dog Knee Brace Information

Asia the Pit Bull’s story came to me via email. I thought it was important to share both to help Asia’s owner get some feedback on how to proceed with recovery, and to also illustrate many of the questions that plague us as we decide what the best approach for our dog.

To put it simply, my answer is always YES – if you are questioning whether or not to get a second opinion you should do it. Veterinarians vary greatly in their approaches to CCL injuries, and it is important for you to find someone that you feel will work with you to resolve your dog’s issue in the way you find most suitable; whether that be a more conservative approach or going right into surgery. There really are no “wrong” decisions here, it just depends on your particular dog, situation and preferences.

Asia’s Story

I have a 12 year old Pit bull. Sweetest dog I’ve ever had in my life. She’s never acted old, she’s very healthy, vibrant and fun as ever, people even think she’s a puppy.

Last Sunday she ran around a little too rough with the other dog and came in the house limping. I didn’t think it was anything serious. But then I noticed it wasn’t getting any better. I thought I’d check both legs, check her paws, her ankles.

5 days later I noticed her knee was POPPING, I could feel and hear a clicking sound going in and out when she would sit down. I then had a sick feeling overcome me, just predicting it was going to be bad. I researched on-line and everything I read was terrifying.

I called the vet the next day and got her an appointment. He explained that the ligament had possibly torn, and that the bones were rubbing together. He compared it to an acl tearing in a human, but he said to be careful because it could rupture. He told us to wait two weeks to see if anything would get better.

The longer we wait, the more I feel we should get a second opinion. What if waiting causes more damage, irreversible damage? I’ve read that arthritis could quickly set in if injury is not treated with surgery right away, or surgery can have a harder time recovering the more I wait.

My dog is depressed, lonely, gaining weight and in pain. It hurts to see her like this. I have limited funds, I am a student and it’s Christmas time and I’ve never been more stressed.

My question is.. should I wait the two weeks or go with my instinct and get surgery as soon as possible? I am willing to take out a big loan from the bank to pay for my dog. The other issue is, she is older. And recovery may be very, very, very had for her. I have put her on a raw holistic diet, and I mix a senior multi vitamin supplement in her food. I have given her omega 3 as well..

Anything else you can reccommend?

1 Month Update

Since the injury I’ve put Asia on Holistic raw food, omega 3 fatty acids and a natural anti inflammatory supplement for bone heath as well as doing conservative management for over a month now.

Some days Asia seems like she’s not in pain at all and will try to run with the other dog (which I have to stop her!), gets excited when she’s about to eat, if she sees another dog she gets excited, and heck she even acted like she wasn’t in pain at all at the vets.

But other days she limps around, and lays down at every chance she gets…and that popping sound is terrifying me. It’s almost impossible to tell if conservative management is working. We took her to the vet again and he asked us if she was getting better, and I honestly couldn’t tell him. I told him I was worried that it may get worse the longer we wait, or that the other leg will give out, or the other front legs will be over worked. He understood my concerns and talked about the TPLO surgery. Because of her age he seemed apprehensive in performing it. He discussed with me the risks/ cons to the surgery. He said he wanted to give Asia a blood test to see if she would be healthy enough to handle the anesthetic. I agreed.

The blood test results were very good. He’s surprised at how healthy she is for her age. He then referred our Asia to a specialist outside of town who performs the TPLO surgery. He said they did it at their hospital, but their way isn’t as advanced. All her information is now sent to this hospital I just need to contact them to set up a date to see Asia. So as it stands, we are deciding on whether Asia should do surgery or continue the conservative management. I am going to call the hospital our vet referred us too tomorrow and get that second opinion.

Should I Get a Second Opinion? Asia’s Story is a post from: Dog Knee and Leg Injury, Canine Cruciate Ligament Recovery, TPLO Surgery, CCL Injury Diagnosis, Dog Knee Brace Information

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 and Leg Injury, Canine Cruciate Ligament Recovery, TPLO Surgery, CCL Injury Diagnosis, Dog Knee Brace Information

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 and Leg Injury, Canine Cruciate Ligament Recovery, TPLO Surgery, CCL Injury Diagnosis, Dog Knee Brace Information

Here’s a story that should provide hope to anyone with a pooch with a CCL problem…

We have a 140lb. Newfoundland. He is very active and blew out his right CCL 6 years at 18 months. It started with a tear. He wiped out on our tile floor. We were devastated.

We took him to a specialist. He immediately wanted to cut. That didn’t give us the warm and fuzzies. We then went to another about an hour away from us. He said the ligament was torn, but not ruptured so there was hope. He suggested waiting to see what happened.

Well, a month or so later, Porter blew his knee completely. Started just toe tapping and wouldn’t put much weight on it. We went back to the vet and he suggested TPLO. We went through with the surgery. About $4,000! It’s heavy duty surgery. But, Porter came out in flying colors. Took a solid 7 or 8 months before we let him off leash, but the surgery worked pretty well.

I say pretty well because he’s always been a bit light on that leg since then, but he runs, jumps and doesn’t show any signs of discomfort.

Everything was great until December, 2009. That’s when he started limping on his left side. He had now injured his other knee, which is about a 50/50 chance with large breeds after they have one knee rupture. We’re not sure what he did, but he is very active and runs/jumps all by himself, so he probably fell in our yard or running up our stairs.

This time we did a lot of research about Conservative Management. We really didn’t want to put him or us through surgery again. After speaking to a couple of different vets and people who had gone this route, we decided to take a chance. The vets really didn’t give us much hope as they said usually CM only works on smaller animals, but it was worth a shot.

Porter was confined in a small room and when we were home we’d let him out, but only under VERY close supervision. He was always on leash. No stairs, no walks except for potty breaks in the yard. He was confined to a 3×5 area when we weren’t home. This went on for 3 months.

At that point we started short (5 minute) walks a couple of times a day. still always on leash. From that point we increased his walks over time to about 15 minutes by 6 months.

At 6 months we let him off leash in our yard. He was still supervised and we didn’t let him run. A little trotting was about it. We continued to walk him 2 or 3 times a day for 10 to 15 minutes a time. Every month we’d give him a little more freedom. By 12 months you’d never even know he was hurt!

Now (Nov, 2011), He’s now back to full activity…swimming, running, acting like a nut! We still don’t allow him to jump off things and we don’t chase him a lot or let him deak back and forth, which puts a lot of stress on knees. But, other than that, he’s free to do as he wishes. He couldn’t be happier.

We put Porter on various supplements…fish oil, vitamin E, Glucosomin/chondroitin. We also cut his food slightly to be sure he didn’t put weight on. We continue with the supplements to this day.

We also started him on Adequan. This is a miracle drug for arthritis pain! we give it to him once every 6 weeks and you can see the difference in him. It’s incredible. I highly recommend it. Find a vet that will let you inject it and you’ll save a ton of money.

We read much of this site before deciding on CM. Many people make the same comment about their dog being too active and thinking they won’t be able to control them or the dog will be too sad sitting around all day. Believe me, it’s harder on the owner than the dog. If you have the willpower to control your dog, you can do this. Really, it’s not much different than TPLO. You’d still have to keep the animal calm for months.

One interesting thing, last year we had Porter’s right knee xrayed. It was quite damaged by arthritis. We were told that was one of the main reasons to undergo surgery…to reduce arthritis. That apparently didn’t work! Some day we are going to have both knees xrayed to see the difference.

A final thought…my wife blew out here knee for a 2nd time last year. We went to one well known surgeon…he said he needed to operate.

Based on Porter’s outcome, we were somewhat skeptical. We went to NYC to see another top notch surgeon. He said no surgery…basically follow the same CM idea. It’s been a year now and her knee is doing very well without surgery!

To sum it up, CM worked very well for us. I would highly recommend trying it, but you HAVE to COMMIT yourself to it. It’s going to be hard, but if you stick to it, it can work. I’m sure there are cases where surgery is the only way out, but don’t be too quick to decide on this route. I don’t see any reason to not try CM before cutting.

I definitely don’t buy the idea that arthritis will be worse if you wait…we didn’t wait and Porter still got pretty bad arthritis in the repaired leg.

I know if you’re just going through this now with your dog, you’re probably very upset. Believe me it’s not the end of the world. Your dog will get better…it’s just going to take some time and a lot of care.

TPLO and Conservative Management – Porter is a post from: Dog Knee and Leg Injury, Canine Cruciate Ligament Recovery, TPLO Surgery, CCL Injury Diagnosis, Dog Knee Brace Information

Dr. James St. Clair of TopDog Health and Rehabilitation shows a simple, informative technique of measuring hind leg muscle to help track your dog’s progress during recovery from CCL surgery or throughout Conservative Management.

How to Measure Your Dog’s Muscle – Video is a post from: Dog Knee and Leg Injury, Canine Cruciate Ligament Recovery, TPLO Surgery, CCL Injury Diagnosis, Dog Knee Brace Information

I have a rescue Basset Hound/Golden Retriever mix who is almost 4 years old. He is a very mellow, chill couch potato that does have spurts of energy and playfulness, unlike our constantly crazy Yellow Lab. About 7 months ago, they were playing in the yard and he must have somehow hurt himself because after napping for a couple hours he wouldn’t put his left rear leg down. He even moaned every once in a while in pain. We called our vet that night (not a surgeon), and he said he was pretty sure it was his CCL and that we can have him evaluated first thing in the morning. However, in the morning he was able to walk on his leg just fine and no moaning or lameness since – so I was reluctant to even take him to the vet. The vet explained the drawer test to us, and then performed it on our baby (who let out the most heartbreaking squeals of pain I have ever heard).

I was a little miffed by the way our vet recommended TPLO. We wanted to do our homework, so we saw an orthopedic surgeon who said he only partially tore his ACL and he recommended TTA surgery, but suggested we first try glucosamine/MSM/chondroitin pills along with strict rest for 8 weeks. We combined that with another antioxidant with glucosamine in a powder form. We were relieved that he suggested this first, as the TTA/TPLO are scary to me. He seemed to recover beautifully, he is a mostly chill dog so he didn’t much mind strict rest! He had no obvious limp and seemed to bear weight pretty evenly for months so we started to slowly introduce some exercise about 2 months ago. At the same time, we decided to switch to cheaper glusocamine pills and he remained to be doing great. We let him off the leash, take him for long walks, and he hasn’t had any signs of pain or lameness.

However, as of 2 weeks ago, he seems to be regressing. I took him for a walk, and wouldn’t even use his leg after a couple of hours. So we went back to strict rest and he was fine to put weight on it again the very next morning, just like at Day One over 7 months ago. Although he is using his leg, he does slightly favor his good leg and are concerned that the rest and glucosamine just isn’t enough for him, but I am praying that switching back to the other pills will do the trick.

Let me tell you, I love the hell out of my dogs, and have done more research and called more vets (holistic, surgeons, etc) than you’d ever imagine. We are trying to figure out what the next step should be. No matter what, we are going back to the other pills and they arrive tomorrow. We are also putting him on a diet dog food, he could lose a couple pounds. I have started massaging and icing his knee. I’m also doing a little physical therapy on him at home using a really helpful youtube video I found. Maybe a brace would help him?

We were so saddened by his setback that we are revisiting the possibility of surgery, as much as we don’t want him to go through that. But I am afraid of arthritis – some say NOT doing surgery causes it, some say surgery causes it. We don’t know what the best thing is for our dog and we want to do the right thing and make an educated decision. The TPLO/TTA seems so invasive, and aren’t sure if it’s worth the risk/cost. Or if since he is generally lazy the conventional surgery would be better for him. Maybe the Tightrope would be better, but I have researched and there are many failed cases of those as well as the other types of surgeries. Any advice or general direction would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for your time!

We are trying to figure out what the next step should be, as surgery is something we are considering but we don’t know what the best thing is for our dog and we want to do the right thing and make an educated decision. The TPLO seems so invasive, and aren’t sure if it’s worth the cost or if since he is generally lazy the conventional surgery would be better for him. Any advice or general direction would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for your time!

A Conservative Management Experience – Pudge is a post from: Dog Knee and Leg Injury, Canine Cruciate Ligament Recovery, TPLO Surgery, CCL Injury Diagnosis, Dog Knee Brace Information

After a couple of months she was due for her needles. I mentioned this lameness to our vet, who diagnosed a partial knee ligament tear. She was extremely active, chasing balls for 30 mins every afternoon and a 5 km walk every morning. The vet suggested rest to see if it healed.

We decided to use a conservative method. She recovered very well. We started to increase her exercise levels after the 6 month mark, she was starting to play and run around off lead with no bad effects. We were very cautious when adding ball games, not allowing her to chase the ball, only to retrieve it after we had thrown it and it stopped bouncing. All was going according to plan and we were very happy.

We then made the decision to allow her playfriend over, a 12yr old jack russell. They played several times with no problems, then one day she was lame again, the feeling of depair was unbelieveable. After going back to the conservative method again, she was not recovering as she had before. The limp was there nearly every time she rose after a sleep. We decided to get her operated on. She weighs 21 kgs and the vet made the decision which method was best for her and her active lifestyle.

I am so impressed with her, she has the best nature imaginable! I got the crate 3 days before and got her used to it. No problems there.

She didn’t have any arthritic changes, which i was worried about because of the time from the first lameness. The bandage fell off on day 2, but she didn’t worry the wound at all. Some allergic reaction to the stitches, but no real problems. She has been an angel, just sleeping in her crate and chewing kong toys.

I take her out on the leash for a few hours every afternoon and sit in the backyard with her. At least she can watch the world go by. She was putting weight on it within a few days.

We are now at week 5 and she walks without pain or limping. I have started to allow her a trot now and then, very little signs of limping. I have been doing the passive range of motion from day 5, and think it has helped. Her leg is quite thin, but when the weather warms up, I have ponds near me that she can swim in. Hopefully she continues to improve. We will be sure to keep her weight down, and she will only be allowed to play ball in the pond.

I hope she never needs the 2nd leg done, but at 5yrs old i know there is a good chance it will happen. Good luck to everyone out there going thru this, it is very stressful. When tango went in for the stitches removal, my vet asked how we were and not how the dog was!

Traditional Repair After Conservative Management – Tango is a post from: Dog Knee and Leg Injury, Canine Cruciate Ligament Recovery, TPLO Surgery, CCL Injury Diagnosis, Dog Knee Brace Information

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 and Leg Injury, Canine Cruciate Ligament Recovery, TPLO Surgery, CCL Injury Diagnosis, Dog Knee Brace Information