One owner shares the story of how she decided which surgeon to choose to perform her dog’s TPLO repair surgery.

My girl is 1.5 years old and just like all labs she is crazy, loves life to the fullest. Took her to the dog park after a rain freeze in the winter, she was running fast and tried a sudden stop to follow another dog, I know she stumbled but kept going all the way.

Later on back home after her nap, she got up 3 legged, couldn’t put her hind leg on the floor, got really nervous took her to the vet right away. He examined her and said partial tear of ligament, prescribed METACAM and couple of weeks of rest.

One week later though we didn’t go to parks during, she was still active, hard to stop.

One morning last week, she went outside to the yard, and on the way back she started yelping couldn’t climb the stairs back in. Took her to hospital, x-rays and exam revealed both knee ligament gone. Vet suggested Dr Philibert for TPLO. I started my research and getting second opinions about TPLO for other VET through e-mails. Many responded and suggested TPLO is the best way to go.

One clinic which is about one hour drive called me, and said they have an alternative to TPLO, called MRIT which is great because they can do both knees at the same time, much cheaper. I thought I found the silver bullet.

I Took the appointment and was willing to drive an hour for the surgery. Then I started researching MRIT, and all the articles mention that it is not suitable for large breed dogs who are active.

So I called the clinic again and I reminded her that my dog is a lab who is yong and who will acheive over 100lb weight at some point in her life, the receptionist assured they done it over 100s of times on labs and no problems. Still not convinced so I sent an e-mail to the Vet himself asking questions; his wife replies back to my e-mail with a need to consult. I mentioned to her my dog has already been examined and x-rayed, I know what is wrong I’m past the analysis point and now looking for options. All I’m asking are information about the vet’s experience and capabiliies and rate of success in his practice, why should I pay for that let alone drive an hour when he could simply reply to my e-mail.

My Questions:

I’m trying to see the drive behind Dr Bacon pursuing MRIT on a labrador as oppose to TPLO when MRIT is not the recommended option for large breed dogs.

Does Dr Kevin has any supporting evidence that this method works on Large breed dogs?

Is Dr Kevin TPLO certified?

Does Dr Kevin perform TTA? Does he advocate it?

What are the warranties that if MRIT is chosen will not fail? and if it fails then what are your insurances?

What are long term side effects to MRIT in term of arthiritis, since TPLO is known to reduce the occurance.

These types of information are not specific to require a consultation, they’re the type of information which will help to make an informative decision as to the physician I choose. The reply right after was, “I spoke to Dr Kevin and he think its best if you would attend alta vista hospital for surgery”.

Anyways, the whole point behind this story, is do a lot of research don’t be afraid to ask questions. After considerable research I found TPLO is the best for my lab and the Dr initially referred is well known in the area.

Cheers!

Researching TPLO Surgery Options is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

The decision to have surgery.

My dog, Lucas, is a very active/jumpy 3 year old pitbull / boxer mix. I noticed some lameness in his leg about a year ago, but it seemed to go away on its own. The real problem started after introducing my boyfriend’s 2 year old lab mix to him. They would just run and play all day together, but his limping just got worse and worse. The vet suspected a CCL injury and sent me to a specialist.

I went to CARES in Levittown, PA and could not be happier with them! The surgeon suspected Lucas had a partial CCL tear, but suggested doing a round of conservative management to be sure. I took the next 8 weeks and kept Lucas relatively inactive. He was not allowed to jump on furniture, go on walks, or play in the back yard with the other dog. After 8 weeks I took him on a walk and he limped for 2 days. I knew this was no way for my dog to live and moved forward with the next steps for surgery.

Dr Puerto (CARES) really took the time to explain each type of CCL surgery, traditional, tightrope, TPLO. His recommendation for me was the tightrope or TPLO.

Below are the reasons that helped me decide on the Tightrope repair.

1. It was able to be performed orthoscopicly and would not result in any large incisions. I know my dog and I would not be able to keep him away from the incision as long as I would need to. He is the expert of taking off e-collars and would harm himself just to get at it.
2. Lucas weighs 65 lbs. TPLO was not necessary because of his weight (mainly done on larger breed dogs), giving me either option.
3. NONE of the surgeries are proven to stop arthritis later in life. If TPLO was proven to stop arthritis by realigning the bone, I would have DEFIITELY chosen that surgery. But there is nothing proving that yet.
4. Tightrope overall is less surgically invasive (does not involve breaking the bone like TPLO). It just seemed like less could go wrong and he would be back on his feet sooner. If my dog was older and less active, I may have considered TPLO. But getting my active/young dog back on his feet sooner than later was an important factor.

NOTE: I would NEVER have this type of surgery on a large dog performed by someone that is not primarily a surgeon! Most horrible reviews I have seen about CCL repairs, have been done through inexperienced primary vets.

Tightrope Surgery Day – February 29th, 2012 – Leap day!

I’m very nervous, but felt confident that I have made the right decision on the orthoscopic Tightrope CCL repair. Right before surgery I notice that Lucas is limping on his left leg, NOT the right leg. This is the opposite leg that is having surgery! The vet confirms my suspicious through manual inspection and x-rays that his other leg is in the beginning stage of the same problem he is having surgery for. I opt to have his non-surgery leg casted for a custom orthopedic brace to get him through recovery. He will receive this brace in 2 weeks and we will take it from there! The doctor called to tell me surgery was successful later that day. He will be staying the night and come home tomorrow.

The cost of all of this was $5,300 ($4,300 surgery, $1000 brace). Thank God for GoPetPlan insurance that will refund me 80% of this cost! They pre-authorized the surgery without any hesitation.

Day After Surgery

Lucas is finally ready to come home! He is completely bandaged on his bad leg and has a fentanyl pain patch. Since the vet did the surgery orthoscopicly, he has a 2 inch incision and a few small ¼ inch incisions. He is happy to be home and cries every time I am out of his site. I spent most of the day/night on the floor with him to calm him. The only way he will go to sleep is if he knows I’m right there touching him. He ate his food for me immediately and went outside to pee/poop, can’t keep this dog down!

Week 1

The first week was mainly spent in a small area I had cornered off in the living room. Lucas is very stubborn and has a high pain tolerance. I did not want to, but I was forced to sedate him almost 24/7 to stop him from pacing and attempting to jump (he made it on the couch one time when I turned my back for a second!!). He is also on an antibiotic and a pain pill. When he is awake I try to entertain him through a variety of new soup bones (boiled for a hour), kongs stuffed with good stuff, and even a elk antler. He is a very strong chewer and needs things that can hold up.

The “Our Pets Lift-N-Aid Mobility Harness” I bought for him is God sent! It makes it so easy to hold onto him when he goes to the bathroom and to catch him when he randomly decides to get up. It’s comfortable enough that he falls asleep with it on.

On a negative note, his “good leg” is definitely suffering and I cannot wait for his orthopedic brace to get in. The main reason for the 24/7 sedation is because he other leg is not able to support him fully. If he is on the good leg too much, he actually starts to put weight on the surgery leg to give the good leg a break! I can’t tell if that’s a good or bad thing that he is putting weight on the surgery leg already! haha

2 Months Post-Op

Lucas is doing fantastic! We go on walks 2-3 times a day, slowly increasing time and adding hills. The vet said the recovery period is so critical and he can tell Lucas is being well rested these past 2 months. His leg has lost some muscle mass and is measuring 1 inch smaller than his other leg. I research some physical therapy centers and will be taking my dog there for a 3 week trial. I specifically made sure the place had a pool and under water treadmill. One more month left of no running and jumping!

A Tightrope Repair Surgery Story – Lucas is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

I adopted Mousse, a pure bred chocolate lab, a little over 2 years ago – she was 15 months old. In the words of my vet, Mousse is exuberant. She was always ready to run, fetch, swim etc. etc.

Then, about 6 months ago, she started having problems with her back right leg. I took her to my vet several times and was told each time, she was okay. I had the vet take X-rays of her hips and her right knee. They looked OK and he said she might have strained a muscle and I was to give her Rimadyl and Tramadol. I did and it was slightly better and then … worse: she was having trouble going up the stairs and getting in and out of the car.

We went to Oradell Animal Hospital with the X-rays and the orthopedic specialist there said she had torn the CCL’s in both back legs. The good news was that it was repairable and he proceeded to show me how the TTA would work and then said it would cost $4300 … each leg!! I’m sure he saw my jaw drop to the floor, and he was decent enough to suggest that if I could go outside the NY Metro area, I might find it less costly.

I started talking to people and got numerous recommendations for veterinarians, animal hospitals, veterinary schools. I read whatever I could on the internet and became more knowledgeable about TPLO, TTA, extracapsular – traditional and Tightrope.

TPLO and TTA were scary to me on two fronts – the actual surgery where they cut the bone and then plate/screw it into a different angle, and the recovery period during which the patient cannot be active or the repaired bone could be damaged (lots of horror stories about permanent damage, lameness, even amputations!)

Knowing my Mousse, traditional suture was not a good option – she’s too active and too big … even at a svelte 67 lbs. So I started to ask about Tightrope. Although they don’t do it there, the vet at Blairstown (great place) thought Tightrope might be a good choice. Mousse and I went to Univ of Penn Vet. – very good session but they don’t do many Tightropes and they were recommending TPLO. I had also contacted Cornell Vet College, but they don’t do Tightrope.

I then emailed Dr. Cook at Univ Missouri (who came up with Tighrope) and he was kind enough to send back information and a list of facilities in NJ and NY. I researched the list via the internet and made an appt. with Dr. Henrich of Tranquility Vet Clinic (western NJ). About halfway into the appt., I felt we were in the right place and scheduled the surgery. Oh what a relief to finally be able to make the decision!

We drove (it’s about an hour west of us) back to the clinic on Monday 11-8-11 and they put a pain med (Fentanyl) patch on the back of her neck. The surgery was the next morning; I dropped her off. Dr. Henrich called me around 12 to let me know the surgery went well and I could pick her up late afternoon/ early evening. I drove back to get her around 6pm – my poor Mousse was still groggy, her entire back left end was shaved and she was wearing a giant E-collar – she looked miserable!

The incision is about 6 inches long, held together by 15 staples. (I count them regularly : )

The first few days were fraught with anxious moments but I muddled through. I have her harness on almost all the time to control her forward momentum and a beach towel knotted around her waist makes a good handle so I can keep her from putting full weight on her back legs. We only go outside to pee/poop and she sits in the sun while I rake leaves.

Sat. 11-12-11 we went back to have the patch removed and to get another laser treatment (it helps to reduce swelling and promote healing). The Dr. was pleased with how the knee looked and that Mousse is able to put it down (not putting weight on it though).

She is more active than she should be and they had given me some tranquilizers to keep her calmer which definitely help. She does not like the crate or the E-collar, but I have no choice if I have to leave the house. I still get kisses on my chin so I take that as a good sign.

Sat the 19th she is scheduled to have the staples removed … one less thing to worry about.

Follow Up: November 16

Mousse is putting more weight on the repaired (left) leg and would love to go for a real walk. She seems more comfortable with the reduced-size cone but is getting more obstinate about going in the crate when I have to leave for work.(I didn’t crate her before the surgery.) Hopefully I can pack up the crate again after the staples come out this Sat. The knee and suture line look very good to my unprofessional eye so I’m feeling positive about the future.

Staple Removal: November 19

Just back from staple-removal. The vet is very pleased with Mousse’s progress and we now have some physical therapy exercises.

Unfortunately, the cone is still required as there are still two small openings in her suture line. These are expected to close in the next few days … as long as she doesn’t lick and irritate them. I can also extend her walks a bit. So small steps forward … but it’s all good : )

Recheck: December 1

We met with Dr. Henrich, the vet who did the Tightrope surgery and he was very pleased with Mousse’s progress. She’s walking so well that there’s even a chance he may not have to operate on the right knee.

We reviewed the exercises for physical therapy which I do at home and he gave us the okay for moderate walks. We go back on 12-15.

I’ll keep you posted.

Follow Up: December and January

I’m very happy to report that we had 2 more follow-up visits with the vet and during the Dec. 29th appointment, Mousse was given clearance for normal activity.

The surgery is completely healed and her left leg is now the stronger of her 2 back legs. Her right leg showed and still shows very little sign of her original difficulties. The vet said it has happened before where he had a dog with bi-lateral CCL injuries – he operated on one leg and the other leg seemed fine on its own. We (the vet and I) decided not to put Mousse through a second surgery unless that right leg starts giving her problems.

Obviously, I’m hoping for the best but am prepared for what will probably be another surgery. At least this time, I know exactly who I will take her back to. I have only good things to say about the entire staff at Tranquility Veterinary Clinic.

Follow Up: April

Mousse was doing very well after the surgery and had been cleared for activity. Unfortunately, she recently started to limp again, lifting the back left leg, which had the surgery.

Another visit to the vet and it seems she may now have torn her cartilage – which is on the list of possibilities following canine knee surgery. We are scheduled for another surgery April 26th to clean out the damaged cartilage. I’m told that this won’t be as extensive and, as such, her recovery time will be shorter. I’ll keep you posted.

My Decision to Pursue Tightrope Surgery – Mousse is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Our family pet, Jake is a 3yo Golden Retriever. We basically noticed when he was about two, when he ran or joined us hiking he would be sore. One day he was playing in the snow and he fell through and came in the house breathing heavy and it was real difficult for him to walk or put weight on his leg. You could tell he was in pain. The vet said he had torn his cruciate.

Money was a little tight so we decided on artificial ligament surgery. I am not sure of the name. He came home real sore and cried all night even with pain meds. He did not eat, drink or go to the bathroom for days. Eventually he came around and after 8-12 weeks of following drs weekly orders of short walks to eventually runs he seemed to get better but still not 100%. But he could run again and it was fun to throw tennis balls to him again and watch him run for it!

He is now scheduled for TPLO in 3 days and I am real nervous of putting him through this pain again. I hope this surgery has better results. The Dr thinks he may have torn his original torn knee again so we may have to do another TPLO. We LOVE our dog, but we always have real expensive medical issues with our pets and we have just about depleted our savings and I hope we are not making a mistake in doing all this surgery, putting Jake through pain and I hope he understands we are trying to help him and not punish him.

I hope that he can run and be pain free ASAP!! Unfortunately, it will be winter againg by the time he will be allowed to run again! Thanks for reading and I would love any advice!!!

TPLO vs. Traditional Repair in Large Dogs – Jake is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

At this point, it seemed likely that his problem was structural and so I took him to see a vet that specialized in orthepedic problems. He spent a considerable amount of time asking questions about how his symptoms had appeared and progressed as well as looking over his medical records. Finally he examined Baxter’s leg and diagnosed a CCL rupture. He showed me as he examined him how his knee was moving to an extent and manner that was not normal. (and was obviously painful)

We discussed two alternatives, extended inactivity (also called Conservative Management) or a traditional extra-capsular repair. He said that smaller dogs often will recover with extended inactivity and without surgery, and that Baxter at 23 pounds was right on the line bteween where he typically recommended surgery vs inactivity.

Ultimately, given Baxter’s energetic temperment we decided that surgery would be a quicker and more reliable route to recovery.

This particular Vet would only consider traditional repair for Baxter and would not recommend TPLO or TTA. I don’t know if it was due to Baxter’s smaller size or his own experience, but he was quite adament about it. Given that this surgeon had done 200 to 300 of these proceedures a year for many years, I figured he knew what he was talking about and scheduled the surgery.

The surgery went well and Baxter did not need any miniscus removed. (a complication I was told was common) He stayed overnight at the vet and I took him home the next morning. I was very surprised to see him led out to me on a leash and walking with less limping than he walked in with! He was a little out of it the first day home, but continued to walk on the leg with some limping. By day 4, he would sometimes forget to limp if he was in a rush to get somewhere. (the refridgerator usually)

After 10 days, his stiches came out and he was allowed to start taking short walks although stairs, jumping, and playing with other dogs was still forbidden. As of today (21 days) he is doing great and although he sometimes limps as he walks around, he often doesn’t. He is also clearly in much less pain than before the surgery and hasn’t taken any pain medications since his stitches were taken out.

I was prepared by stories on this site and other resources for a much more difficult recovery for Baxter. I know that he is not “fixed” yet and that will still require many months of carefully monitored activity, however I was amazed at how quickly he has recovered to a happy and pain-free condition. I spoke to the surgeon about it and he admitted that Baxter was doing better than average, but that he had seen plenty of dogs recover as easily as he has.

I will try to update this as he continues to recover, but I wanted to get his story out to anyone considering this surgery. It can clearly be a difficult proceedure to recover from, but it isn’t always as bad as some of the other experiences shared on this site!

Post Surgery Update

You would never know anything was wrong. It was a great thing to do and the recovery process went much easier than expected.

We work full-time and have 2 young boys, but kept him safely in a dog pen with the “cone of shame” on as long as necessary. Let him out to go potty and to walk. The walks also helped with some weight loss.

Kept him on a leash through week 12 – even when out of the pen so he couldn’t run around the house. It was not as daunting as I first imagined. I do cringe a bit now when I see him leaping over things in the yard and chasing birds!

Traditional CCL Repair for Small Dogs – Baxter is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Hi my name is Hannah and I had my TPLO surgery on March 8th 2011.

I stayed one night in hospital and came home with so many meds my owners didn’t quite know what to think! For the first week I was given Percocet every 8 hours for pain and antibiotics every 12 hours for infection, which I didn’t have. Plus, I was given 1/2 meloxicam tablets for the first 10 days. I really hated all those pills I had to take because they made me feel weird.

My mom did most of the rehab with me because my dad has a very busy job, he’s a shift worker. I had a sling and a harness so I could go up and down our stairs easier when I had to do potty breaks. I only used the sling for 2 weeks because after that mom just used the harness to help me go slowly up and down our stairs. I’m not on any pain meds now or antibiotics because I’m healing really well. My dr was really good – he didn’t use stitches so I don’t have to go back to have anything removed.

I go back for my xray on May 2nd, which will be 8 weeks post surgery. I am now 24 days in. I’ve been to my vet for a check up and she says I’m doing great.

I start rehab at The Spaw on April 13th. I think that will help me to use my leg without limping as much and it will help build muscle. I can’t wait to go for my first long walk in the park where we would go before my surgery all the time. I dream about it every night. The lake where I watch the ducks swim and all the great huge sticks I love to carry. I think that’s my favorite part of the walk. I know my mom and dad are doing what’s best for me right now because they love me so much. They bought me a big kennel we keep in our living room, but I hate it in there so I get to lay on my ortho bed outside of it.

I’ll keep you all updated on my progress as I go. Thank you for letting me tell my story.

~Hannah~

TPLO Surgery Experience – Hannah is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

I have an Olde English Bulldogge named Wilson, he is 4 and very active, with re-active personality. I had the tight rope procedure done last year and nothing has changed for Wilson as far as chasing, running, and jumping.

Tight rope is much less invasive than TPLO, because with TPLO they actually take out some bone and recovery is much longer. Tight rope uses a fishing like leader (metal wire) along with some key points in the joint so it can be laced up again. Eventually, the leader will break a while after the cartilage has been reformed.

Remember – your dog will probably have arthritis due to a torn ACL, but it’s ok, there are plenty of things for that. I live in Minnesota, even when walking Wilson in cold temps his leg does not bother him much, as matter of fact, bullys are famous for not showing pain even if it hurts or (dogs in general). Wilson still has a tire hanging from a tree that he swings and falls from, his recovery or a recovery in general is not as bad as you may think if you have not had it done yet. If you do get tight rope done remember to give Glucosamine, Chondrointin pills daily for life. I have a friend that is a vet and the ones you buy at Walmart for human consumption are perfectly fine, even ask your vet.

I paid $683 dollars for tight rope procedure at a vet I highly recommend…he had done plenty of tight ropes, and my total bill was in the $1100 range. There are advantages and disadvantages to any procedure. Mine was extremely wonderful; to see Wilson happy and back at ‘em. I would be grateful to help or give opinions to anyone who needs some assistance with my resources.

Tightrope Surgery and Large Dogs – Wilson is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

How much will a TTA surgery for my dog cost?  How much should I expect to spend on a TTA repair?

TTA is the abbreviation for tibial tuberosity advancement.  The TTA is among the newer techniques (Tightrope repair is the newest surgical procedure for CCL repairs) for cranial cruciate ligament repair of the canine stifle, making its appearance roughly 10 years ago.  Biomechanically speaking, the procedure is very similar to the TPLO, but without many of the risks. 

The TTA is, in fact, a simpler procedure for veterinary surgeons to perform than the TPLO, and works to correct the injured stifle without over correcting the angle.  Basically during a TTA surgery the veterinarian will make an incision in the bone and move the tibia slightly forward.  The vet will then place a titanium implant on the joint, changing the angle of the knee joint and providing stability.

Below is the cost estimate I received for my dog to have TTA surgery.

1)  My dog in an American Bulldog weighing roughly 90 pounds (normal weight), and is 5 years old.

2)  He is in good health with no pre-existing conditions that would complicate anesthesia or surgery.

3)  This estimate, although some of the information has been blacked out to protect privacy, is from a speciality veterinary clinic with veterinary surgeons who specialize in cranial cruciate ligament repair surgeries in dogs.

4)  I live in Southern California, and this estimate is from a veterinary office in that area.

I received a low cost estimate for the TTA of $2800.00 and a high end cost estimate for the TTA of $3200.00.

This TTA cost estimate included:

- Surgical fees
- Post operative x-rays
- Post operative medications, including pain control meds during the surgery and to take home
- 4 post operative visits, including x-rays

What is the Cost of TTA Surgery for CCL Repair in Dogs? is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Day one after bilateral tightrope surgery.

We found a vet (Dr. Kelly) in Byron MN, near Rochester who has done about 90 Tightrope repairs. He also does TTA and TPLO. The name of his clinic is Meadow View.

Why Tightrope ACL Surgery?

We decided on Tightrope as it is much much less invasive and has about the same failure/complication rate as the other options, BUT if anything goes wrong it can be fixed (which is most times not the case with the other options).

We chose to do both legs at the same time for numerous reasons:

• He will only have to go through recovery and rehab once
• He will not have to put all of his rear weight on one rear leg that is painful and susceptible to further damage
• We are able to take time off of work to be home with him

What is the cost of tightrope surgery?

The surgery took about three and a half hours. Total for both legs including pre-surgery blood work, 3 meds, food to hide the pills in, wound cleaner, and joint supplement pills for 2 months was $3500. There will not be a charge for the post exam or removal of the staples.

Recovery after Tightrope surgery

When we picked Edgar up he was doped up. He was all but asleep while being carried out to the car and lost control of his bladder just before getting in. He slept the entire hour and a half home. We carried him in and laid him on puppy pads and cleaned the pee off his leg. He slept until we took him outside (took two of us, a sling and a harness with a handle) he did go pee. We laid him on his opposite leg and applied ice (peas) for about 5 mins.

The incisions are 6″ long, there is about 2-3″ of slight bruising around the wound that looks dark red. Swelling is not very noticeable. There is a reddish-clear fluid we are noticing on the puppy pads and this is normal. He was shivering quite a bit (normal as the surgery meds lower body temp); we covered him with a blanket to keep him warm. He also was sort of cough/huffing every so often and a grayish brown mucus was present. This is normal due to the tube that was in his airway. This stopped altogether by evening.

I suppose I should add that Edgar is a very large (125lbs) 2 year old American Bulldog. He is neutered. I think he first injured his right leg about 6 months ago, and the left a few months after that. Since conservative management worked so well with Emma (our 42 lb pitty) we tried it with him also, but due to his size – no dice.

I put his favorite toys near him and towards the end of the night he pawed at them. He also pawed at us which he does all the time (demands attention) so we viewed this as good.

The last time we took him out for the night he actually put some weight on his back legs and walked (in the sling) and did go pee.

My husband slept next to him on a sleeping bag as Edgar adores him and always wants to be by him. We also put an E collar on him just in case. He is so out of it I am justifying the spoiling today…

Bilateral Tightrope Surgery, Day 1 – Edgar is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Neva’s story – Tightrope and OrthoPet Brace

Neva is a 5-year old pointer mix. She lives to run, jump and play. During weekend runs at our open space dog park she puts in 10+ miles chasing rabbits to my measly four. She’s never had a health problem since the day I picked her up from the pound, at 8 weeks old and under 12 lbs. Slender by nature, she hit adulthood at 45 lbs and over the last couple years she’s crept up to 68 lbs – still svelte, but not skinny by any means.

In Aug 2010 we were playing ball in the yard and she hit a divet in the grass and twisted her knee. I knew something was wrong right away. She stopped, I ran to her and got her to lay down. She would not put any pressure on the foot and was clearly in pain. She hobbled on one leg, keeping the other high and managed to get inside to rest.

Some quick “Googling” and I found this site and many others – symptoms told me – I knew she’d torn her CCL before we even went to the vet a couple days later. Sure enough, the doc confirmed my suspicion and a week later solidified it with x-rays. (We waited a week before spending xray money to see if she would put more weight on it – perhaps it was just a strain.)

An important aside for anyone considering xrays – have them do the full pelvic as you will only then get to see what else may be at play. In Neva’s case, the news was not good. While only 5, she is showing signs of significant hip degeneration on the right (where the knee blew). The left hip and knee also showed some wear, and the doc said the chance for the left knee to blow was at 80% – which is a bit higher than the quoted 40- 50% for dogs in general.

The hardest part was knowing what to do because it was all starting to seem like a slippery financial slope. My husband and I argued about it for days. We love our dog but at what financial burden do we say “too much” and what are our choices if we do nothing and just let her heal? Nobody could give us a clear answer. User experiences like the ones on this site provided the most insight.

As far as prices, we priced everything. The prices I listed below were those provided by my vet and they save money by being a location where they don’t employ a full time orthopedic surgeon share a traveling ortho with 20 or so other vets in the area. This cuts costs and allows them to still offer specialist care w/o paying for fancy overhead – I think it saved us 1/3rd the cost of going to a hospital directly.

Here is what we ended up considering:

For the hips:
• Hip replacement – torture on a dog and HUGE expense. ($5k/ hip).
• Hip stem cell therapy – supposedly 85% success rate – they simply take some stem cells from the dog’s chest area and place them in the hips and the hips improve magically. This has been used by horses for quite a while but is new to dogs $2250.
• Manage hips with drugs – an 8 week regimen of Adequan shots for dog (you can do it yourself – they don’t even notice) plus daily Glocosomine tabs in food. Then continue the Adequan every month or so. Note on drugs – save over half the costs by buying them online – 800-petmeds.com or I found www.drsfostersmith.com to have good prices. $500+ annually.

We chose: Manage hips with drugs.

Nobody could tell us how bad the hips were and if they had always been this way. She did not appear to be hampered by it and we just weren’t ready to drop a bunch of dough on something we weren’t sure was going to really be a problem any more than any other dog we see at the dog park.

For the knees:
• TPLO on right knee – the defacto standard and Cadillac of knee surgeries for dogs. Most vets love this – it works and it’s the #1 financially profitable dog surgery for vets in the nation! $2500 – $3500
• TTA – also high price ,but seemed to hear it was a longer recovery. Not sure I really considered this one.
• Tightrope Surgery on right leg – different approach, newer, less invasive, doc said she’d only had one fail in the time she’s seen it, less expensive at $1500 – $1900
• OrthoPet Brace – on right knee and/or left knee to avoid surgery and let it heal naturally. $850 for one brace including all consults.
• Conservative Management – I tried this for three weeks and she was not really improving.

We chose: Tightrope for blown knee and OrthoPet brace for the left knee for prevention of further tear during healing and long term.

Why did we choose the Tightrope repair surgery?

TPLO seemed like giving a less than perfect dog a single bionic leg – and still suffering from the other bad leg. Giving the dog surgery on the other knee later is something we don’t want to do. So we opted to fix the bad knee now and hopefully pay now to mitigate the high chance of another knee injury later with a future brace. This kept it in the $3k range and gave her the best chance for high quality of life in our opinion. We could have just braced the right leg and hoped it healed, but we did not know if meniscus was damaged and if it was the brace would not help as the dog would not put weight on it. As it turned out the meniscus was fine but we didn’t know until we got inside for surgery. (BTW a meniscus-ectomy – or something like that – is $1500 alone – might as well do the tightrope!)

The results:

Its been 4 days since surgery (Sept 8, 2010). I read a lot of horror stories on here and other places about recovery. But we’ve had none of that. She came home that night, drugged up as a sailor on leave, but she was fine. We have Tapazol for the pain (the patch was overkill), as well as the Duramaxx she’s been on since the injury. She peed and pooped the next morning and continues to eat normally. She is already toe touching when I take her out to go. The brace will be ready next week so I’ll keep you posted on that!

The biggest problem is that dang cone to prevent licking. It makes her nervous and unable to relax. I know how important it is for her not to touch the stitches (which BTW are inside and will dissolve with time) and how fast she can unravel the work. But the cone has caused me to lose sleep. I tried putting shorts on her – she took them off. I’m considering some kids biking shorts next. The vet says none of this works. She is not actively going after it, but I’m worried the real itchiness hasn’t yet hit and will soon. I crate her when I’m gone but put her on the floor next to me while I’m home.

I’ll give an update on how the tightrope is working later, but so far, so good!

Update on Neva – 4 Weeks Post Op:

First, thanks for the note on collars I will DEFINITELY try one next time we have an issue! Luckily we passed that phase w/o incident. That was, however, the worst part!

Its been 4 weeks since surgery. Neva is very active now and the hardest thing is keeping her mellow. I work at home some days and put her in our bedroom when gone. We are walking the block for 15 minutes daily and she is putting plenty of weight on the leg. Vet says she is in 95th percentile which makes me a proud mama but really it was nothing i did – just good luck i think.

I try to massage her leg and she tolerates ice / heat which is recommended by the doc. The OrthoPet brace as helped her to get her gate in order for the “not so bad” leg but we only wear it when out and about. Day 1 of the brace i could tell her using it made her work both legs more which was good.

Right now I am so happy we did the surgery, and feel good about the Tightrope option. It was a quick recovery for her and no real heart wrenching pain.

Thanks for everyone’s story here and i will keep reading.

Tightrope and OrthoPet Dog Knee Brace – Neva is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries