Second Tear Immediately Following TPLO – Domino

Hey everyone, posting this because I could not find any stories with this particular complication on the web.

I have an 8? year old rescued lab/pitt/dane? neutered male who weighs about 80 lbs. Initially presented with intermittent lameness on both sides (alternating) which finally made its source abundantly clear when he came in from playing with a non-weight-bearing right rear leg.

After much agonizing and research, I decided to go with the TPLO procedure to give him the best shot at returning to his normal self. Domino is a pogo stick. He has literally cleared 6ft kennels from a standstill. He jumped into my TALL 3/4 ton pickup, while the tailgate was closed. He loves to hike more than anything.

Surgery went well on June 12th. He came out of it fine…my ortho vet keeps the dogs for a week after surgery to head off most complications. I go to pick Domino up on the 18th, and while I am getting ready to lift him into the truck, he slides past me and jumps for it. He was on a leash…but he panics when he thinks I am going to leave him anywhere and I just wasn’t fast enough. Anyway, he misses, lands on his back legs, both buckle, and he falls to the ground. I am just sick to my stomach. He gets up after a minute, still walking on both back legs. The tech and I check him out, and he appears to be alright.

By the time we get home, he is starting to favor his left leg…the one he did not have surgery on. By 10pm that night, he is no longer willing to bear weight on the leg. He is now walking solely on his freshly surgical right leg. The left one hangs in the air. I know what the problem is already – he tore his other CCL. I call the clinic, they say up his Deramaxx and see if it helps by morning.

By the next day, he doesn’t want to walk at all. I can get him outside with a towel sling, but he refuses to urinate. If I remove the sling to encourage him to go, he collapses to the ground and lays there. I call the vet clinic, and they tell me they are going to need to x-ray him to make sure he didn’t hurt anything else. During this time, he is only on Deramaxx for pain. He is crated and I have to go to work, but I make an appointment for the following day.

By the time I get home on the night of the 19th, he absolutely refuses to move. He is panting and shaking, and I can tell he’s in pain. I call the clinic in an absolute panic, and they tell me to give him 100 mg of Tramadol. (I take it occasionally for back pain, but am more than willing to share with him.) I want to take him in, but I live in a rural area and the clinic is almost 2 hrs away since we have construction detours. They won’t stay open. (I was really pissed about that.)

I pill him immediately (about 4pm), and within about an hour he seems much more comfortable. He goes to sleep, and I give him another 100 mg at midnight. He sleeps the night through, but still hasn’t gone to the bathroom in over 24 hours. I am on the clinics doorstep when they open at 7:30 am. They do xrays, confirm that the surgical repair is fine, and a VERY positive drawer sign on his left leg confirms what I already knew. Domino is much happier with his pain management at this point, and willingly stands on the leg that had surgery – still non-weight-bearing on the left leg with its new tear.

The vet had discussed with several other ortho docs, and they determined that the best thing to do would be immediate surgery on the second leg. I asked about a brace, and had three docs tell me it was a bad idea. The brace stiffens the leg, which can change their gait, causing twisting on the fresh TPLO surgery. They said it’s safer to get the other leg done, and let the dog split their weight between the two back legs.

Had I known this was going to happen, I would have definitely done both legs at the same time. Domino makes no noise when he is in pain…you first figure out that he is having major issues when he refuses to move and starts panting. All three vets missed the signs that the second ligament was severely compromised, and I was too inexperienced to know what I was looking at. I also think that his pain management protocol was severely lacking. They said normally they are very careful about pain management because it can fool the dog into thinking they are healthier than they really are. They did not reckon with the fact that once Domino got home and relaxed, he couldn’t work through the pain he was in. He needed the narcotics.

I would tell other owners, if your dog is not getting around well on 3 legs after tearing one cruciate, if you ever see them get up and literally try to stand only on their front legs (lifting both back feet off the ground by arching their back), and if they collapse at any point before surgery while out playing (even if they get back up), you may want to consider a dual TPLO and save yourself significant costs in anesthesia and drugs.

I recognize that this was my fault as well for not realizing he would panic and jump for the truck, but I have no guarantee that this wouldn’t have happened at some other point in his recovery.

Second surgery is tomorrow morning, and I am so worried that he won’t be able to get around even after the second surgery…I will update information after I get it.

Update After Second TPLO Surgery

Things went great with his second surgery – he is more willing to walk on the first leg and toe touching on the second one…he’s apparently managed to go potty too. Hoping he stabilizes enough to come home on Thursday! The vet clinic is having trouble getting him to eat…he goes on hunger strikes when I leave him. Normally not a problem because after three days he finally gives up, but after so much surgery he needs the calories.

20 thoughts on “Second Tear Immediately Following TPLO – Domino

  1. My dog, Heidi, also had 2 CCL repair surgeries, 6 months apart. Although they were not as close together as yours, she is doing really well now, despite several bumps in the road. Dogs are resilient, and I’m sure in no time, Domino will be back to his bouncy self! Check out my blog if you want to read more about Heidi’s surgery and recovery! heidibsknees.blogspot.com (She was featured on this website last year as well!) Best of luck to you and Domino!

  2. I’m sorry that you’re going through that with your dog. Like Holly, my dog also ended up having his 2nd surgery 6 months later. I would recommend starting joint medicine asap. My dog now has osteo-arthritis (sp) in his left leg. He is on lots of sedatives and pain meds. It’s so hard to see them in pain.

  3. Oh dear, poor guy. I can tell you from personal experience, those active dogs can get themselves into trouble doing too much. My active boy had a nice soft tissue injury which set him back 6-8 weeks(!) lunging at a woodchuck I didn’t see.

    Slow Domino down and be prepared. I know that kind of dog. In the long haul, once he’s FULLY well, up to snuff, “safe and clear” for launching… he can resume more and more of the activities normal for him. I actually made my boy wait a year before I allowed him to gradually be “himself” again. The advantage for a similarly driven dog? Great muscles and definition. He can have it all back. It takes time, a lot of time.

    Now, however is the time to be cautious. I’m glad his second surgery went well. ;)) Keep us updated!

  4. thanks for posting this. My 19 month Rotti/staffi mix has been diagnosed with diseased ligaments in both knees. He is limping on one leg with arthritis and joint fluid. the second one is showing signs of beginning arthritis and has a little fluid, but is not causing a limp as of yet. The vet recommended doing both, which I was hesitant to do, but now feel better, that it is probably better to get them both done at once!

  5. Thanks for this post. My dog Pepperjack, Four weeks post op decided to rush to the cat and has now done his right knee as well. He is not walking and is now weight bearing on the operated leg. I was shattered – seeing the surgeon on Monday?.

  6. Wow, so sorry you had to go through that! My lab/pit Cash is 2.5 weeks post op for bilateral tplo. He stayed at the vet for 8 days after surgery, I don’t know how I could’ve had him home right after. He is doing well after struggling with one incision popping open. Went back to have stapled, the next day he ripped 3 out when in-coned momentarily. Had to sedate & re-suture. He’s 100 lbs so the extra trips to the vet are a production.
    He is taking short potty walks & putting weight pretty equally on both legs. Can’t wait till things are back to normal around here…

  7. Thank you so much for this… Frank is a 90 lb pitbull who is post op 5 weeks from his TPLO surgery and tonight I believe he tore his other leg… I’m beside myself. He is 3 legging on the recovering leg and I am so worried and concerned that he is going to screw up the surgery I just paid nearly 5000.00 to fix, and now he’s most definitely going to need another surgery . Tomorrow is Easter and the vet is most likely closed so say some prayers for my boy 🙁 I can’t sleep I am just so upset ugh

    1. Samantha – My dog was the same. You couldn’t keep him down after the surgery. Keeping him still or confined was so difficult. He found ways to jump on couches or run up stairs. 4 years later at 6 years old, he is jumping low fences at the dog park. I bit the bullet and put the 2nd surgery on my credit card. I’m so glad I did it now. He is so happy and athletic. I know you’re worried about Frank, but as others have said before, dogs are resilient. Look around for pricing too. $5000 is very expensive. I live in one of the most expensive cities in the world (Seattle) and the surgery wasn’t that much

    2. There’s a difference between bone healing and as in complete recovery. In general terms, bone heals 6-8 weeks. He’s gotten that far. So as long as his recovery has been good to that point, he’ll be just fine.
      The original knee will still require work: My dog’s PT does underwater treadmill (see AnimalPT.com) for 10-12 weeks and then gives you exercises to strengthen the inner knee muscles with lateral movements and stairs. The whole process can take 6-12 mos, but at “minimum…” 3 months.
      At this point he is healed enough on the one side, you’d be safe to do the second surgery right away if it is a full tear. If it’s not a full tear, you could opt for a knee brace and hope the new injury rebuilds itself. (or if financially not yet reasonable) Both PT and Vet agree: partial tears almost ALWAYS become full tears in an active dog.
      Wish I’d seen this sooner. You might have had a more relaxing weekend. Let us know what you find!

  8. Hi all-10 days post op for second TPLO here, 80lb springer spaniel. Had his first surgery in April. He’s seemed to be recovering from this one much much faster until yesterday. My husband was watching him and brought to a family gathering so as not to leave him alone. Said he was quiet and fine all afternoon. I noticed when I got home he was suddenly not weight bearing on the newly operated leg. Gave him pain meds and still seems the same this morning. Has anyone else experienced this??? He has been really strong up until yesterday and doing beautifully. So concerned, please help.

  9. Thanks for sharing this. I am going through the same issues right now with my Gia. Same breed mix, ACL repair, same result. Good surgery on the left leg & 7 days after, she tore the right. In our case, we already knew about a slight tear on the right. Double surgery wasn’t an option as our vet never mentioned it!

    1. Just an FYI – I went to a few different vets/surgeons as my 2 year old Staffy has been diagnosed with bilateral crucial ligament disease but they refused to do them both at once saying risk of infection increases dramatically. I would have much preferred to get them both done at once so it was all done and dusted and would save me thousands but you may find the Surgeons will not do it. Anyway she has had right one done about 5 weeks ago and doing well. They want her in next week to do the left leg but I am going to wait a few months as she was super depressed having to be in the play pen only for 3 weeks so giving her a little break plus I need some time to save up another 4 k .

  10. My dog Pax had TPLO surgery on his right leg about 4 months ago. He appears to be totally recovered. The surgeon gave me the go-ahead to start resuming normal activities. After a relatively easy trot through the woods yesterday, he is limping today on the left side. Having already gone through the whole process once, I’m pretty sure he has now injured the other CCL. The surgeon told me this was a very strong possibility. Still, it makes me sick to my stomach that he’ll probably have to go through the whole procedure again. But he’s only 3 years old, so, for the long term good, we’ll do what we have to do.

  11. I appreciated this post! 8 or so months after my dog’s TPLO surgery we believe she has torn the CCL on the opposite leg. There’s not much out there in terms of information on this, so I was happy to find you:)
    Best wishes to you and your fur baby!

    1. Pax had his second TPLO two weeks ago. It was tough having that eventuality hanging over our heads, but kind of a relief now that it’s done. He had his sutures removed today; he’s been walking on all fours for the last 10 days. The second time around has been SO much easier than the first. And, as the surgeon said, he has run out of CCL’s to rupture. Good luck!

  12. Glad I found your encouraging posts. My always athletic and sassy BC Mix Kona ruptured his right CCL in February. He’s only 11 weeks post op and ruptured the left three days ago. He had TTA surgery and did very well first time around, so I know what to expect. I hope he can get back his zest for life!

  13. So relieved to see these posts. I take my 9 year old lab mix in next week. He needs surgery in both knees and I was debating doing one at a time. After reading all these posts I think I’ll just get them both done at the same time.

  14. I wish they gave me a choice to do both. 4 weeks out from the first one and now can’t use the other leg. Vet not available until Monday to even look at him. I feel so helpless and hurt.I’

  15. Thank you for sharing your experience! Our dog had surgery 1 week ago, and yesterday he started walking more on his surgery leg and not on his “good” leg. I fear he has torn is other CCL, and I knew that this would happen but did not think it would be so quickly! I am hoping to get him into the VET ASAP for assessment. Like you, I already know that he needs surgery, and I hate seeing him in pain.

  16. This thread is saving my sanity! My 4 yr old Staffy rescue (65lbs) is about 4-5 weeks post op from her left leg TPLO and we got all the things and did everything right ….. or so I thought 🙁 she missed a step coming in from going potty this morning, and BOOM. Right leg was done. She fully shifted to zero weight baring on the right leg and she is now carrying all the weight on her post – op left leg (which also has me in a mild panic). My head and heart are reeling ……

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