Bikini – Double Torn CCL Conservative Management

In late August 2018, I noticed my 7-years old English bulldog Bikini, showed some lameness (rear right leg) off and on for a bit. After 2-3 weeks, seeing this was not going away that she was now hesitant to go up and down the stairs, not following us in the house or willing to spend…

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How To Prepare Your Home For Conservative Management

Deciding to treat your canine pet’s injuries with conservative management requires time, energy, and also the commitment to prepare your home in an optimal fashion to support your dog’s recovery. Understanding that rest is a key ingredient for conservative management to be effective means that you will need to limit the space in your home…

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Murphy – TPLO Surgery Complication

My boxer Murphy, is a 6 year old very active and healthy boy. He had a partial tear in his CCL and excessive inflammation in his knee joint (unfortunately common in boxers). Today was his TPLO surgery and when the vet called she said there was a ‘slight complication’ during the procedure. She went on…

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Mishka – TPLO Surgery and Recovery

My little 4 year old border collie x Labrador Mishka tore her CCL 10 weeks ago. She was outside absolutely fine and running around and then all of a sudden when I went to bring her dinner, she was limping around with a foot that refused to touch the ground. I was concerned, but assumed…

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TPLO Recovery – Cora

Around the end of April, I noticed a limp. Suddenly. I thought she had pulled a muscle, so I waited a couple of days. It didn’t go away, so off to the vet she went. They did an exam and determined she had a partial tear (maybe) in her CCL. Pain meds were prescribed for…

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New Emerging Treatment: Simitri Stable in Stride

An exciting new surgical option has been developed for treatment of canine cruciate injuries. It is called Simitri Stable in Stride®, invented by Dr. Neil Embleton and Dr. Veronica Barkowski in Alberta, Canada. Dr. Embleton has almost 30 years of experience in treating canine cruciate injuries and has performed at least six thousand repairs, conservatively. He is certified in…

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Traditional Repair – Bridget

My beagle, Bridget, ruptured her cruciate ligament (with partial meniscus tear) in April, 2015, and we chose the Traditional Repair for a couple of reasons: Bridget is an older dog (rescued her over 10 years ago when she was already an adult), and she also has arthritis. Because of her age, I wanted the least…

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Tightrope Knee Surgery for Dogs – Maxwell

Maxwell is a 103 lb Rhodesian Ridgeback mix in excellent athletic shape and very active. At 4 years old (last year – summer 2013) he tore his CCL on his left stifle completely while running and turning quickly. My normal vet said I would have to seek out a surgeon, she was unable to offer…

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Double TPLO Recovery – Limping/Lameness – Loki

Our now 12 year old Brittany, Loki, has had both knees fixed with TPLO surgery. His first surgery was 18 months ago and the second about 1 year ago. Recovery went well in both cases, though he managed to break his fibula both times. In both cases, though, the fibula healed without any troubles. After…

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TTO and MMP Surgery for Dogs – Heidi

Heidi had her first CCL repair surgery (TTO) in December 2011 and her second (MMP) about 6 months later. Everything went well following both surgeries and we were problem free for about a year. Then Heidi developed a suspicious knot on her knee that worsened with exercise. It developed into an abscess and ultimately it…

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