LSS Surgery vs. Conservative Management for Small Dogs – Max

Two days ago Max, our 4 year old very active 18 pound Westie, would not walk when he woke up. We took him to the vet, and they said he tore his ACL and recommended LSS surgery. They gave him pain medication and laser therapy. By the afternoon he was acting normally because he couldn’t…

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Extracapsular Surgery for Dogs – Santos

Santos is a rescued/adopted 7 year old Greyhound and Dalmatian mix with diabetes diagnosed one year ago. Santos had a full tear with no meniscus damage. I attempted CM (Conservative Management) for 1.5 months with him getting worse. I decided to get the knee surgically repaired. Because of his diabetes, I brought him home the…

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Kona – Double Extracapular Repair

I am very concerned after our visit to the Vet last night. Kona our 72 lb. Lab is needing surgery on BOTH back legs! She was running around a few days ago with the neighbor kids and came back in limping. One knee is completely ruptured and the other torn. Our Vet warned us that…

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Traditional Repair for Small Dogs – Amy

Amy is a 4 year old rescue dog, a jack russell/pomeranian cross who lives with me and “brother”, Elliott – a 9 year old Jack Russell. She appeared lame on 15th March and her vet confirmed a torn cruciate ligament on her left rear leg. There was no apparent cause, but she had been very…

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Traditional Extracapsular Ligament Repair – Dalila

The day after Thanksgiving 2011, I took both my dogs, Samson (5 yr old Lab/Pit mix) and Dalila (2 yr old Border Collie mix), to the dog park so they could have time to run. They played hard for 2 hours, and Dalila spent most of her time running with the pack, her favorite activity….

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Post Operative Icing – Video

Dr. James St. Clair of TopDog Health and Rehabilitation explains the importance of post operative icing within the first 72 hours following ACL repair surgery. Icing will help constrict the blood vessels and prevent inflammatory agents from entering the knee joint. The use of ice can also help relieve pain and make your pet more…

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Extracapsular Imbrication (Traditional Repair) – Duke

Duke, age 5, 110-lb, Black Lab tore his ACL in January of this year. Tried conservative management, but seemed to have frequent relapses. Took to UofFL small animal hospital, and they wanted to do TPLO. My local Vet then suggested doing a TTA. I decided to try CM a little longer and told him so….

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Traditional Repair After Conservative Management – Tango

Tango is our 5yr old Australian Red Cattle Dog. Approximately one and a half years ago, Tango started going lame in her right hind leg. She always recovered in a day or so, and the lameness was only apparent after she had been sleeping for some time. After a couple of months she was due…

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TPLO vs. Traditional Repair in Large Dogs – Jake

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…

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Traditional CCL Repair for Small Dogs – Baxter

Baxter, our 23 pound Malti-Poo came inside from an energetic play session one night a few months ago with a significant limp. We were concerned of course, but by the next morning it had improved and largely disapeared a few days later. Over the next few months, he would occasionally start limping again for a…

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