Hello All!
My Jake, a 6 year old lab, had the TPLO surgery after a lengthy search for an alternative. He was never overweight; kept him at 70 pounds, a little light, but was wanting to save his hips and knees.
Time flies, but it was 2-3 years ago, and the information found on web sites like this was not available (or, maybe it was me, not knowing how to use the computer).
Thank the Good Lord, we had VPI pet insurance (he was a high maintenance dog) at the time of his injury, and they paid for most of it. He did beautifully! Within a month he was ready to go jump and run. We managed to keep him quiet long enough, and after 3-4 months, you would never know he had the surgery.
I have since lost him to arthritis of the spine, but would do the surgery again if he blew the other knee, all other factors being right. My grand-dog has just blown his knee, and I am trying to get my son to try one of the braces because of his age. He, too, is a lab, 10 years old – slim and beautifully fit, just stepped wrong. We know when he did it as he yelped, went down and limped. Maybe we should just get braces for their knees and use them as a preventive. Very grateful I had the insurance. The VPI pet insurance ran me about $350 a year, but I made money on them every year – and that does include many regular items we do annually. I have since rescued a lab-huskey mix and pray she stays sound! Bless our dogs! (that’s God, spelled backwards:)
I find it interesting that TPLO got the label traditional by now 🙂
I’m glad it worked out so well for Jake.
Conservative management with a brace can be successful.
I would not use brace as a preventative measure, but once one knee is hurt both knees are often supported because of the extra load on the uninjured one, they even make special braces to support both.
I Always say that I make money off of VPI too. But to be honest. My latest insured dog has yet to have a claim, aside from vaccinations and preventative stuff. So VPI is taking in on that level.
But I’ve had two major incidents that VPI has paid me on. I’m happy as well. Now, I find my Problem Child has a ruptured CCL and will be soon repairing that. I’ll let everyone know just what VPI has paid vs. the total bill.