Anne Grose Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 I posted this in health but I don't think many people look there, so have reposted here because I am sure there are peeps on this forum that have experience of this(sorry mods hope you will forgive me). I am looking for some real life feedback on dogs who have had cruciate ligament injuries for the best success in future movement. There is a strong possibility that Barty may have damaged his cruciate ligament, the injury he suffered last week that we thought was his disc slipping again is NOT and he has injured either his cruciate or the hock ligament. As some of you know Barty has HD off the scale with both hips having no sockets and he also has a bulging disc. I am hoping that he has slightly torn or tweaked it and some form of conservative management will create a complete cure, but whatever we do it is imperative that he gets full movement and use back of that leg or he will not be able to support his hips. I would really appreciate hearing what people have done with a young dog (Barty is only 6) and what the success has been. We get back to the UK on Sunday afternoon and he is going in on Monday morning for a full assessment and xrays under sedation so we will know for certain what he has done after that. Looking forward to hearing from you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eve Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 Tiffy has cruciate disease in both knees and signs that arthritis has already started - she is only 6(ish), possibly a bit younger. The right knee was the worst and she had TPLOsurgery on it in April and will have the left one done later this year/early next year depending on how quickly it deteriorates. She has had a really good recovery from the surgery and could put weight on it the next day. After two weeks of no walks she has had gradual increase of exercise and is now back up to almost normal - just not going for full on mental runs so as not to put too much stress on her left knee. We are countering this with some non weight bearing exercise such as swimming and she starts hydrotherapy next week. Also giving her Synflex as a supplement. Tiffy is a staffie X and it probably doesn't help that the X is JRT - so she has the little JRT legs supporting a chunky staffie body. Although Tiffy's is a degenerative disease a friend's dog damaged her cruciate traumatically and had the same operation also with complete success. She is an 11 year old setter. I think also Pingu's rotties have had this operation so it works on small and large dogs, old and young and different breeds. Hope this helps but please do let me know if I can give you any more information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mop Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 Gracie has problems with both her cruciate ligaments but at 17 years old the vets won't operate, she is kept painfree with painkillers and does hydro every week which keeps her muscles toned. The better the muscles are the better she is because the muscles support her back legs. The hydro that Gracie goes to is the treadmill, the depth of water and speed can be controlled. She starts with her body supported for 10 minutes then the water is dropped to about 1in so she has to step through the water and work harder. It took her about 9 months of hydro before the water was dropped. It worked Gracie is more trouble than the other 5 together, I have to carry her upstairs and lift her onto the furniture, she is only 10ins high. In the caravan last week, instead of asking to be lifted down as she used to she has started to jump down including jumping over Bonnie one time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzycharm Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 I know of a dog which ruptured her posterior cruciate ligament and tore the anterior cruciate ligament in the same knee (basically unheard of). Following months of physiotherapy, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, chiropractor sessions, massage and exercise routines, this dog is now back competing at agility and is totally fighting fit. Della's Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pingu Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 we are cruciate veterans (ellie both misty and benny both one) willpost more later however to summarise not impressed with recovery time for ttia but big up for tplo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 tplo was the best thing we ever did for my girl, wish the specialist had done the other one, he said both had gone, did the left as it was worse, we went back and i wanted him to do the right, he had her in did more xrays, drew fluid samples from her hock and refused to do the tplo as she has severe arthritis in the hock joint, be guided by what the specialist says with regard his HD but i was very impressed with the tplo.good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly1712 Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 No experience Anne, but sorry to hear about poor Barty Lots of positive thoughts for him and hope something can be done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barb Posted August 14, 2009 Report Share Posted August 14, 2009 Holly had the op in April and you would never know anything had been wrong with her leg to see her now, she is as mad as a hatter and keeps running. I was worried about it as she is 13 but I need not have. Hope all goes as well for you as it did us Barbara Holly had the op in April and you would never know anything had been wrong with her leg to see her now, she is as mad as a hatter and keeps running. I was worried about it as she is 13 but I need not have. Hope all goes as well for you as it did us Barbara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moundysmate Posted August 14, 2009 Report Share Posted August 14, 2009 Barty Our Zak the dobe will be 7 next month and he had the TPLO operation about 18 months ago. I was very apprehensive about the surgery but without a doubt it was one of the best things we have done for him. If you should go for the TPLO we were told the success very much depends on the skill of the vet and the recovery period so our regular vet referred us to an orthopaedic specialist. The recovery period was hard work, Zak has always stuck to us like velcro and slept on the bed at night so he hated crate rest and wanted to be doing far more than we could let him. We ended up making up a bed on the living room floor next to his crate for about a fortnight just so we could all get some sleep! To see him now though you wouldn't have a clue there had been a problem, he loves to run and jump and doesn't seem to have any stiffness or difficulty supporting his weight. His movement is as good as when he was a youngster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted August 14, 2009 Report Share Posted August 14, 2009 Rudi (rottweiler) had a TTA at the end of January - he's still not put muscle back on the leg although x-rays show the joint has healed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Grose Posted August 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2009 Thanks for the feedback guys. I will post more when I know what the problem is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Grose Posted August 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Thank you to everyone who gave me their feedback and thoughts on cruciate ligament problems, I have filed everything for future use. The news on Barty is that his cruciate and hock ligaments are fine, he has simply (!) put his disc out again. Vet thinks there is a possibility that he may have tweaked his hock ligament at the same time he did his back which is why it was slightly swollen but the two weeks rest has cured that. So it is good news that he has not damaged something else, not so good that his back is no better than it was. Hey ho, life goes on. Anne, Barty & Chloe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 glad Barty doesn't need the TPLO sorry about his back though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly1712 Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Pleased to hear that it wasn't such bad news Continued good thoughts for Barty though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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