Seeking info on canine ACL injury

[tortuga]

Heading for a vet consult today after x-rays, but it looks like my big guy has an injured or torn ACL. Never heard of this before we took him in last night but after a lot of reading online it doesn't look good. The different surgical options are huge $$ and low % of success.

Right now I am looking at non-surgical alternatives; looks like there are some orthopedic braces available that can take the load off and hopefully allow it to heal.

He is a 76 lb. mixed breed, probably Lab + who knows. Looks more like a Rhodesian Ridgeback than anything else. From what I have read the success rate for non-surgical treatment/therapy is much lower for the big dogs.

Anyone been through this with any success?

[Efibroncoman]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

How old is he? To be honest, trying to fix a torn ligament on a dog or cat really is difficult and expensive! Which leg is it? We had a cat once that tore 1 or more ligaments in one of her back legs and after considering all the options we chose to amputate the leg. It took her about two days to figure out how to get around but after a few weeks she could even run and maneuver. She lived to be about 20 years old too. It may seem like a tragedy but dogs and cats can adapt to losing a leg very easily! I saw a dog at the dog park that was without its front left leg and she could almost keep up with the 4 legged dogs and was having fun too. IMO, don't go broke trying to save the leg when you your dog will probably do just fine without it. Many times if the vet can save the leg it will just end up as a fixed peg leg like a pirate and the dog won't put pressure on it anyway.

[Broncrick]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

I'll wait for Jeff to chime in....

[earlybronco72]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

My newfy/lab mix is five weeks out on the wire surgery. He's 100lbs, so this is more risky than the cut the bone and bolt it back together. He is a very active 8 y/old. We are still walking him on a leash in the yard because if we don't he takes off running. My mother in law had the cut the bone one done on her 2 y/old lab and you would never guess it was done. He's all lab. Total cost for the wire method for us was 1600.00. This included meds and all visits also.

[earlybronco72]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

Oh yeah. Our vet double wires.

[gddyap]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

My old Rottie had both knees done. She blew one while jumping and we had that fixed. The other one went soon after because she was putting too much weight on it after the first knee went out. Did the wire for both. She went on a diet to reduce stress on the joints and walks got shorter in distance but longer in time. I don't remember what it cost us but we got the friends and family discount. Her vet went to vet school with my dad. My dad even scrubbed in for one of the surgeries. When she passed my wife wanted her cremated. I've always been curious if the wire is in the box of ashes.

[tortuga]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

Thanks for the feedback. We are looking at the wire solution as well. He is bored stiff as we are keeping him on the leash at all times outside instead of letting him chase bluejays as usual.

[earlybronco72]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

Thanks for the feedback. We are looking at the wire solution as well. He is bored stiff as we are keeping him on the leash at all times outside instead of letting him chase bluejays as usual.

My dog is going crazy also.

[slvregl]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

It depends on the extent of the injury...My first female rottie blew both rear legs at the same time. Our Vet looked at and felt the knees and said he could do the surgery, but it was his opinion to just let them heal on their own. We carried her back end outside, up and down stairs etc...and made sure she took it easy...no running or jumping...don't remember how long she was down exactly, but she made a 75 % recovery on her own. She could run just fine after, but she did not try to jump into trucks and such after that. She was about 5 when that happened and we had her put down a month before her 14th birthday.

[FFMDX]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

My Rottie tore her ACL chasing/jumping after a cat. We had it fixed with the TPLO surgery. cost was about $1800 with all the visits and follow up. We have VPI insurance (yes I have insurance on my dog...) and it covered about 30-40% of the cost. The rehab took about 6 wks. It was done two yrs ago and she is now 8 and you would never know......

[tortuga]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

Thanks again for the input. 2d visit with a highly recommended vet(actual board cert surgeon) went well today; he gave us a little hope that thing might heal up if we keep Kahuna fairly idle; ACL is torn but the rest is OK. Sounds like we don't have anything to loose waiting a month or two, situation shouldn't get worse and might get better. If we can get through summer without dealing with this it would be great.

From what I gather so far, the pain isn't that great, might actually be a good thing as it tells the dog that he should take it easy. Waiting for treatment increases the risk of arthritis down the road, but again we will reevaluate in a month or so. As of now he can get around fine, only seems to limp a little after exerting himself which we are trying to limit. For a dog that you can actually feel coming through the floor, that isn't easy.

[slvregl]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

That is the hard part is keeping them from re-injuring from wanting to play. No surgery worked out well for us, hope the same works for you.

[Henry66]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

Our nice new puppy got hit by a car about two months ago. No broken bones, but a clean dislocation. The vet put it back in but it won't stay. Such a bummer. May go with ridiculous $$$. He is not in pain.

[seahawkfan]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

When my 100lb lab tore his completely off the bone we were told by multiple vets that there was only one choice due to his size and that was to cut the bone and bolt it back together then reattach everything. He's 11 now and still gets around fairly well but it definitely was not a 100% success. His leg makes a clicking sound and he favors it a bit but he will still run and play.

[Henry66]

Re: Seeking info on canine ACL injury

"Frankie" went in for the exact same surgery yesterday. However, the vet called back and said it was not as bad as it had first looked and they were going to pin him back together to hold the femur in. "There are no 'free' dogs", but there are good dogs and bad dogs.