Question for dog-owners - cruciate ligament sugery?

[Trek420]

Z, give Simon lots of ear scratches and a big ol' bone for me.

Simon is not only one of the best behaved pits I've ever seen, he's one of the nicest dogs I've met.

[Duck on Wheels]

The latest news here about ruptured ligaments is that there's some kind of drug, injected as a gel into the joint? -- I'm vague on the details though it's only a couple weeks since I read about it, but anyways ... the received wisdom that a ruptured ligament will not regrow has been disproven. Ruptured ligaments do regrow, but there's some kind of process within the joint that disolves them as they do, so the trick is to stop that process.

[Dogmama]

The success of the surgery depends, on large part, the skill of the surgeon. I agree that UCD would be your best bet.

I had a German Shepherd who had the less expensive surgery - primarily because the expensive surgery had not been invented yet. The ortho was excellent and the leg turned out beautifully.

I would spend a few extra $$ on a good surgeon & go with whatever UCD recommends.

[bikerz]

Thanks again everyone for sharing your advice and experiences. I was out of town all last week at a conference, so am only now getting an update posted.

Simon had the "less expensive" surgery Saturday from a vet that a friend recommended. The vet who did it has done literally thousands of these procedures (interestingly, many of them were on pitbulls) and he has a very good track record, and was very freindly and informative when we spoke.

Simon also had a suspicious tumor removed from his right foreleg - the biopsy results on that lump will be in on Friday - I'm trying not to think (i.e. worry) about it until then.

Simon came home Sunday afternoon and is recovering now - it seems to be going OK, but I don't really have anything to compare it to. He can totter around pretty well on the 2.5 good legs he's got, but I'm trying to keep him settled. He has 2 different pain meds, antibiotics, and a sedative to help keep him calm.

I keep telling him he'll feel better in a few weeks, but I'm not sure that message is making much of an impact! I'd post a picture but he looks so pathetic I can't bear it! I'm definitely getting a good workout carrying him (all 48 pounds!) in and out of the house to do his thing.

He's sleeping next to me now, all bundled up in a blanket to keep warm. Poor pup!

[chickwhorips]

glad to hear he's home and recovering.

good doggie healing vibes coming your way.

[LBTC]

hugs and dog friendly butterflies for you and Simon,
~T~

[snapdragen]

Awww, poor Simon! Give him an ear scratch from Chloe and me, hope he's up and about soon.