Demmy needs knee surgery

[PamNY]

Good luck to both of you. My first bulldog had ACL surgery years ago, and did well with a quick recovery.

Just based on conversations with other dog owners, I'd consider getting a second opinion.

Pam

[kermit]

Thanks to all. Right now I have to deal with the county contracted vet. This is a working police dog, and I love this dog. This vet fortunately is good about seeking outside help from specialists. I'm not your everyday "this dog is a tool" handler, and my vet has taken the extra steps. She loves her too. Although deep down I'm hoping she's wrong, I know Demmy isn't 100%. It's killing me.

[jesvetmed]

Kermit: ACL tears are usually diagnosed by a combo of xrays and sedation, which allows testing of "the cranial drawer sign" -- this means that when sedated, there is laxity in the joint that allows us to move the tibia forward (while holding the femur still). If the ACL is intact, you cannot do this.

They can be partially or fully torn, which relates to the amount of laxity present.

Here's a link to a more informative web page. http://www.vsasurgery.com/surgery/orthopedic/cruciate-ligament.htm

Recurring joint problems / pain and lameness definitely point to the acl.

As for repair -- a big dog like her needs to have a very good fix. If it's been going on a long time, then you likely already have had significant inflammation in the joint which has led to some degenerative changes (ie, early start of more arthritis).

But the idea of surgery is to stabilize that joint as much as possible... this is done in one of many ways, but for big dogs (especially ones that need to work for a living) TPLO is the surgery of choice. Only surgeons that have been certified to do so can perform this.

As for recovery: It is very important to follow instructions. Here's a link to post-op care from the same site as above: http://www.vsasurgery.com/surgery/post-op/tplo.htm

If you are not paying the bill, I would say TPLO is the way to go -- but it is more involved, more expensive, and requires more healing time. The idea is, however, that in a large dog, it provides more support & stability. In a smaller dog it isn't as important.

Having said that, we used to perform lateral tie-back surgery on all the patients at our clinic, including some very large dogs, and they seemed to do well, too. I think that if they are going to have trouble, they are going to have trouble. No matter which surgery you have done.

Also: Very important: They have a very high chance of rupturing the ACL / CCL on the opposite side if they have ruptured one. This is because it is related to their anatomy and make-up. What predisposed one, predisposes the other side as well.

I wish you lots of luck - let us know how it goes. Don't be afraid to have her checked out (and take your xrays) with a second doc for another opinion if you aren't comfortable with the one you get first.

Jes

[fastdogs]

I have had cruciate ligament surgery on one of my dogs, but it was an older dog already retired, so a real basic procedure was done with no consideration that the dog return to original function. The dog did fine, it was back when they had to have complete crate rest for a period after the surgery. Now, I think they go right into a rehab program that involves some movement.
I have known of coursing dogs (jackrabbit coursing on natural terrain) return to coursing and do quite well after ACL surgery, so I know some to return to a sporting function (it's quite grueling, involving long distances over rough terrain at extreme speeds).
Good luck! 20 years as a vet tech in the army and I have utmost respect for working K9s, I got to deal with the MWDs a lot.
vickie

[kermit]

xrays next wednesday, I'll keep you posted. Thanks everybody!

[gnGracie]

I don't have any experience with any of my pets (although they've had all kinds of other surgeries, but I've heard good things about results from other people. However, the people I've spoken to did not have working dogs like Demmy, so I'm not sure how that compares. Hugs to you and Demmy and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for both of you!

[smurfalicious]

Boo, it's too bad that she's a working dog. The guy who does our computer stuff at the pet store has his ACL damaged dog in this really cool harness. The surgery was just more than he could hack so he was trying that to see what happened.

There are some here:

http://www.handicappedpets.com/k9brace/

http://www.orthopets.com/ACLStifleDevice.htm

but I believe the one I saw on his dog is this one:

http://www.woundwear.com/product3.cfm

He said it was going well. Poor guy, I guess he had just spent a ton of money on some other life crisis when a simple game of fetch at the dog park crippled his dog. I was incredibly impressed by how well the dog was motoring about in that brace.