Partial Torn ACL
Last year my 6 year old Batty began limping. Three vets, two western, one of eastern philosophy said she had a torn ACL. I was told that a better evaluation could be done with anesthesia. As it was time for her to be spayed, I decided to have both done at the same time. The ACL evaluation was inconclusive and I was told the only way to know was to have ACL surgery. I elected to crate rest her with heavy doses of glucosimine and condroitin. After two weeks she was walking without any pain. It took a while longer to convince her that the stairs were not evil and causing her pain. A year and a half later, Batty has no evidence of any knee problem. Guess all the vets were wrong. If you can wait and give your dog some time for healing, try it before agreeing to surgery. Shelley Gonzales Bigfork, MT where the little snow we have is greatly appreciated by my Berner Babes
RE: partial torn ACL
Hi, It is prudent to make sure the stifle is xrayed when ACL problems are suspected. A friend's Rottie was operated on for ACL and was slow to heal, she took her to a specialist where the originating problem was diagnosed. She had osteosarcoma. The original vet had not xrayed prior to surgery which would have highlighted the malignancy. Unfortunately some ACL weaknesses occur due to bone cancers. Rose Tierney
Addison's (ws: Re: partial torn ACL)
Just an FYI for anyone dealing with Addison's... There's an excellent support group email list, actually for all auto-immune diseases but many of the list members own Addisonian beardies. Contact the list owner FMI: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Sherri V.
Re: partial torn ACL
In a message dated 1/1/2003 5:21:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > I would be interested in hearing from others that have dealt with a > partially torn ACL.how many have had to have surgery? My bitch did...she was 4-1/2 yrs old at the time. She never went 3-legged, just showed partial lameness. Hip xrays done at the time were OFA Good so with no diagnosis, we rested her for 6 weeks. No help, she was still favoring one hind leg. Saw a specialist, ran diagnostics...still nothing conclusive, no lateral drawer movement (the torn cruciate 'signature') even under anesthesia. Rested her another month. No change. Specialists take was that if it's a large dog and the hips are good...it's the knee, go in and find out. We did, he found a partially torn ligament and a LOT of inflamed tissue...was surprised she hadn't been showing more severe pain. This was before the TPLO existed, so it was the traditional surgery. The recovery was long and slowclose to a year before she was really moving normally. She did well for years and the other knee didn't gobut now in old age, well... she could use knee replacement surgery for both if it existed. -Sherri Venditti
Re: partial torn ACL
This past November my 6 1/2 yr old male, Samson had to have ACL surgery on his rear left leg. My Vet is also a breeder of Rottweilers and has used nylon with a very good success rate on larger breeds. He did in fact tell us that there could be some slippage in the joint if the nylon stretched...but he also said that it would not probably stretch for two to three years..if at all. The other thing that he pointed out was that an ACL repaired with nylon usually produced a tighter fit than the older techniques. He told us that we could expect up to a 95% recovery as we slowly built up his leg strength. We also had a third option...which was to drive down to Ohio State University where they have developed a newer procedure for ACL repair..but it is far more costly at this point. One other fact that must be pointed out is that not all Vets use nylon in the same way. As with other surgeries one Vets "technique" may not be the same as the next even when using the same materials to do the repair..it all depend on what they were originally taught or since observed. How Samson required this surgery is a little different. Last spring he began limping very noticeably on and off for several weeks. Our Vet examined him and could find no structural problems and thought it may have been arthritis related. Within a few weeks Samson was having problems getting his back legs under him when he was laying down and trying to stand up. He then began loosing the ability to lift his rear as though he had no strength in his back legs. During the next two months his weight also dropped from 95 to 77 pounds. Eventually he was diagnosed with Addisons Disease. He has been on Fludrocort (Florinef) since then and has regained both his weight and strength. My Vet suspects that the loss of muscle weight and strength from the Addisons was the main contributing factor to Samson's ACL tear. Addisons is very easy to detect...because there is a specific test that can be run to identify it...but it is very often overlooked or misdiagnosed even though it can lead to death very quickly...which sadly is often the case. We also were told that it would not be uncommon for the other ACL to start having problems at some point because of the stress that the Addisons had caused to his legs. Anyhow...Samson came home from the Vet two days after his ACL surgery. He had a noticeable limp for two days and was walking normally by the end of one week. At about four weeks we started letting him out by himself for short periods. It has now been six weeks since the surgery and the only activity that we have not added back is to allow him out to romp with our other Berner, Delilah. Russell W Motz with Shersans Keep The Change (Samson) and Shersan Restless In The Night (Delilah) Macedonia, Ohio - Original Message - From: "Susan Berlin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Bernese Mountain Dog Mailing List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, January 01, 2003 5:18 PM Subject: partial torn ACL > I would be interested in hearing from others that have dealt with a > partially torn ACL.how many have had to have surgery? > > Cathi with Bacchus and Ari > - Original Message - > From: "Cindy Buhner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2002 11:11 PM > Subject: Help on a partially torn cruciate ligament! > > When my Maggie was about 6 years old, she started limping and was diagnosed > with a partial ACL tear. My vet suggested rest -- and then went off to China > for 6 weeks. When the limping got worse, I took her to a nearby orthopedic > vet for surgery; the ligament was replaced with nylon. > > She healed well, but several months later turned up holding her leg up -- no > weight bearing at all. By that time, my own vet was home, and his comment > was that on a big dog (Maggie weighted 120, and she wasn't fat!) repair with > nylon was a poor choice because the nylon often stretched. He used what he > called an 'old fashioned' technique, which was to take a narrow strip of > skin from the incision and use it to replace the ligament. The stem cells in > the skin, when placed where a ligament was needed, 'became' ligament > material. > > Maggie actually took quite a while to heal, because she reacted to the > stainless steel clip used to hold the ligament in position (apparently, most > dogs don't react to the inert material). We had to have it removed, after > which she bounced back almost immediately and was just fine. > > Unfortunately, she tore the other ACL about a year later, as I'd been warned > she might, showing up at the house with a familiar no-weight-bearing stance. > The surgery was repeated, and she was once again fine. > > I'd guess everyone's story will be a bit different, but certainly good ACL > repair is possible! Good luck. > > Susan > > >
RE: partial torn ACL
Vesta and Maggie got into a fight (over a potato chip), and Maggie bent Vesta back at a very bad angle. Vesta screamed, came up seriously and severely lame. She was 9 years old at the time. The vet's exam determined that it was a partially torn cruciate. I kept her on severely restricted activity for 4 weeks, and she was as right as rain for her remaining 2 years, never another problem or limp - and she ran and jumped like a puppy throughout those 2 years. Was it actually a cruciate tear? I don't know. Pat Long (& Luther) Berwyn PA
Re: partial torn ACL
Emma went lame suddenly about 18 months ago and the diagnosis was a torn ACL. They wanted to do surgery but I opted for crate rest for two weeks. The chances of that working were slim, I was told, but it seemed worthwhile since I could do the surgery at a later date if needed. She was fine after two weeks and has not had any problems since. Was it really a torn ACL? Who knows -- I do know that was the diagnosis, she did not have surgery and she is still fine -- at almost nine. Mary-Ann Bowman Utah
partial torn ACL
I would be interested in hearing from others that have dealt with a partially torn ACL.how many have had to have surgery? Cathi with Bacchus and Ari - Original Message - From: "Cindy Buhner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2002 11:11 PM Subject: Help on a partially torn cruciate ligament! When my Maggie was about 6 years old, she started limping and was diagnosed with a partial ACL tear. My vet suggested rest -- and then went off to China for 6 weeks. When the limping got worse, I took her to a nearby orthopedic vet for surgery; the ligament was replaced with nylon. She healed well, but several months later turned up holding her leg up -- no weight bearing at all. By that time, my own vet was home, and his comment was that on a big dog (Maggie weighted 120, and she wasn't fat!) repair with nylon was a poor choice because the nylon often stretched. He used what he called an 'old fashioned' technique, which was to take a narrow strip of skin from the incision and use it to replace the ligament. The stem cells in the skin, when placed where a ligament was needed, 'became' ligament material. Maggie actually took quite a while to heal, because she reacted to the stainless steel clip used to hold the ligament in position (apparently, most dogs don't react to the inert material). We had to have it removed, after which she bounced back almost immediately and was just fine. Unfortunately, she tore the other ACL about a year later, as I'd been warned she might, showing up at the house with a familiar no-weight-bearing stance. The surgery was repeated, and she was once again fine. I'd guess everyone's story will be a bit different, but certainly good ACL repair is possible! Good luck. Susan
