RE: Help on a partially torn cruciate ligament!
Find a vet/surgeon who does a lot of these and is good at it. Use the same criteria you would use for yourself, if you were searching for an othopedic surgeon. We opted for the filament surgery and you would be hard pressed to tell any difference now between the surgically treated leg and the normal leg. We followed the surgeon's advice on rest and rehab scrupulously. It took about 3 months of rehab for her to build up the muscle which had seriously atrophied and another couple of months before you could not tell the difference in gait. We did not have water close by (the ideal is to walk through shallow water as it offers some resistance and also is low impact), but walked daily, incrementing the distance slowly eventually up to 4 miles a day. We might have easily been labeled "anal" about the rehab program, but our meticulousness paid off. We did not use Rimydal but instead used another drug with similar properties. According to our vet, our girl was "sensitive" when it came to pain (I might have been less diplomatic than the surgeon and called it "melodramatic"). In any event, dogs differ on pain tolerance as do people. We ended up going with a heavy duty neck patch to manage pain the first 3 days. It was expensive and so I don't advise it for all cases. All in all, we are very happy with the outcome -- although I think I might look around to borrow a sling for taking her out to pee! The towel trick was pretty cumbersome or maybe I was just inept. Nancy Melone and Mt Tops Hannah Anna, CD, TDI, CGC
RE: Help on a partially torn cruciate ligament!
Cindy- My Berner girl, Toga, suffered a partial tear of her left ACL in February of 2001 at the age of 3 1/2. It was a very minor tear and wasn't diagnosed until May (everyone thought her mildly dysplastic hip was bothering her). She had a TPLO (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy) the first week of June '01. Four hours after surgery she was standing on all four legs and wagging her tail. By the time she had her stitches removed two weeks later, she was full weight-bearing on the leg and I was already going crazy trying to figure out how I was going to keep her on complete bed rest for six more weeks! Needless to say, it was a very long summer for both of us. She got the final okay from the orthopedic surgeon to go back to being a dog the first week of October and was finally allowed to do the running, jumping and playing she had been doing for a month anyway! :o) Now, a year and a half post-op, she does have some arthritis in that knee joint (most likely from waiting so long to do the surgery), but she runs around like a maniac on it with no problems at all. Her knee angle was 30* prior to the surgery and the surgeon said they see tears and ruptures most often with angles greater than 22*. So, she has almost a 70% chance of tearing the other one at some point in life. Knock on wood, but so far, so good! I assisted on a traditional repair on a Golden Retriever that was about the same size as Toga (85 pounds back then) and six MONTHS after surgery he was still favoring that leg. I've heard similar experiences from numerous other owners. The traditional repair is almost half the price of the TPLO, but in my opinion the TPLO is the only way to go. The extra money spent at the outset repays itself tenfold in the faster and more complete recovery time. Best of luck to you and Paws!! Regards, Jessi Braga and Toga Anchorage, AK
Re: Help on a partially torn cruciate ligament!
Hi Cindy Our boy Bacchus was diagnosed with a partially torn ACL when he was 4. It came on very suddenly also, one day he was just laying there and moved and yelped. When he stood up he was holding his right rear leg up. After diagnosis from the vet, we kept him on leash walks and crate rest [when we weren't home, so he wasn't tempted to charge the doors or windows to protect the home from squirrels]. For the next couple of weeks, he would move wrong [oddly enough, usually while laying down] and yelp, but was okay 80% of the time. After about a month he was finehowever we did make some permanant changes. We were starting drafting and decided against it. Between the ACL injury and dysplasia in the left front elbow, we felt it was unwise to continue and tempt fate. We had taught him to come "up" for kisses sometimes [he would stand on his rear legs and look me square in the eyelol]. We had to stop that too. The "up" part didn't seem to bother him, but the "going back down" to all 4's caused him pain. Bacchus is now 7 and has not needed surgery [knock on wood]. He still does his "cutting horse" routine out in the backyard and continues to protect us from squirrels. 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! > > Major bummer. My ~1 year old Berner, Paws, has been diagnosed with a partially torn cruciate ligament on his left hind leg :<
Re: Help on a partially torn cruciate ligament!
Hi Cindy, Yuck...not the kind of X-Mas present you want to wake up to... The best resource I know of...and one that several surgeons refer people to...is Laurie Bryce's website, http://www.lauriebryce.com/tplo/ It was done and maintained by a Berner owner, right in MA as a matter of fact and the information on it is extensive and very credible. Laurie also maintains an active email list for people dealing with cruciate injury, HD, and ED. I believe it's the orthodogs list on Yahoo. To subscribe, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Actually, you might want to drop Laurie a note through the website as well...you might be right around the corner from each other. I'd expect both, especially the email list, would be helpful in considering your options...which may include trying a period of absolute rest before going the surgical route. I also have friends in central MA who've completed TPLO surgery on both knees of their boy between 1 and 2 years of age. I'm sure they'd be happy to share their experiences. Another thought...have you discussed this with your breeder yet? Cruciate injury used to be considered a 'middle age, out of shape, weekend warrior' type of injury but I'm now hearing repeatedly about young bernese being affected. Your breeder might have some valuable experience and guidance to offer...or just moral support. And beyond that...I'd expect a responsible breeder would want the information for her breeding program. Hope this helps, -Sherri Venditti
Help on a partially torn cruciate ligament!
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