Dog has torn CCL, I need advice.

Vet finally gave me a call back yesterday and talked me through our two options. I think we know the way to go but I'm going to keep our appointment at our other vet on Monday to get a second opinion and see what they say.

Looks like the surgery will be between ~$3500 and $5000+, depending on which option we go with.

 

We have a surgery center appointment today at 11.
I already gave Mav his sedatives.

He is starting to put more weight on the leg.
Wife said he tried to jump on the bed last night.

I'm anticipating the same price range for Maverick to fix it.
Just the consultation is $180.

 

Make sure those prices include meds and followup care. If not, add ~$1500. I learned the hard way.

 

Well, it tore all the way thru.
The earliest they can do surgery is April 11th.
Surgery is to be done by a surgeon that only does this surgery.
The estimated cost is $3800, plus the $800 spent on his initial vet visit.

Looking forward to getting it done.

Thank you all again for the input...

 

@1lowlife I just returned home late last night from stomping around in your neck of the woods. I've been catching up on the forum posts that we've missed while gone and saw this thread.

I'm so sorry about Maverick! It sounds like you've got a handle on the situation now. Lots of experience chimed in and sounds like they helped you make difficult decisions.

Please keep us posted on his progress.

 

Thanks B.
Yes, this thread has been very helpful to me..
I went from not knowing what a canine CCL is to becoming very educated on the subject and how common the injury is with the help of our forum members..

That is what this forum is about, we do bust each other's balls from time to time, but in general, we are eager to help another member in a time of need..

 

Glad to hear they've got it figured out. Hopefully you won't have to travel too far to get it handled. When it came to Magnus' surgery, I'd have driven across country to make it happen if I'd had to.

 

My golden who was 12 had the TPLO surgery. I was so nervous, but it went well and the tiny lady surgeon and her team were amazing. I was told it was 90% of the surgeries that team does when it gets icy out so they get really good at it. I wouldn't hesitate to have it done again. Was lucky to have Pet insurance but would have done it anyway. A member of the family.

Pretty sure they'll call it TPLO surgery and then say it's like ACL surgery on a human. Glad you got in somewhere quickly. Don't think TPLO works on small dogs, your guy sounds like a great candidate size wise and he'll be good soon.

 

My vet said all dogs are candidates for TPLO as it's a more robust repair. The extra capsular repair is only recommended for small dogs. They being said, he also told me back in the day they never had the TPLO surgery so he's done extra capsular on large dogs with relatively good results. (Wouldn't be recommended now.)

 

@1lowlife , how did things go?

My 7yo Male Boxer came back home last night after chasing something in the woods. Lame and not putting much to any weight on his back left leg. Have a feeling it’s his ccl as well.

Will set up a vet visit later this week.

 

Maverick is doing great and he is back to normal.
His 12-week rehab was over last weekend.
He runs in the yard and gets on the couch and the beds.
We don't let him run full speed up and down the fence line chasing the neighbor's dog, how he initially got hurt.

It was hard for him the last few weeks because he felt fine, but his bone still had to finish healing to the hardware.
I'd guess the total cost was around $4400 including the pain meds and the 2 follow-up visits in which they did X-rays to monitor his healing.

No regrets and hopefully he doesn't tear the one on his right leg.
I can feel the hardware under his skin.



https://youtu.be/VsCq353sy14

 

Took this today after the morning poop walk.
He will usually dig in the sand for several minutes, but there is thunder and sirens outside and he wants to go back in.

https://youtu.be/eTeZ8MztGpQ

 

Love it! He couldn't care less about hardware in his leg. Dogs are awesome.

 

That’s awesome!

if we end up needing this for Cassius, I’d just so scared he would injure the other leg or the same one again. That’s $$$$

 

I didn't realize the TPLO surgery included any hardware...

 

AWWWWWW! Who's a good boy?!

Glad to hear he's doing better... the lengths we go to for the fur babies huh? Then again, I like most dogs more than I like most people, soooo...

 

Dogs are worth it, for sure.

 

Yes Sir! I don't even wanna' know how much we spent on doggy rehab over the years, taking 3 different dogs there for various ailments and injuries.

My wife's dog KC had lost the use of her back legs due to a bulging disc that started pressing on the nerves. We got her one of those bitchen doggy wheelchairs. The rehab lady did E-Stim, massage, cold laser treatments, chinese herbs, all kinds of voodoo - both Eastern and Western medicine and got her out of the wheelchair and going on walks around the block again.




And here's Riley getting some Hydrotherapy on the underwater treadmill after blowing out his elbow. He'd swim one week and treadmill the next.
Treadmill is cool cuz it takes the weight off the joints so they can get the range of motion without the stress on the joints of bearing their load.




A nice massage after.

 

My wife and I talk about this kinda stuff all the time.... It's truly amazing the amount of options that are out there to make a difference for them now; especially if you're in a large metro area of near a vet college, etc.

We just wish we could find people Drs that care and provide the kind of service and compassion that most vets do.

I've seriously asked my vet if he'd handle my primary and end of life care, but he just snickers at me

 

Bringing this one back up to the top.

My lab just tore her CCL recently. 90 lbs of muscle and love, 5 years old, and knows and loves her place in the family. She rotates rooms with the kids at night and doesn't mind one bit being at the bottom of a dog pile with all the kids sleeping on top of her.



Her behavior was similar to the OP's dog, but was a little better at eating. We had just switched dog food at the time so thought maybe she didn't like the new stuff but looking back, it coincided with her limping around. She has been eating, drinking, and relieving herself fine for the last couple of weeks, but the limp has remained to the point that she won't put weight on it. Unfortunately, she loves to chase the ball no matter what, and kept bringing the ball to me and the kids to throw for her, so we had no idea the injury was so bad. And she would still walk for miles with our English cream retriever (or whatever breed that fluff ball is..), being quite put out if we tried to leave her behind.

Apparently she's tough, too.

Went to the vet earlier this week and got x rays to confirm it's torn - along with some arthritis in that knee. I like the vet - he's likes animals more than people which is fine by me for vet - and he's competent at his practice. So I think his advice is sage. But he gave us two options:

Option 1 - tightrope surgery where they basically secure some monofilament in place of the ligament. He said this option is best for smaller, less active dogs, but works ok for bigger dogs. He is able to perform this surgery. If it doesn't take or if there are complications, the dog is simply back to where they started after the injury, so less risky. But it can also fail and need to be redone.

Option 2 - TPLO surgery where they cut the bone in half, plate it, and change the biomechanics of how the knee works. It appears that this is the route that the OP also went with his dog. It is more invasive, and if there are complications, they are much worse. But success rate seems to be 90%+ from what I can gather. Still wrapping my head around how it works. And our local vet can't/doesn't perform the surgery.

I was leaning toward tightrope simply because our local vet is able to perform it and it is less invasive; my wife is leaning toward TPLO. We would have to travel to have TPLO done; supposedly, one of the originators of the surgery owns a vet hospital a few hours away, so he would be one of the most experienced surgeons for the procedure. BUT... I'm told the the retired a few months ago. Poo. There are two or three surgeons within an hours drive that perform the surgery, but I'm unsure if they are board certified.

Anyways, has anybody had issues with either surgery, particularly TPLO? That's the way we are leaning, even though it's twice as expensive. Our dogs are still super active and love to hike and swim and play ball. The lab will follow the kids for miles on bikes or hikes, and STILL want to play ball when we get home!

 

We had a leverage that cross with a similar surgery performed by a traveling veterinarian surgeon. We're on Northern California and the surgeon is in our area one week a month I don't know if that is an option for you. This was 6 years ago or so I don't even know if the service is still available for us.

 

My pittie had the TPLO about two years ago. The healing was extensive and we really had to watch her. She is very active like your pup, this was the most difficult. As we had to keep her from jumping on the couch, running, even small steps up the porch was frowned upon, so I built a ramp for her. Rebuilding the muscle was slow, and that damn sad face she gave when we deprived her of fun was hell. But they can injure themselves again just like any surgery, and the slow building of her strength was worth it.
She did have four follow up appointments, which could affect your decision on travel.
She’s about 90% as she was before. Once in a while it looks like she’s a little uncomfortable when she sits. But zero limping, and she is just as active as she was. I think slowing down a little as age is setting in slightly.
I would absolutely opt for this surgery again. We had a fantastic specialist vet, which is down in central Los Angeles. As long as you do a little homework on the vet, and follow the healing instructions, your pup should be golden.

 

We did option #1 for our 90lb very active German Shepherd. It eventually failed, so we did Option #1 again a few years later with better tech/procedures. The second surgery was a 100% success. We learned that a great deal of the outcome hinges on the surgeon.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

 

Our dog just tore his left CCL, a little under 2 years after having TPLO done on the right one. Consult with his surgeon is on Thursday.

 

Thanks for all the replies. They are tremendously helpful.

We are just gathering info and since it's the weekend, there aren't a lot of places open to chat. But we were told that one of the vet surgeons (somebody in the medical field is gonna roast me for using such plebeian terms..) in the area does travels to town every couple of months to perform the TPLO surgery. So it may be an option. Honestly, a little bit a travel isn't really an issue, just hoping to stay more local for followups and in case there are any complications. Luckily, it's easy to put on a couple hundred easy miles around here without fighting bumper to bumper traffic. Funny thing is, we live in a city that provides advanced medical care for over a million people spread out in the rural community throughout three states. So I just wasn't expecting to have difficulty finding a local surgeon for the dog. Not that I ever expected to pay for surgery for my dog's "sports injuries" ... haha.

That's good to hear and know about recovery. Glad it was a success. It sounds like were are in the same ballpark with trying to keep the dog more sedentary; that has been one of the biggest concerns of ours for the surgery process. Luckily, the lab is one of the sweetest dogs and does a decent job listening and obeying if she knows she's not in trouble. It helps that the other fluff ball is a retired service dog and is much more mellow, so she won't be as jealous as if he were the type to play ball. I think the kids will have the hardest time of all with not taking her down stairs or have her hop up on the bed with them at night. I'm sure we will find or build a better dog bed for her in the mean time. Most the time when we are gone, she hops up on the couch to watch out the window, even though she knows she not supposed to (the kids encourage it.. dorks). So we'll have to figure that out, too.

Thank you. We are quite concerned about the tightrope failing as well. Cost aside, we really don't want to be in the same situation as your dog with a failed surgery as that's now two invasive surgeries and two recoveries to deal with. But it is good to hear that the second surgery was successful.

We've had a few recommendations for surgeons and will call around this week. I couldn't agree more with you guys about finding a good surgeon. I've had a shoulder and knee done, and my surgeon did an excellent job to the point where I feel like those joints are still at 95% 20+ years later with very few issues over the years. I've had friends with similar surgeries that had to be redone once or twice just a few years later. Unfortunately, the premier vet surgeon in the area just retired so it's time to ask around and look at options.

Thanks again for the information.

 

It's been said already, but I'll echo the need to have a highly experienced surgeon w/a successful track record perform the surgery. It isn't worth saving money or rushing to get it done to by someone who's not a specialist...

Not sure what part of the country you are in, but definitely do your homework, and you'll often find that these types of specialists rotate through vet clinics and surgery centers throughout the various regions...

 

This happened to our female Lab when she was 6 (7 now). We live in CA about 40 miles from the beach. My wife took Kota to the dog beach and she just over did it in the water and sand (twisting & turning, etc.). The result was the heavy limp, but not for over a month. Didn't know anything was wrong at first. Initially, our vet x-rays, tests, etc. was $1500, only to be told she needed a special surgery. We were referred to a specialist center that encompasses about 2 blocks with each building being a different specialty for cats & dogs. The surgery was successful using a metal brace inside her leg which holds her leg together like one of the previous posts shows. The surgery with follow up, meds, healing brace, etc. was $8000. We had to restrict her activity for 3 months. You wouldn't know she was even injured now. But we have to watch what she does and limit her rambunctious to prevent any injury to the opposite rear leg. Vet said 43 to 47% come back for surgery to the other leg.