Other articles with keyword "DOGGIEPING" since 12/29/04
Posted on 02/10/2007 7:10:45 PM PST by Kimmers
My 10 yo lab came up 3 legged lame today, diagnosed with a torn ACL. My vet is suggesting doing a procedure called a TPLO. I have seen pros and cons about this on the net and I was wondering if any FReepers had any experience with this. He is currently on Rimadyl and the poor thing is in a fair amounnt of pain. I do not see either one of us getting too much rest tonight.
Thank you
seems like we have a couple of vets here
Best wishes to your dog!
But as a fellow dog lover, I wish you and your best friend the best.
tough call...
our pomeranian, who was about 9 years old at the time, had that surgery two years ago....she didn't have a torn acl but a similar problem with the knee and was hoping around on one leg...
First- we really trusted our vet who has cared for our dog (Copper) since my wife got her at 8 weeks old...he really suggested it since horrible atrophy can take over the dogs leg...
Second- since she is a pom and, God willing, has a long life, we decided it was best for her...
The operation was pretty expensive ($1700) but well worth it...she doesn't jump up on the couch anymore but gets around 100% and makes the long climb up the stairs when she wants to...
good luck...
Thanks guys....I want to do what is best for my buddy.
Haven't heard about the procedure, but best wishes to your pup.
My Jack had a torn ACL when he was 10. We had the surgery and a year later he tore the other one. He also had a knee rebuilt during the first surgery. When he tore the second one, we had the surgery again and he lived an active healthy life until he was 19. Doing physical therapy on him was pretty entertaining though. lol
The problem with an injury like that is if you let it go, the dog can lose his spirit. We didn't realize our Jack had a serious injury for a long time because he never showed pain and would sometimes run or jump on it. Over time, we noticed he was just not as responsive to many things. By the time we got him to the vet, we realized his problem was no longer just physical, but mental because he was unable to perform.
Jacks aren't like Labs, but a torn ACL is a torn ACL. Our dog's replacement ACL looked like a string of dental floss about an inch long. lol
Good luck.
ping VetvetDoug and ask him.
Thank you, another kind FReeper already did that for me.
Oops, when I say he had the surgery, I mean he had his ACL replaced. I don't know if it was TPLO or not.
I have had a little experience with this, many years ago we had a Shepherd in our K-9 unit that had some type of knee problem and she was retired. One of the K-9 officers adopted her and the department paid for the surgery. She was 4 or 5 I think and had a great nose and we were sad to see her go. 6 months later the guy who adopted her tried to return her to work, she was able to do the job, but the department wouldn't allow her to come back because there was no rules about "un-retiring" a dog. I remember it because we were all pulling for her, but as usual, some jackass who pushes paper and counts paper clips got in the way of a good cop going back to work.
I don't know if this will help or if its even related, but 4 years ago my cat was hit by a car and his hip was broken. They did this operation wherein they removed the ball of the ball-n-socket joint and let the tendons compensate. He was in bad shape for a couple weeks but he made a full recovery and now races across the yard, runs up trees, does all the things he ever did.
I have had, successively, three pairs of male labs since 1967. They're very strong, stoic and stubborn. Which, to me, indicates, at 10 yrs old, this dog needs to be tranquilized to reduce mobility (5 mg meprobamate q D), and/or surgery if the tear is extensive.
The life span is likely to be no more than 2-3 more years and olds labs will chow down and put on weight, especially if minimally ambulatory. If the prognosis from the vet is a long recovery---putting the dog down may be the best course.
That's my $0.02 worth.....
Give it some time and use anti-inflammatories. Etodolac 400mg/day works as well as Rimadyl and is much less expensive. Surgery will often make matters worse, to whit:
I have an 11 y/o chocolate Lab. Nessie got into a fight with two coyotes when she was five and the vet diagnosed her with a torn ACL on her left rear leg. $1800 later she didn't "really" have a torn ACL, just some adhesions. Then came the chronic wound infection that lasted for a year and another vet who wanted to amputate the leg for only $1500. I told him politely to kiss off, changed her antibiotics to what I thought would work, and a month later the wound had finally healed.
Nessie still limps a little, has a classic gray face, and is getting old dog arthritis but she is one of the happiest Labs I've ever known so she is going to live out her years digging after pocket gophers and doing the other things she enjoys so much.
Give it time. Dogs (and humans) can cope with torn ACLs amazingly well in most cases.
I don't have a dog, but I appreciate your writing all that.
Thanks.
Thank you, I was wondering if your Jack still felt like he was in charge of the planet when he was recuperating. I bet he did not let a little thing like surgery keep him down. They are cute tenacious pups.
I am glad he had a happy life for another 9 years after surgery.
Hi there,
One of my dogs, Rollie, had the same problem and I chose to have the surgery performed. It worked well for him - while he lost the ability to jump, he could still get around, climb stairs, and even run and did so till he passed away from complications of Cushings disease in December.
My sympathies, and best wishes for you and your dog.
Thank you for doing the ping thing ...my FReeper friends are coming through for me, as I knew they would.
I don't have any experience with that, but I'm on the Doggie Ping list, so I hope it all turns out well.
Of course he did! He was a Jack! He ruled everything! lol
Honestly, I'm surprised I outlived him. That dog nearly killed me. Literally. lol I have a crooked cheekbone to show for it. I made the mistake of bending down to pick him up at the same moment he decided to jump up into my arms and we hit face to face. Knocked me out cold and broke my cheek.
He was a very smart dog. I could tell you stories (like how he could count), but you'd think I'm nuts. Jacks are way too smart.
I don't have any advice, but I hope your poochie feels better soon.
He is now 12 and gets around fairly well. His front left elbow has a lot of arthritis, and that slows him down, but the back leg seems to be more or less normal. Good luck with your dog's surgery. A good vet, especially if s/he's done this before, should be able to fix your dog up.
LOL, it seems every Jack owner has stories and hats off to the people that own and love them. They may not be the easiest dog to raise but they are entertaining.
However, I have never heard of one knocking his owner out and breaking a cheek bone. Then again, nothing suprises me about a Jack.
Our Newfoundland had ACL surgery done about 4 years ago and is just fine. He did have to undergo some therapy which we did at home.
We took him to a specialst at www.dfwvetsurgeons.com
My thirteen year old 55 pound pet bully dog had a TPLO four years ago. She did very well and was able to resume a lot of activities. Suprisingly swimming was one activity that the vet said was hard on the knee and she should resume more slowly. Eventually she went back to swimming and chasing a ball up and down the stairs. Unfortunately she has a bad back which now limits her to long walks only.
The recovery period is tough. It is crucial to keep them totally inactive for (if I remember correctly) six weeks. For the first week she was not allowed more than a few feet of walking to do her business.
Also it is very painful after the surgery, but you can get a narcotic pain killer in patch form for when the dog leaves the hospital (Fentanyl Patch).
I know a couple of vets in NY and California who do the surgery. try to get one that has done a lot of these procedures. Experience is important. Also if you wait too long the risks of arthritis are worse so the result is compromised.
Are you sure of the diagnosis?
Good luck. May I suggest you ask the Orthopedist how many TPLO's he/she has done. It is truly a remarkable procedure and the best one for large active dogs.
I'm sorry your buddy is hurt, glad that you sought immediate diagnosis.
I have a net acquaintance whose mastiff just died on the way to be put to sleep over a torn ACL. Not sure how long that lovely dog suffered, reading between the lines made me suspicious that she'd been allowed to lay for too long while the owner anguished over lack of a qualified veterinary surgeon whom she could trust. In agony, the dog languished and gave up.
Whatever you do, do it fast.
I pray all works out for you and your fur-baby to spend more happy years together.
My best friend's dog just went through double operations (October) to treat torn ACLs. She was doing great, but suddenly came up lame again this weekend. My friend is bringing the dog back to town tomorrow for further evaluation on Monday. I'll get details for you on the original operation (she had a choice of two different ones) and whether this new ailment is the same thing.
This is so sad because this is a wonderful, high spirited yellow lab who doesn't deserve this.
Best wishes to your puppy. I hope they can find appropriate treatment and that she heals quickly.
I'm told this is how they generally treat hip displasia on dogs in Great Britain. They say it works fine. A friend in Scotland had this operation for his Golden.
Our Doberman had ACL problems in both rear legs when she was just a couple of years old and ended up having surgery, which was, I believe, the one you are describing.
Dobermans, however sweet and loving, do NOT suffer in silence, LOL! Prior to the surgery, she was in a lot of pain, but following surgery, she was able to resume her favorite activities. She was no "athlete" after the surgery, but having her pain-free was a primary consideration for us, anyway. She passed away suddenly from other causes last March, at the age of 9. And I still miss her.
Our Springer was diagnosed with a torn ACL.
Frankly, we did not trust our vet to do the surgery and at the time, our veterinary options were limited , so we rehabbed him without surgery.
It was time consuming and required someone with him most of the day-not something everyone can do.
We carried him out and back and gave him lots of TLC , a special diet, massages, passive exercises- just really babied him.
He got to the point where he went out on three legs- he kept the bad leg flexed and motored around fine.
It took months, but, his leg got stronger and he slowly started bearing more weight.
Eventually he was able to do all the things he had done prior, without any seeming deficits and pain.
He may have had only a partial tear and not a complete rupture.
If he had shown constant pain, even at rest or we had the veterinary options that we have now-I might have chosen a different path.
Best wishes to your little pouch!!
My dog had bad hips, so no matter what you decide to do accupuncture is always a good therapy for pain and getting your little guy back to optimum health is my take on the whole matter. Thank God for google searches...you can do TONS-O Research!!
My beloved Sparky got acupuncture for his hips. He lived to be 15 years old and was able to walk fairly well until he packed his bags and took off for RAINBOW BRIDGE!!
Simply note where we moved it. No problem.
thank you
I highly recommend this as the way to go. The knee is much more stable, and because of the angle of the tibial plateau, it will not be subjected to the subsequent failure of a reconstructed graft, as well as the almost guaranteed degenerative changes that will occur (with more surgery later down the road).The TPLO will level that out, elimitating the shear forces through the knee that can/will cause problems down the road.
I was very fortunate to find out about this procedure by attending a conference on physical therapy and veterinary medicine, some months prior. It is the treatment of choice, with the best outcome in the long run. Just be sure to be diligent on the non weight bearing period initially, and your doggie will do just fine.
Thank you I am hearing a lot of good information about the surgery and the outcomes seem good.
our Shephard - Husky had this procedure done at age 1 and half and lived to be 15. She was not bothered by the surgery or recovery period. IMHO It was worth it.
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