Cruciate ligament disease

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Bellaboo18

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We've just got back from having X-rays at the vets with a diagnosis of cruciate ligament disease. The next step is referral to Liverpool hospital for TPLO

I've had a google and read the previous threads on here but would still like to hear peoples experiences.

Tilly is only 2.5 and a fun and active dog. I'm struggling to find what the outcome of a successful surgery is and what that will look like for her but the vet says without the surgery her ligament could rupture at any time.

Thanks.
 
My curly coat retriever had a TPLO in February last year at 4 years old. She only had a small tear but the vets (and the internet) said that, in a dog her size, that would never mend without an op. I had the operation done at the local vets by a travelling specialist as I did not want her kept in overnight as would be the case at Fitzpatrick’s and similar big specialist vet hospitals. I did loads of research on line and then did everything they said re post op, exercise, physio etc. Fortunately I am retired so I was able to portion off a 2m x 4m section of a room with garden access and a downstairs loo and shower, bought a futon and simply stayed in that room with her 24/7 for about a week. I then stayed with her downstairs 24 hours a day for a further few weeks and was really careful about not letting her jump or get excited, working up her exercise up by a couple of minutes each day, always on a short lead. I followed all the instructions for ice packs, massages and exercises at home. I took her to a water treadmill for 10 sessions once she was ready and then had further physio sessions until 7 months after the op.

You really would not know that she had ever had anything done, by the time the physio sessions were over, after about 7 months. I am very careful to keep her weight at around 37kg, so she looks quite skinny to many people, although that is her ‘correct’ weight.

Good luck with it OP. It is awful seeing them after the op and for the first couple of weeks as they hop around, but it was worth it. I do think though that it would be very difficult to manage a full recovery for anyone who could not spend so much time with the dog post op.
 
Petalpoos said:
My curly coat retriever had a TPLO in February last year at 4 years old. She only had a small tear but the vets (and the internet) said that, in a dog her size, that would never mend without an op. I had the operation done at the local vets by a travelling specialist as I did not want her kept in overnight as would be the case at Fitzpatrick’s and similar big specialist vet hospitals. I did loads of research on line and then did everything they said re post op, exercise, physio etc. Fortunately I am retired so I was able to portion off a 2m x 4m section of a room with garden access and a downstairs loo and shower, bought a futon and simply stayed in that room with her 24/7 for about a week. I then stayed with her downstairs 24 hours a day for a further few weeks and was really careful about not letting her jump or get excited, working up her exercise up by a couple of minutes each day, always on a short lead. I followed all the instructions for ice packs, massages and exercises at home. I took her to a water treadmill for 10 sessions once she was ready and then had further physio sessions until 7 months after the op.

You really would not know that she had ever had anything done, by the time the physio sessions were over, after about 7 months. I am very careful to keep her weight at around 37kg, so she looks quite skinny to many people, although that is her ‘correct’ weight.

Good luck with it OP. It is awful seeing them after the op and for the first couple of weeks as they hop around, but it was worth it. I do think though that it would be very difficult to manage a full recovery for anyone who could not spend so much time with the dog post op.
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Thank you. That's really helpful. It's a lot to get my head round at the moment. She's a lively young dog and the post-op concerns me nearly as much as the operation itself. I'm looking forward to speaking to the referral vets to have their opinion on the X-rays.
 
My previous jrt had the op. The op it's self went smoothly. The recovery was a pain but once we got into a routine it was fine. She was in a crate a majority of the time and just let out on the lead for toilet. We were very strict as we wanted the best for her. I think it was easier as she was a very small dog. Hope everything goes well with your dog.
 
One of my springers had a TPLO. He made a full recovery, but as is very common, his other one then went so he ended up with a repeat operation. The post recovery was interesting, he was determined to use the bad leg to balance on when he toileted, was determined not to be supported in the towel sling. His stifle was like jelly for a few days, very odd. At the time, the TPLO was the gold standard, possibly still is?

He was crated, had never been in a crate before, but was an absolute angel. We have since crate trained all of our dogs.
 
Really sorry OP. In similar situation ourselves with our 6 year old Springer. Had X-rays and she has got worse over the last few weeks so think we will need to go for the op. Bit of a minefield when you search about it though. Thankfully she is crate trained but she is a Springer and does not walk anywhere! Keeping her quiet after an op will be a nightmare, but luckily i work from home so here all the time and can set her up a small recuperation pen next to my desk.
Hope your girl goes well with treatment x
 
Cinnamontoast said:
One of my springers had a TPLO. He made a full recovery, but as is very common, his other one then went so he ended up with a repeat operation. The post recovery was interesting, he was determined to use the bad leg to balance on when he toileted, was determined not to be supported in the towel sling. His stifle was like jelly for a few days, very odd. At the time, the TPLO was the gold standard, possibly still is?

He was crated, had never been in a crate before, but was an absolute angel. We have since crate trained all of our dogs.
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Thank you.
I'm going to call the vet hospital tomorrow to discuss everything. I was worried about her which is why she was in for X-ray but I'd prepared myself for hip dysplasia and I'd never heard of cruciate ligament disease so it was a lot of information to take in.

Did your dog go back to 'normal' activity after rehab?
 
Bellaboo18 said:
Thank you.
I'm going to call the vet hospital tomorrow to discuss everything. I was worried about her which is why she was in for X-ray but I'd prepared myself for hip dysplasia and I'd never heard of cruciate ligament disease so it was a lot of information to take in.

Did your dog go back to 'normal' activity after rehab?
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Totally, yes, galloping round the woods. We sent te surgeon a thank you card with a photo of him speeding towards us down a path.
 
Had a golden retriever with hip dysplasia who needed bilateral TPLO at 6.5yo. The recoveries were tough enough back-to-back but all healed up well. The surgeon said she'd have a new lease of life and would have another six good years, and that's exactly what happened. I can't describe the joy of seeing her run again. We had no further issues beyond managing the existing HD.
So overall a very positive experience, I hope all goes as well for you and your dog 🙏
 
druid said:
Recovery is usually good if the post op rehab is followed to a T.
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Thank you.
Since posting this thread I've done a lot of research on the rehab and it looks intense but of course if she has the surgery we'll put everything in to the recovery.
She's got her consultation with Liverpool on Wednesday.
 
druid said:
Post op rehab is easier than doing Conservative management. I've got 2 in that pathway currently and all I do around working is walking, hydrotherapy, physio and laser sessions!
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Would you recommend conservative management? Obviously ignoring you he hard work involved!
 
Bellaboo18 said:
Would you recommend conservative management? Obviously ignoring you he hard work involved!
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Nope, almost never (I'm a vet!) - mine are unusual cases. One an older dog with previous CCL damage and a history of an anaesthetic reaction resulting in CPR, he has a reoccurrence of the partial tear, no meniscus involvement and is under the weight limit for positive conservative outcomes. The other was never lame, just "off" in his work and has clear xrays (of stifles, hips and spine!) but ortho agree we are presumptively looking at a partial CCL tear due to presentation - he was sound within 48h of NSAIDs and box rest. Both dogs are on a very strict 16 week rehab programme with a lot of supportive therapies which would cost a fortune if I wasn't getting professional discounts (likely not far off the cost of the op once you add up twice weekly laser, hydro therapy weekly and physio weekly for 16 weeks)

ETA - for both these dogs I don't think conservative management is doing anything but buying time. I fully expect the young dog to require a TPLO in the future but right now Ortho didn't recommend surgery after the initial consult.
 
The trouble with not operating is (sorry to be really obvious!) is that it takes very little to further damage the ligament. We carpeted the kitchen for Jake, cheap horrible stuff, but HD can be exacerbated by slippery environments although the vet said he imagined it was purely accidental and because he was a very lively springer. We’ve put a rug down in the lounge for the clumsiest dog we’ve ever owned and textured laminate in the kitchen. Never again, it’s a swine to clean, but not slippy.
 
Cinnamontoast said:
The trouble with not operating is (sorry to be really obvious!) is that it takes very little to further damage the ligament. We carpeted the kitchen for Jake, cheap horrible stuff, but HD can be exacerbated by slippery environments although the vet said he imagined it was purely accidental and because he was a very lively springer. We’ve put a rug down in the lounge for the clumsiest dog we’ve ever owned and textured laminate in the kitchen. Never again, it’s a swine to clean, but not slippy.
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Yes that makes perfect sense and after a tough few days of getting my head around it I'm starting to feel we need to take advantage of the fact we've found it early.
We'll definitely put something grippy down in the kitchen that's tiled.

Thank you. I really appreciate the replies, the news was a complete shock and I hate the idea of her having to go through such a big surgery.
 
Cinnamontoast said:
The trouble with not operating is (sorry to be really obvious!) is that it takes very little to further damage the ligament. We carpeted the kitchen for Jake, cheap horrible stuff, but HD can be exacerbated by slippery environments although the vet said he imagined it was purely accidental and because he was a very lively springer. We’ve put a rug down in the lounge for the clumsiest dog we’ve ever owned and textured laminate in the kitchen. Never again, it’s a swine to clean, but not slippy.
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Yep - I took the GSD in for surgery, but the ortho surgeon and friend declined to do it now as his xrays are normal, no tibial thrust or cranial drawer and less than 5% imbalance on gait analysis. He is not a normal case though as most probably wouldn't have noticed anything wrong. Mild joint effusion on US was all we had left to diagnose on.

The old boy managed 3 years from first incident to now.
 
FabioandFreddy said:
Really sorry OP. In similar situation ourselves with our 6 year old Springer. Had X-rays and she has got worse over the last few weeks so think we will need to go for the op. Bit of a minefield when you search about it though. Thankfully she is crate trained but she is a Springer and does not walk anywhere! Keeping her quiet after an op will be a nightmare, but luckily i work from home so here all the time and can set her up a small recuperation pen next to my desk.
Hope your girl goes well with treatment x
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Sorry, I somehow missed your reply and I've just seen it while reading back over the thread.
Also sorry to hear about your springer. Like you I'm already worrying how I'll keep her quiet for so long. Have you booked the op in now? We've got our consultation with the surgeon on Wednesday so I'm going with a list of questions x
 
i had my (then 10 year old ) lab x operated on about 2 years ago, she coped miles better than i thought she would, being old but very hyper. followed vets and physio advice to the letter, now she has no issues at all with that leg. super pleased i did it, as she was very lame!
 
As an update. We've been to our appointment at Liverpool Hospital and the vet we saw said she felt her colleague was 'jumping the gun' at suggesting TPLO surgery and that the X-rays didn't show anything to warrant surgery at this point.
As much as I'm delighted with this news we now have no idea what the problem is and something is bothering her so we're going down the physio route and will see where we get.
I'm not feeling we've had the best service so far but maybe it's just different professional opinions.
 
Bellaboo18 said:
The vet we saw today wanted her to go back to normal exercise to see how she 'coped'.
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I’m not sure that’s a great idea and would exacerbate a potential tear.i hate to suggest a scan, but maybe your insurance will cover it? It’s expensive but worth it to see if you can discover the actual issue. That would be my next step, I think, although from experience, unless the angle is correct (bearing in mind you don’t know the precise cause) then it’s possible that nothing will show up. 🤷‍♀️
 
Cinnamontoast said:
I’m not sure that’s a great idea and would exacerbate a potential tear.i hate to suggest a scan, but maybe your insurance will cover it? It’s expensive but worth it to see if you can discover the actual issue. That would be my next step, I think, although from experience, unless the angle is correct (bearing in mind you don’t know the precise cause) then it’s possible that nothing will show up. 🤷‍♀️
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My husband suggested an MRI to the vet but she said that's not really something they do. We'd be happy to pay. We didn't talk angles today and I wish I had so I'm going to email to ask what she thinks about those.
 
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