Cruciate ligament...surgery?

[TuscanBunnyGirl]

My 4yr old staffie (who looks more like a massive staffie x lab) has been one and off slightly lame for a few months...not horrendous and has only lasted a couple of weeks at a time max- it looked to be front left. He was really quite fat although we've now put him on a raw diet with Yumove and he has lost a lot of weight but hes 'hopped' on his hind right a few times so took him to the vet who have said he needs to have surgery as his cruciate ligament has gone. They havent scanned/ x-rayed as said they do this just before the op so they don't have to give 2 lots of general. So we're not 110% sure how bad it really is though he very rarely is lame behind and is weight bearing evenly 99% of the time. The surgery would require them to put a metal plate in -assuming to take the pressure off the ligament?
So...Just wondering what the best path to take is...? Are the braces/splints worth a go first? Anyone have any advice/experience?

 

[Clodagh]

I understand if they are big dogs they need surgery, small dogs can self repair.
I have no direct experience but a keeper on a shoot next door had an elderly springer x lab do hers and he just rested her and she was fine. She was old already though. TBH if you don't trust your vet then maybe get a second opinion?
My MIL had a border terrier that did both, one was surgery and then the other went and she just rested, she said the rest repair was quicker and better but of course that was a very smalldog.

 

[planete]

It really depends on the extent of the damage. If it is severe then permanent repair is unlikely to happen and surgery would be the way to go. I assume you are being referred to an orthopaedic surgeon. He will be the best person to draw conclusions from the X-rays. A generalist vet is not always able to read the x-rays accurately enough from my personal experience when our terrier needed an operation. The recovery after surgery is slow but two years later our dog is still sound and very active. His ligament had disintegrated and we were told he would never have been sound again without the surgery.

 

[SusieT]

For a dog who's nearly always sound I'd get a second opinion before rushing into surgery - did the vet discuss risks of the surgery with you?

 

[AmyMay]

I'd want an x-ray first - and under sedation not ga, before making any decisions.

A dog in our family had the surgery last year for a complete rupture that wouldn't have healed on its own and it was totally successful.

 

[MissTyc]

For a dog who's nearly always sound I'd get a second opinion before rushing into surgery - did the vet discuss risks of the surgery with you?

^ This!

Our vet was great and explained all the options for our big dog. We managed to avoid the surgery and stomached 9 MONTHS of short lead walks. Starting slow, then building up to 10km jogs on short lead. I was the fittest I have ever been that fit in my life (and probably never will be again. Can't even run 5 km at the moment). Felt like I was rehabbing a horse lol ... It worked a treat. Now I don't let her chase balls on slippery ground or go full speed on hillsides , but with those restrictions (imposed by me, not by the vet to be fair) she has been fully sound for 2 years now.

 

[gunnergundog]

There are at least four different types of surgical procedure that I am aware of that can be performed on a dog with cruciate issues. Which one will be best to go for will depend on the age and weight of the dog, the conformation of the hind limb in question, the skill/experience of the performing surgeon and the depth of the pocket of the person paying.

Get a referral to a specialist whatever you do. My local vet would only offer a lateral suture - totally inappropriate for my dog. One referral centre that I contemplated only did TPLO regardless of conformation. It is quite complex comparing quotes to ensure that you compare eggs with eggs. Check out the CBLO procedure - seems to offer benefits over the very common TPLO. TTA is the fourth option.

The braces I looked into from America seemed more sophisticated than those I could find here. There are a number of supportive facebook groups with some good information available, including canine cruciate stories - a conservative approach.

As it turned out my local vet got it totally wrong and my dog's cruciate was fine. She did however have a spinal problem.

Good luck!

 

[Moobli]

If your dog is almost always sound then I would actually query whether it is the cruciate ligament.

I went through the same thing a few years ago with one of my GSDs. The vet thought it likely his CCL had torn but wasn't sure whether it was a full or partial tear. As gunnergundog has said, there are various options regarding surgery as well as the conservative care approach and tons of info online about all the different surgeries so just do a search. Having had a friend's GSD go through the TTA surgery and suffer badly with arthritis it really made me think hard. On the advice of a canine physiotherapist I decided to go with the conservative approach along with hydro physio and metacam, and he actually wasn't convinced it was the CCL at all. It was a long haul but after 18 months or so of short lead walks, lots of rest, and hydrotherapy he was sound again. If he had been a younger, more active dog then I may have taken a different route but he had suffered various ailments from maturity and was always much lower energy than my working line dog, so it seemed the conservative care was worth a try before what is intrusive surgery. I treat him with care now though - no chasing balls, jumping or overly long hikes.

So my suggestion would be not to rush into it without x-rays and an specialist orthopaedic vet's view. It might be worth trying the conservative care approach for eight weeks to see if there is any improvement before going ahead, and that will also give you time to research the various options. Also, the success rate is very much down to the expertise of the vet performing surgery, so also definitely look into that too.