Help: Cruciate Damage - 10yo labrador

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maisie

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My 10yo lab has damaged her cruciate. Likelihood is she will require surgery. Until this injury she had good quality of life - an hours lead walking a day plus 2 runs round the fields with the other dogs at her own pace. Her weight has always been a battle although she is a proper old fashioned chunker of a lab. Her tail never stops wagging and she eats and drinks well, and plays with the other dogs. My main concern is that the op doesn't fix her, her quality of life is low, and her last days are miserable - she really doesn't deserve that. Even though she is in pain now, she is still wagging and cheerful. Conservative management is not really a long term option.
Question is do I go for the surgery or not? She is insured.
 
My collie severed her cruciate 2 years ago and underwent the surgery to have a synthetic ligament put in place whilst the real ligament repaired. She did need a good 6 months of restricted exercise and the first 1 month she was mainly kept int he house. You can do exercise on the lead fairly quickly after the op. My collie is now back in normal work but can no longer do agility. In the freezing weather she does stiffen right up and have to go on metacam every other day but she leads a happy life. The main concern is the on set of arthritis so i keep her on 2 supplements, an anti inflammatory and a silicon joint supplement. I have to say the silicon supplement is what i put down to her speedy recovery.
It is a difficult decision as my collie was only 2 when she did it but the op was successful and she was happy during the convalescing period. I would check that your insurance covers cruciate injuries as mine did not!
Hope this helps
 
We had a doberman cross who had the TPLO op which is where they actually alter the angle of the bones to relieve the need for the cruiciate, it cost £1600 (thank goodness for insurance!!) they opted for this op rather than the synthetic alternative because the cause of the ligament damage was due to Degenerative joint disorder. As he was such a big (tall not overweight) dog he had to be restricted and led out for toilet breaks for a good month to 6 weeks, so as not to put any strain on the other joint etc. Once fully recovered he ran like a greyhound and had action back.

The synthetic op, isn't a particularly big op, the main things you'll need to ensure is that the weight of the dog is kept under control, excessive weight = excessive strain on the bad joint plus the other one. And that the dog can be kept confined, no climbing, running, leaping etc, he'll need to be taken out to the toilet on the lead too, so you'll need to be very hands on. But once he's recovered it'll be worth it to see him back to full health.

I think with a 10 year old you just have to look at what their health is generally like and how they'd cope with it. Our Doberman was only 2-3 years old, the op he had was a big op, and I'm not sure I'd go through with that op on an old dog, but as said the synthetic alternative isn't so big and would probably be absolutely fine on an older dog.
 
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The attached link (fingers crossed)! has some interesting info in it. think the chap is from usa but made things much clearer for me when my lurcher did her cruciate last jan - 2 x ops as 1st failed. Took time to get to where we are and now always has cod liver oil & Mobile Bones Supp (Pooch & Mutt) in her feed.
http://www.tiggerpoz.com/index.html
 
My dog (a hound/lab/spangle/something - who knows cross) had TPLO on January 7th. It is the second leg of his to go and after the first one (which was two years ago) he was pretty much back to normal again although it did take a good few months to get him there. After his surgery he is on house arrest for 6 weeks (toilet breaks only) and then he will have a check up with the surgeon and at that point we will know when we can start walking him again. It will likely be at 8 weeks and it will be 5 minutes and building up from that.

He had the TPLO because that is what my surgeon advises for his size of dog (60lbs), because his was caused by the bad angle of his legs, and because he is an active dog and we want him to be so again. If you search some of my older posts you'll see some photos of him after the op.

Cayla's Rotti Regan also had TPLO on January 7th and it was the second leg as well. She also had good luck the first time with a return to normal.
 
Hi labby lover! lol

I had a rottie she was 5 when she need the first one. Its a long story but a few things to look for.

Get a great vet, word of mouth/internet search. Can't stress this enough. Stuff the " oh but i have been with my vet for ages" Get even a specialist.

Recovery, can you get you dog to a rehab pool? AT least a week of your time off work if you work full time that is.

Any kind of suppliments start giving them now. Have you tried techniflex. For dogs and horses. I am sure you can get them over there.

Yep check your insurance.

TPLO is better than the de-angleo (sp) IMO;)

Start a new diet NOW! To get some extra weight off. My girl was 54kg in a year we got it down to 42kg. However the damage was done:mad:


good luck.
Oh and its never too late.
My rottie when she pasted i totalled up all the bills in her file $15,000. But would do it again in a heart beat with my two new boxer babes

thoughts are with you
 
As she is insured I would go for the operation and then followed up with some rehab (Hydrotherapy etc).

My dog Jack goes to the local rehab center each week. He has Laser treatment, Hydrotherapy and also goes on the Tread Mill.

The center have many dogs in that have done their Cruciate Ligament.

It is well worth looking into a rehab center near you.
 
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