ACL Tear

[MikeKrug]

Hi Everyone,

I have posted before about my boxer Tess who had a mast cell tumor removed and at the same time was diagnosed with an ACL tear. The tumor was removed in November, and there have been no new tumors.

However, she did have an ACL tear, and we elected to not have surgery and let it heal on its own. Since October 31st 2011 we have greatly limited her activity. The bad thing is, she is extremely active. We keep her still, but if someone rings the doorbell, she goes bounding over the couch to get to the door. She is extremely well disciplined, but she will not be stopped when it comes to "protecting her house". Today she did it and is limping again. I would get the surgery, but I don't know how I'd keep her contained why she healed. Does anyone have any advice?

Thank you very much,

Mike

 

[chrystel]

Hi.
Both my dog had surgery for ACL tear. I opted for TPLO.
I tried the conservative management (crate) but it didn't work for them. I have 2 active boys.

How old is Tess?

Honeslty, I would do the surgery. I am glad to see my boys run and have fun again!!
Snatch is 2 years post surgery and Oxford is 18 month post surgery (after complication of rejection of the plates and staph infection)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/385092_10150561954039276_709104275_10750835_826607466_n.jpg

 

[MikeKrug]

Tess is almost 4. She is very active. I'm just worried about the recovery process.

 

[chrystel]

Well, the recovery process is not worse than conservative management.

It is HELL but passes.. and they get better

Here are both my experiences, totally different (the good and the bad) (you can also find my thread and post doing a search with my name on the board )

Snatch was 6 years old. His TPLO was straight forward. Surgery in February 2010. Everything went smoothly. 4 weeks crated. At 6 to 8 weeks post-surgery, begining longer walks. One day he bolted the door and flew down the stairs to run outside!!! I was soooo scared!!
But everything was fine. Snatch has recovered so fast and quickly! He never EVER favors his other leg. It is like it never happened.

But as you can imagine, keeping them calm is hard... and it was more difficult because I have 2 boxers

Oxford was 2 years old at the time of his ACL tear. He tore his ACL in March 2010 (yeap, right after Snatch's surgery - bad luck!!). We tried 7 month of conservative management. He was acting like a nut, even on leash. It was so hard keeping him calm.
We did the surgery in september 2010. In October, his scar was still oozing. He was rejecting the plates and has an infection. We did a culture and tried 6 antibiotics. Still oozing in January 2011. We removed the plates in February 2011. He was A-Ok by end of March 2011. Back to agility (slow and low) by June 2011. Back to running in September 2012 (1 year post surgery because of all his complications)
Oxford's case was special because he rejected the plates + had a very hard infection to fight.

The process is scary, but not "that bad" - of course, I am saying that, because it is behind me! It was horrible to have my babies go through that!! :(
The main thing is for them not to mess the TPLO (screws and plates). So crate when you are not supervising is a must. But 3 or 4 month down the surgery, it will just be a bad dream.

I did physical therapy rehabilitation with Oxford, not Snatch. (I didn't take Snatch because he was better right away)

This my experience. I know some have had good results with conservative management and no surgery. I just don't regret my choice, because Snatch and Oxy get to run everyday with no pain

Now I am just knocking on wood for their second knee (left ACL) not to blow...

 

[rayandsarah]

I agree with Chrystel. My dogs have not had this happen but I work at a shelter and we do the conservative management and it doesn't seem to help them.

 

[Barkley]

Barkley was eight years+ when she had her surgery. We tried to manage her for about three months or so, but every time she felt better, she would be active again and re-injure. The doctor actually told us that by waiting as long as we did, there was a worse potential for long-term problems even after the surgery, because of arthritis. Anyway, IMHO, eight is a pretty advanced age for such a major surgery, but she came through like a champ and really, the recovery wasn't bad. She had a bandage so thick/substantial that it was essentially a cast for a couple of weeks, so she couldn't move the joint at all. Forgive me...I don't remember how long that was on...but we definitely didn't have any trouble during her recovery period, and it was SO good to see her get back to her normal happy, active self. (We, too, have a 2nd Boxer, but he was careful with her and she let him know her limits.)
I am not sure the name of the surgery we had done, but I know that it's the most advanced one being done for this type of injury. Maybe somebody can speak to whether that's the TPLO being referenced here? I just know that it's state-of-the-art, because it was very expensive and because when I called our old vet in SC to see what they charge for it (I feared the vet here was taking advantage of us), he told me that they didn't even do it yet. He was very impressed that the vet we were using had already done several hundred of this procedure, and confirmed that we were not, in fact, being ripped off. He said that if this vet was that experienced in this surgery, we were in good hands, which turned out to be very true.
Barkley doesn't limp now, but she does sort of bunny-hop when she runs. I don't think it's because of any pain, it seems more like she's just figured out that's the way she can be the fastest...which of course is a priority in her little Boxer brain!
Good luck!! I'll dig out our receipts later today and see if I can't find the name of the type of surgery she had done. I'll post again if I find anything of interest.

 

[MikeKrug]

Thanks everyone. I'm scheduling the surgery today. I really appreciate everyone's stories. I will keep everyone updated on how Tess does with her recovery.

 

[EAO76]

I have been through it twice (same dog both knees). In regards to the recovery you HAVE to crate her (especially if she is high energy). And when you go outside its on leash only. There is no way around it. She cannot have freedom at all for several weeks. If she blows the plates during the recovery when the bone is still soft the whole thing will be a total waste. My dog that had the surgery was crate trained so this wasn’t an issue. We just kept the crate in the rooms that we were most often and he hung out in there. I know everyone feels bad crating their dog but it’s really for their own good. If your dog has never been crated you might want to start working on crate training now. Put her in there for short periods with a special toy or chew so she associates it with positive things. Good luck!

 

[jbeauregard]

We are 3 weeks into Fenix's TPLO recovery right now. I will say, keeping him calm is the worst part. The first few days I cried my eyes out wondering if we had made a mistake by doing the surgery. The change in our routine really threw me for a loop (no walks, having to take him out to potty) Since about day 4 we have settled into a routine and everything is much easier. Fenix hates a crate so using a crate to keep him calm is out of the question. Luckily between myself and my husband we have 5 weeks home with him. We have removed his chair from the living room and brought out a spare matress for him to lay on and one of us sleeps out there with him since he cant jump on our bed. We have tons of kongs and chews to entertain him. But we are very bored. I can say that once you get past the first few days it will get easier. I am glad that we chose to have this done and hopefully in a few months we will be back to normal. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

 

[chrystel]

Good luck to you and Tess.

Dont hesitate to ask questions . Also, don't hesitate to call the surgeon/surgical center you are having this done with any questions you have. Even if they seem silly, it is better to be safe than sorry

Good luck