Torn ACL

[jdee]

Hello All,
First post..
My boy Clavin, 6-1/2 year old flashy fawn, had ACL surgery almost 6 months ago to the day, I was wondering if his knee that the surgery was performed on, will ever go back to being 100%, and also if it should still be swollen a little? It's not swolling allot, but it's definetly a little bigger than his other knee.
I thank you all in advance for any information. This is a wonderful site filled with wonderful people!!!

 

[Jakedd]

My 2yr old Jake is also a flashy fawn. We just went to the orthopod tonight. He say's we are looking at bilateal ACL surgery. Both of Jakes back legs are affected. He said partial tear on both but worse on the right.
We also have a 1 year old flashy fawn who is very active. The recovery concerns me too. How do we keep Jake quiet for 6 weeks. No stairs, walking, jumping. WOW
He's not that bad right now, but when he's 6 yrs old I wonder if we will be doing that. If now sooner.
Are you sorry you did it? Was your's totally ruptured?

 

[nanabear]

Mack will be 5 months post-op from ACL surgery on Feb 10. He is not swollen - though his leg is noticeably smaller than the "good" one. He was favoring it for 2-3 months before surgery and barely used it (except during his physical therapy walks 3 times a day) the rest of the time.
It was at about 3 1/2 months post op he started putting it down and walking on it most of the time around the house and yard. It still won't reliably support him though. He could be easily knocked down and he has a hard time getting up.
My husband and I have been diligent (especially him) about seeing to it that Mack has his walks and is going up and down stairs, inclines and hills. He loves his walks and it is so important to build that leg back up...but it breaks my heart to see how sore he is at the end of the day. We start over every morning pretty good and end it sore at night.
You should see what your vet says about the swelling - maybe he needs to have it iced after exercise. Mack gets a massage after each walk.

 

[Boxer Frenzy in Oregon]

Our Bailey had ACL surgery about 3 months ago. She is just now recovering. Her left hind leg was very small before the surgery and now it's slowly developing back to normal. My husband and I have come to realization that Bailey may not fully recover. She still loves to run and play but afterwards she's very sore and limps a lot. She gets so much attention when she's limping, I think she likes it. So whenever she really wants something she starts the limping thing
Hang in there!

 

[mysticalblues]

Bosco is about 5 1/2 months postop. He uses the leg pretty much normally, but every once in awhile he will have a bad few days were he limps. It is still smaller than the left, but he doesn't seem to be in any excruciating pain like he was before the surgery. But lately I too have been wondering if it will every be "normal" again. Afterall, he is less than 1 1/2 years old.

 

[jdee]

I want to thank all of you for responding. No, I'm not sorry I had the surgery, what I am sorry about is not having it done sooner, which is my fault. After a year of misdiagnosis's from my vet (yes he's still my vet) I've been informed that this sort of injury is hard to diagnose, but I should've brought him to the emegency Vet sooner.
We'll take it day by day, it just breaks our heart (My wife and I) to see him uncomfortable. So we SPOIL him rotten. I do give him frozen bite size 3 Muskateers, once in awhile. SHHHH my wife yells at us!!! Thanks all, talk to you soon!!!

 

[Billysmum]

Billy has had both his knees done now. The first just over 2 years ago, and he wasn't sound on that leg for exactly a year.

The second was done last May 2001. He had a new procedure done called TPLO and he was using the leg the day after the op. He was 99% sound on that by 3 or 4 months post op.

Now I would say he is 99% on both legs. After a long walk, he will ease his legs a little, but he is running and jumping about just as he ever did. The only difference now is that we NEVER throw sticks, balls or frisbees for him (it's the standing sprint start that does the damage).

Best wishes to Clavin for his recovery - and to all the other dogs mentioned on this post too of course.

 

[Clia's_Dad]

Clia had TPLO on 15 November last year, so she is about 2 1/2 months post op.

The vet said she will never be 100%, but the difference between what she was before and the 90% plus she will be in another 3 1/2 months will not be noticeable.

The leg she had surgery on is a little smaller than than the healthy one, but it is getting bigger. She still favors it sometimes, especially in the cold weather. One of the side affects is that it is possible she will develop arthritis. But, Rimadyl or even a human anti-inflammatory will work.

If there is still swelling, I'd see the surgeon again.

By the say, I paid over $2000 for the TPLO itself, and probably another $300 on pre-op and post-op care. So, I invested in pet insurance. I got it from Petshealthinsurance in Ohio. There is a 15% surcharge for some metropolitan areas, like Baltimore, and a 10% surcharge for being a Boxer. But, it was still $166 a year, less than .50 per day. It has a $100 yearly deductible, then pays 80% of anything about that.

The policy I bought only covers injury and illness and $1500 per incident. It won't cover another TPLO completely, but for $166 a year for the peace of mind, something are just worth it! Even if we never need it again.

But, the vet told me that after one ACL goes, within a few years, the other one has a tendencey to tear, too. Fingers crossed!

 

[VTbxrFan]

If the knee was injured for a while before the surgery, it could be that arthritis had already set in before the surgery. Unfortunately the arthritis can't be undone with the surgery, but the surgery will help slow it's progression. Unfortunately Dallas had been having knee problems before I got him, so at 2 yrs old, he already had arthritis and I have had to accept that his knee will never be 100%. He's about 3 months post-surgery now and doing well but still limping. His bad leg is still very skinny compared to the other one. I have not noticed the knee joint itself being swollen, but sometimes it looks bigger just because the rest of the leg is so skinny.

 

[Jakedd]

Last week we went to the orthopod. He thinks he has a partial ACL tear, bilaterally. Rt worse than Lt.
We are choosing to hold off on surgery for now. He thinks maybe 10% torn.
I want to give him ascripton and glucosamine. Does anyone do this in addition to the surgery process?
I am so scared to let them do the newest plate&screw procedure.