Dog Has Torn ACL, Needs Surgery....... Who's Been Through It?

[Ductape]

My trusty sidekick Max has torn an ACL hopping into my neighbor's pickup a few weeks ago. A visit to his Vet has has him scheduled for surgery next Monday. We really like our Vet and feel very confortable that he does the surgery himself in-house. I'm wondering if any of you folks have been through this with your dog(s) and what I should expect.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

My trusty sidekick Max has torn an ACL hopping into my neighbor's pickup a few weeks ago. A visit to his Vet has has him scheduled for surgery next Monday. We really like our Vet and feel very confortable that he does the surgery himself in-house. I'm wondering if any of you folks have been through this with your dog(s) and what I should expect.

We had a cocker spaniel which had both back knees done over a couple of years. Recovery wasn't bad at all. Keep him quiet for a day or two.

 

[clemsonfor]

wife is a vet asst and helps on the surgeries. they do them from time to time but usually refer them to a specialist. They are a big $$ surgery.

 

[Storm56]

My trusty sidekick Max has torn an ACL hopping into my neighbor's pickup a few weeks ago. A visit to his Vet has has him scheduled for surgery next Monday. We really like our Vet and feel very confortable that he does the surgery himself in-house. I'm wondering if any of you folks have been through this with your dog(s) and what I should expect.

We have a German Shepard that had the surgery last Thursday. We are told about a 6 week recovery. She was real sore the first couple of days but is getting better every day.

No running or jumping. We wrap a towel around her middle to support her rear quarters while going up and down steps. She usually sleeps at the foot of our bed, so we have made a bed on the floor which we are sleeping on so she is not jumping on and off the bed, what we do for our pets!

She is almost 8 years old and the vet thinks she will do very well. Keeping her inactive seems to be the hardest part. If your dog is the type to pull at the stitches you need to use something around her neck to keep them from doing that. You can but an inflatable "donut" at a pet shop that is a lot more comfortable for the pet than the "cone" the vet provides. We bought the donut if we need it but fortunately our dog is pretty good at leaving her stitches alone.

So far it has not been too bad, only 5 1/2 weeks to go!
.

 

[Skyco]

We are dealing with the same thing on a 10 yr old Lab/Golden.
The wife did a LOT of research and was not happy with the success rate and the trauma from that surgery to an older animal. We also determined if we did it, only a specialist would do the surgery.
After a lot of thought , we ordered a custom ortho brace for around $500, we made a cast of his leg, sent it back and they fabricated a brace and he now wears it most of the time when we take him out. He is no longer allowed to roam free via the doggy door since he would quickly without a doubt re-injure himself. He is doing pretty well and lets face it a 10 yr old large dog doesn't have many years left, another factor in deciding to go the way we did. BTW he tools around pretty well with the brace on, he is not allowed off leash now without it.
Good luck with whichever way you go!

 

[zzvyb6]

My No. 1 black lab had this done 3 weeks ago. He's just now getting to put some weight on it. This is right on schedule, according to the medical information kit provided. (See attached). He's almost 11 and quite the jumper for a frisbee. Doing this while cornering was his downfall. At this point, his mobility is about the same as it was before he went in. What's amazing is that his 3 other hunting buddies know something is amiss and have given him some sympathy, some room and some protection.

This is the second dog of mine to have it done. First was on a pup I rescued 15 years ago that recovered as good as new.

$1800. Worth every penny of it in my book.

 

[Storm56]

Our Shepard is already putting some weight on the leg, so it must be feeling better. We are keeping her on the leash which is hard for her as we live on a large property and she is rarely on a leash. It kills both of us when I head into the woods without her, I think it is harder on me!

$1800 was our bill for surgery also. We did use a specialist and he also checks the knee joint out and cleans out any arthritis etc. He also repairs the maniscus if needed.

 

[Chooglin]

Our Golden retriever had this done 2 yrs. ago.she was taken to a specialist and we paid $2,000.00.

we had to actually pick her up and carry her inside and out,to allow her to relieve herself.If you have any steps that she needs to go up and down,build a ramp for her/him.

 

[Sigarms]

We have a German Shepard that had the surgery last Thursday. We are told about a 6 week recovery. She was real sore the first couple of days but is getting better every day.

No running or jumping. We wrap a towel around her middle to support her rear quarters while going up and down steps. She usually sleeps at the foot of our bed, so we have made a bed on the floor which we are sleeping on so she is not jumping on and off the bed, what we do for our pets!

She is almost 8 years old and the vet thinks she will do very well. Keeping her inactive seems to be the hardest part. If your dog is the type to pull at the stitches you need to use something around her neck to keep them from doing that. You can but an inflatable "donut" at a pet shop that is a lot more comfortable for the pet than the "cone" the vet provides. We bought the donut if we need it but fortunately our dog is pretty good at leaving her stitches alone.

So far it has not been too bad, only 5 1/2 weeks to go!
.

+1, but ours was a beagle mix at 6 years of age.

My No. 1 black lab had this done 3 weeks ago. He's just now getting to put some weight on it. This is right on schedule, according to the medical information kit provided. (See attached). He's almost 11 and quite the jumper for a frisbee. Doing this while cornering was his downfall. At this point, his mobility is about the same as it was before he went in. What's amazing is that his 3 other hunting buddies know something is amiss and have given him some sympathy, some room and some protection.

This is the second dog of mine to have it done. First was on a pup I rescued 15 years ago that recovered as good as new.

$1800. Worth every penny of it in my book. Today 06:52 PM

You're a good man.

Likewise, we had a German short hair pointer in our foster care. He LOVED jumping for balls. We were warned by our vet that "extreme" jumping could cause leg damage down the road. Something to consider with dog owners of a breed who love to jump.

 

[GGB]

We went through this with our male black lab a few years ago. We looked at less expensive options, but he was young enough that it looked like the TPLO (can't remember what that stands for) surgery would be the best option. $2600 for the left rear knee, and 18 months later $3200 for the right rear knee. And yes, it was worth it. It made his last 5 years much easier for him and for us. He got along great afterwards-we just had to be very disciplined about not letting him run and jump while he was recovering.

More recently we went through this with my MIL's youngest dog, who had her hip fractured in two places, broken leg, and torn ligaments. Let's just say that it was even more expensive than my lab's bills. Multiple surgeries and 5 months of recovery time, but today you would never know she had been hit by a car.

What we found that worked better than a towel under the belly to help get the dogs up and out for bathroom duty was a high quality life jacket with a handle on the top. Don't be tempted to go cheap-get the best you can find with reinforced stitching. You'll be glad you did!

Good luck.

GGB

 

[SPT]

My trusty sidekick Max has torn an ACL hopping into my neighbor's pickup a few weeks ago. A visit to his Vet has has him scheduled for surgery next Monday. We really like our Vet and feel very confortable that he does the surgery himself in-house. I'm wondering if any of you folks have been through this with your dog(s) and what I should expect.

Our Cocker Spaniel Mix had both done - 8 months apart. Good outcome both times.
Only thing was, she wasn't happy about the overnight stay the second time around. Guess she had enough of vet visits for a while. Voiced her displeasure and headed for the door when we picked her up. She was about 3 years old at the time. Afterward she ran like a puppy for a good 10 - 11 more years and up until she got ill. The vet said the first time if we elected not to have surgery and she tore the other ACL, she might not walk again. No question when it's the only dog your daughter ever had. After the usual recuperation as mentioned - restricted to leash, no jumping, running, etc. there was some physical therapy we had to do which involved putting her on her back and doing "bicycle motions" with her hind legs. The first time the instructions said "10 repetitions, 3x a day." The second time there was a typo and it said "100 repetitions, 3x a day"!!!
I guess it was a bit easier the second time around as we knew what to expect, including the $$$. And the surgeon was trying his best to help us by saying dogs only have 2 the same as us and once she was done, that was it. Her new nickname was the bionic dog.
There were many times watching her run afterward that I had to remind myself that she had the surgeries.
Best of luck and hope everything turns out well.

 

[donn12]

I have had both of my AmStaff's (pitbull) rear ACLs done. about $3500 each. It was a 6 week recovery each time and the dog has to be very low key. This is not easy for this breed!

 

[davo727]

OK I was thinking maybe id get a dog but now I know I cant afford it

 

[kidr]

tplo is the way to go. the bone is cut and the tibia leveled to change the angles so there is no strain on the leg which is reenforced by a plate. The 'cheap" sugery consists of stabilizing the joint with fish line type material. An active dog might stretch this material and you're back where you started. If the dog injured one leg the chances are good that the other will go too. These things I know from sad experience.Spend the extra for the tplo and do it right one time. If you have a teaching hospital near you , it will be a lot less expensive.

 

[WayneB]

Pretty easy for me to sit on the sideline and make statements, but having been through aging dogs and know what we have spent all I can say is good luck ductape thoughts are with you and your best friend.

Wayne

Ps I still have a picture of our old trusted friend (take must have bite me a dozen times or so) on my computer as a screen saver!

 

[dmccarty]

We had a Golden that had two ACL surgeries. One on each back leg. Poor old thing did not have a good leg to stand on. She broke a front leg and compensated when walking by leaning on the other leg which bowed under the weight. The broken leg healed but was never quite 100%.

Then she blew out the two back legs but they all healed up and she had a few more years. We tried to limit her from running but a Golden wants to FETCH.

Worst part of us is that the last injury happened on a Friday afternoon. We got her to the vet before closing and they sent us to the vet that did the first ACL surgery. He could not do the surgery until Monday. The dog was in lots of pain so they gave us shots to give her through the weekend to control the pain. The dog had to poo and pee on herself since she could not move because of the pain. Poor thing. Worse was we had to keep her in the garage because of the poo and pee problem. But the drugs kept her in la la land so she was out of it.

We had to help her go to the bathroom after the surgery. A towel under her stomach helps them squat.

Good Luck,
Dan

 

[rustedduck]

About 5 years ago, I had a lab the required ACL surgery on both
rear legs. Could only afford to do one at a time. Doc did the worst
one first. Results were so good, the dog was able to compensate for
the other leg. Never did surgery on the remaining leg.

Cost at the time was about 1500 per leg.

 

[NorTracNY]

About 5 years ago, I had a lab the required ACL surgery on both
rear legs. Could only afford to do one at a time. Doc did the worst
one first. Results were so good, the dog was able to compensate for
the other leg. Never did surgery on the remaining leg.

Cost at the time was about 1500 per leg.

I have heard of this situation a few times before. We chose to non-surgery route. There are many people that don't have ACLs. It just limits what they can do. Our dogs are happy and still somewhat active - just not what they use to be. I only am concerned what it will be like near the end of their lives.

 

[JESSE1]

About 9 years ago we had a bad experience with ACL surgery on our 7 year old female German Shepherd. We still have full confidence with our vet but either a nerve was pinched or cut during the intial surgery and the outcome was no feeling or use of the lower leg. Our vet did another surgery to try to correct the problem but she never regained full use of the leg. If we had a chance to do it over again it would have been better to have not had surgery. She could walk before the surgery and we thought the procedure would repair the damage. No doubt the surgical procedure has been refined since we had it done.

 

[Freds]

I had the cheaper surgery done to my Presa, mainly because I was not happy with the orthopedic surgeon I visited for the consultation at all. And his hospital still used acepromazine as a pre-anesthetic, which is a big no-no for bully breeds. So anyway, I had the monofilament figure 8 done at my own vet and she's ok, but showing stiffness in the joint now that she's almost 11. She had it done 5 years ago. Really, the Tibea Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (or something like that) is the way to go for heavier dogs. It takes longer to heal from, but they show signs of improvement more quickly.
And FWIW, get it done. My girl blew her knee out because of a hip injury on her other side she must have suffered before I got her. She was compensating and the extra strain on the opposite knee tore some ligaments. Not getting the surgery will probably blow out the other good knee.
I recommend Liquid Health Level 5000 for the glucosamine the dog will need. Excellent product.

That brace is pretty cool.