Cruciate ligament damage in dogs

MRSCARNEY · 7 October 2008 at 7:20PM

Thank you, I will.

I hope Mollie's op goes well too.

Joyful · 10 October 2008 at 5:49PM

I have my 10 week check for my Dog next Tuesday. She has tons of energy but I can still see problems when she lies down ( very carefully!). Also sometimes if she is leaning on me it seems that she loses her balance. Other than that she thinks everything is Okay and wants to jump.:rolleyes: Best luck for any ops and check ups. Looks like this is a very common operation.

diddlydi_3 · 10 October 2008 at 9:52PM

My dog had her op on Wednesday & came home yesterday with a sticky bandage on her leg & lampshade on her head.
She had a partial tear of the cranial cruciate ligament,but no damage to the fibrocartilage(I am writing this from the vet discharge notes)
They have advised strict rest for 6-12 weeks,no running,jumping & only toilet walks in the garden on a lead.

Only the first day,it is very hard to keep her still & 6-12 weeks seems like an awfully long time to do this

Other posters have said their dog was allowed to have 10min lead walks throughout the day straight away,does anyone know if this advice varies from vet to vet or does it depend on the type of op.

Joyful - you are right,I am amazed how common this operation is,after reading this thread

MRSCARNEY · 11 October 2008 at 9:54AM

It was our dog who could have the 10 minute walks. I remember our vet saying that there were 2 different kinds of op he could do (our dog had a ruptured cruciate) and he went for the one with a nylon loop because she was a young dog (11 months). I think you just have to go with the advice from your vet as they will know best.

It is an awfully long time to try and keep a dog still though :eek: and there is quite a big difference between 6 weeks and 12 weeks. Does she have to go back for a check up in a month or so?

diddlydi_3 · 11 October 2008 at 10:19AM

Thanks mrscarney
She goes back in 10 days to have the stitches out,so will check with the vet then.
Just had her out in the garden on the lead for her comfort break!!
She is putting a little pressure on the leg
Meanwhile we are both bored,if I leave her alone she wants to follow me,would normally be walking in the forest this time on a Saturday,if only she could watch tv & I would put a Lassie dvd on!!(not the one where he falls down the well & breaks his leg!!)

orlao · 11 October 2008 at 10:29AM

diddlydi wrote: »

Other posters have said their dog was allowed to have 10min lead walks throughout the day straight away,does anyone know if this advice varies from vet to vet or does it depend on the type of op.

AFAIK it depends on the op and the size/weight of the dog!

My dog also had the loop op and he had toilet trips only for the 1st 2 weeks, then 3 x 5 mins walks for 2 weeks,3 x 10 mins for weeks 5 & 6 and so on....
I think that dogs that have the TPO op are allowed more exercise sooner as the joint is more stable immediately after the surgery.

Vets also differ, my own vets were horrified that he wasn't crated but the vet college said that room rest was ok, just no stairs or climbing on furniture.
You can always ring the vets for advice and queries at any time.

IME, it feels like a long time now but as my dog had the other leg operated on 3 months later he had 6 months total of resticted exercise and being poorly but you get through it quite easily once you get a routine going....

Good Luck

O x

MRSCARNEY · 11 October 2008 at 11:24AM

diddlydi wrote: »

Thanks mrscarney
She goes back in 10 days to have the stitches out,so will check with the vet then.
Just had her out in the garden on the lead for her comfort break!!
She is putting a little pressure on the leg
Meanwhile we are both bored,if I leave her alone she wants to follow me,would normally be walking in the forest this time on a Saturday,if only she could watch tv & I would put a Lassie dvd on!!(not the one where he falls down the well & breaks his leg!!)

I know what you mean about being followed around, plus we have 2 other dogs that she's desperate to play with.

We're trying to take her out seperately from the other dogs as much as possible because it seems mean that they are running around when she has to stay on a lead.

It's a pity we can't distract them by getting them do do the ironing on something, that would be magical - a quiet dog and all the ironing done. :rotfl:

diddlydi_3 · 11 October 2008 at 1:09PM

orlao wrote: »

AFAIK it depends on the op and the size/weight of the dog!

My dog also had the loop op and he had toilet trips only for the 1st 2 weeks, then 3 x 5 mins walks for 2 weeks,3 x 10 mins for weeks 5 & 6 and so on....
I think that dogs that have the TPO op are allowed more exercise sooner as the joint is more stable immediately after the surgery.

Vets also differ, my own vets were horrified that he wasn't crated but the vet college said that room rest was ok, just no stairs or climbing on furniture.
You can always ring the vets for advice and queries at any time.

IME, it feels like a long time now but as my dog had the other leg operated on 3 months later he had 6 months total of resticted exercise and being poorly but you get through it quite easily once you get a routine going....

Good Luck

O x

Thanks for the info & I look forward to it getting easier,jsut came in from the kitchen to find her licking her stitches :eek: having pulled the sticky bandage down,even though she was wearing a lampshade(it was one of those new flexible ones,obviously not working!!)

pamril1 · 11 October 2008 at 8:13PM

Well Iska is doing fine still having 5 min walks in garden twice a day but still having trouble keeping her from jumping about so still has to be crated at times throughout the day and overnight. She goes to have her follow up
x-ray on Monday but I am slightly concerned that she is to have a general anesthetic, what with her regurgitating during her TPLO surgery and requiring fluids and antacid medication after that. I will ask if they can sedate her or give an alternative anesthetic to be on the safe side, although I do feel by doing that they may think I'm trying to tell them their job.
Hopefully I will be able to speak to her physio and find out what more we can do to help her on the road to recovery.
She's so fraustrated that she can't run around after her pal in the garden like she used to and sulks if he's out playing.

the_little_one · 11 October 2008 at 8:50PM

Our 20 month old springer spaniel had TPLO surgery on thursday to correct a dislocating kneecap and cruciate liagment damage.

He's been home 24hrs now and seems to be back to himself! He stayed at the vets overnight and came home the following afternoon. At first he seemd to be very uncomfortable and was whining a bit and very fidgety.
He's a very active dog and rarely sits still for 5 mins so we've been expecting some problems today, however he seems to be so careful of his bad leg that we needn't have worried.
He has already had surgery twice before on that knee (before we rehomed him) so I think he knows how to be careful of it!

We've been advised to only take him into the garden for 5-10 mins 4-5 times a day to do his business and to avoid running, climbing and jumping!
Any exercise outside needs to be on the lead and he even needs to be carried down the three steps outside our back door.
We have to visit the vets again 10-14 days for a post op check up and for his wound to be checked, then back for x-rays at 6 weeks.

After the 6 weeks and providing the vet gives us the 'ok' I'll start him swimming at the hydrotherapy pool to get some strength back in his leg.

We're determined that this will be his final surgery so we're being extra careful with him - I'm sure he wonders why we're fussing over him!

Hope your dog recovers well.

Cruciate ligament damage in dogs

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