Dog question

[kres1024]

Just had my 6 year old pit bull diagnosed with an ACL rupture in her rear knee ,and requires surgery ,was wondering if any one here has had that surgery done?
Thanks

 

[kres1024]

Oops might of posted this in wrong forum
If I did mods please move
Thanks

 

[LongIslandPetVet]

Hey
Pm me your number and we can discuss it. I'm a vet and I can answer all your questions.

 

[Dk638]

Had it done on my bullmastiff. Worked well. She's gone a couple years now. She had it done at 2-1/2 years old. It lasted her whole life, she was 9 when she passed.

 

[kres1024]

Had it done on my bullmastiff. Worked well. She's gone a couple years now.

Do you know which procedure you had done?
There's 3 used procedures the TTA ,Tplo and the fabellar suture technique
I'm just hearing conficting stories on all 3
My surgeon wants to do the less invasive suture technique but I heard the other 2 might be better ?
It just gets so tough especially when you start googling stuff and you read these stories

 

[Dk638]

I don't remember the name but I know they used heavy duty fishing line. If that makes any sense.

 

[Dk638]

I'm gonna say it's the suture technique

 

[kres1024]

I don't remember the name but I know they used heavy duty fishing line. If that makes any sense.

Okay if they used some type of line then it's the suture type technique what they want to do on my dog, the other 2 involve bone cutting

 

[Dk638]

Just googled, definitely the suture

 

[Dk638]

I'd say go for the suture, my dog had great success. Took like 3 months before she was almost normal again. No stairs for a while, I remember my wife sleeping downstairs with her for a while. Pretty sure it's cheaper too.

 

[Dk638]

She was 120 lbs also. Still running like a horse after recovery

 

[kres1024]

Yep ,just researching today and some posts say that the suture type is better if used on dogs less than 50lbs and the other 2 types are better in the long run,while other sites say the opposite ,i guess the more you read the more crazy it gets you ..wife thinks I'm over thinking this ..lol
My surgeon I do trust and he's been doing this over 20 years but I still worry

 

[kres1024]

Cheaper I wish ...it's gonna be $4000 when all said and done !
Lucky I have pet insurance which covers 90percent but I still need to pay up front then I get it back

 

[Dk638]

Yeah it's tough decision cause who knows anything can happen but I believe the suture is easier on the dog and yours is older than mine was when she had the surgery. Really you just want the dog to be comfortable the rest of her life. I was told it could fail eventually but it never did. Thankfully. But when she tore the acl she couldn't walk on it at all and with her size it would have put stress on her other legs and hips. Good luck

 

[kres1024]

Yeah it's tough decision cause who knows anything can happen but I believe the suture is easier on the dog and yours is older than mine was when she had the surgery. Really you just want the dog to be comfortable the rest of her life. I was told it could fail eventually but it never did. Thankfully. But when she tore the acl she couldn't walk on it at all and with her size it would have put stress on her other legs and hips. Good luck

Thanks buddy

 

[MIKE NY]

My Akita had the same procedure and it took a couple of months for full recovery. I started with light walking for a couple of weeks and then slowly up stars. He made a full recovery and was running normally again.

 

[STORM]

my maltese had patela knee surgery when she was 2 and a half years old, took her to a place in howard beach i can get you the number if you like.

 

[kres1024]

My Akita had the same procedure and it took a couple of months for full recovery. I started with light walking for a couple of weeks and then slowly up stars. He made a full recovery and was running normally again.

Okay so the suture technique on larger dogs does work as well also just less invasive ..
The key thing for these surgeries is the after care making sure the dog is restricted in activities until the leg has a chance to heal

 

[kres1024]

my maltese had patela knee surgery when she was 2 and a half years old, took her to a place in howard beach i can get you the number if you like.

Thanks buddy I do have her scheduled for surgery for Thursday morning ,just wanted to vent a little and get some other peoples experience with this

 

[STORM]

no prob bud, with ours it took like 6 months for her to heal and start to use her leg again. As it has been about 6 years of the surgery I do not remember the exact time frame. I do recall that it took at lot longer than I was told. After the surgery as hard as it is you have to try as much as possible that they do not put to much strength on the other leg as it could develop problems due to all the weigh landing on one leg. you can walk him and he will learn to go out side on 3 legs but try for it not to be too long at one time.
Make sure to not let him lick it. You will get an ointment so the wound does not dry up too. you can use that on the side of it not directly on the wound, this would stop the itch and his urge to want to scratch it.


after the stitches was taken out, we would stretch her leg slowly making sure to stretch out those muscles as much as possible. then therapy is very important! either given by a professional or your self. A professional is expensive so you should be able to do it. it was easier for me as we have a small dog.

We put her in a tub of water as full as possible hold her up by the stomach with my hands and let her "Swim" in position.. this way she was using her legs but not putting too much strength on them. a pool to work (but we are in a apartment) if you can get him in a pool that would be great. a least 1x a week. after I saw she was somewhat able to walk, we would take her up a hill with a leash on so she can learn to walk normal again as they get use to walking on 3 legs and could become a pattern.
walking up hill They are forced to try to walk on four legs up the hill as opposed to a straight path. (Do not over do it, little by little at a time)