Found out why my Rott is limping!!

[katfob]

Thanks to all those of you who posted to my last thread about Spike and his limp.
Today Spike was given anesthesia so the vet's could X-Ray him. It's turned out that he has, and pardon my ignorance to the exact term, Cruciate Drawer Ligament damage in both his rear knees. :( :( :(
I am so super sad.

We have been referred to a Toronto Orthopedic vet for a consult.
Our vet has said that at best, he could be treated medically for a few years (giving us time to save for an operation), at worst, he'll need surgery on both of his kees, sooner than later.
I guess the specialist will know more.

The vet also said that while Spike's hips weren't great, they weren't that ugly in the X-rays.
Until the consult the vet has advised us not to give Spike any type of a pain killer as we dont' want him to overexert or cause any further damage. As Spike is only a moderately exercised dog, I don't see the damage as having been due to an injury, but likely simply genetic. Again, the specialist should be able to tell us more.

If other people out there have experienced this (and I'm sure there are quite a few) I'd greatly appreciate hearing from you and your experience. I'm also quite curious as to a ballpark cost for this operation. Keeping in mind, potentially both his knees will require surgery.

Thanks in advance for people's support and knowledge!!

[fbkeays]

You are in for expensive vet bills. The quick answer is your dog blew out his knees. It is pretty unusual for him to blow both out at the same time. My bitch blew out her knee at the begining of the year. She was in good shape, moderate exercise, had just finished obedience class so she was warmed up, when I let her be loose dog for sniffies after class. After a few minutes I called her to me and half way to me, it blew- I heard a pop, she yelped and was three legged.
The best and the best chance of complete recovery without it going again is the TPLO surgury. What it is is they cut the "shin" bone, just below the knee and rotate the bone piece and bolt it in place. This makes it possible for the dog to not need the ligiments. The dog needs to be on very limited exercise for 3-6 months for the bone to heel. The biggest "danger" of waiting is arthrisis setting in. The longer you wait, the more arthrisis and the less chance he will recover without a limp.
Please read up on the TPLO surgery. The cost of it varies with vet to vet and region to region. I live in a very expensive place(San Francisco bay area) and all told it came to nearly $4000. I know of people in other areas for less then half that.
Good luck

[Rottnlove]

katfob,

I'm sorry this has happened to your dog. It's sad news :(

Please keep us informed of his progress. I'll be thinking of you.

Lisa

[Anne]

My 19 month old girl has just had TPLO surgery for a blown cruciate. We are now on 13th day post op. She is confined to a crate for the next few weeks and we have weekly visits to the vet. The op cost me AUD$3000.00 but the xrays and post op visits are still charged for here so I guess I will be up for more than $4000 Aussie dollars by the time we are through.
Like you I am wondering about the genetic factors with this problem too as I found out the dam of my pup also blew her cruciate. We have two more sets of xrays to go, one at 6 weeks post op and one at 12 weeks. She is having weekly injections of a Cartrophen type drug to ward off osteoarthritis. This is also charge for separately to the op so it's an expensive deal all round. I decided to go for the op immediately rather than rest and medicate her because of the risk of osteoarthritis. Good luck.

[Miabella]

So sorry to hear about Spike's orthopedic troubles. My dog Mia is also an orthopedic mess. She had a total hip replacement last September and then a traditional cruciate repair 4 weeks ago. The traditional repair for her cruciate cost us $2,400 in U.S. dollars, but I know there are some surgeons in my area who do it for a lot less.

[Roscoe's dad]

You may want to consider getting pet insurance if you are going to put it off for a while. I don't believe they ask about pre-existing conditions.

[CarolineS]

Kat,

Are you going to see Dr. Craig Miller? Just wondered since he is the ortho specialist that Dresden saw in Toronto. Have no idea what the operation costs, but the consultation is $95.

If it is Dr. Miller, you'll like him. He was very quiet and gentle with Dresden. He doesn't have any preconceived notions about Rottweilers, in fact he said they see a lot of them at the clinic. He was very thorough and explained everything completely. Watching this guy palpate Dresden's leg was like watching an artist at work!

[TrishB]

You may also have to be prepared to hear that Spike isn't a candidate for the surgery. The reason I say this is because he has blown both cruciates. They can't do both at once (or at least I've never heard of it or have I ever heard of it being an option). The other problem being that if you only do one, the other leg, with it's current injury wouldn't be able to support the post-surgical one in order to heal. :(

I do wish you the best, but I did want you to be prepared for all of the possible options.

At best, you will need to invest in a crate if you don't already have one. Your pup will require cage rest - regardless of which avenue the specialist recommends.

Best of luck and please do keep us up to date!

[katfob]

Well, the specialist visit is booked for next Tuesday.
CarolineS, yes, it is booked with Dr. Miller. I'm sure he will be an excellant surgeon/Dr.
I am pretty distraught over this but am trying to keep myself reasonable until I at least hear what the Dr. has to say.

Thank you to all of you who have responded.

Does this surgery require TPLO? When I mentioned that to my Dr. she said that was for the hips and Spike's injuries are to his knees.

Also, could anybody shed some light on the whole insurance issue? Is there ANY possible way to get Spike insurance which would help cover all or part of the costs of potential surgery??????
If he can be treated medically for a year or two before surgery, does insurance check into pre-existing conditions in the dogs?
Anybody out there with any experience I'd love to hear your input. I am a working professional but this is going to be a HUGE expense if it's one I need to tackle alone.

Well, thanks again to all you experienced Rott owners. I'll keep everyone posted as to how the visit goes with Dr. Miller on Tuesday.

[Anne]

Is that Dr a qualified vet? TPLO is an op on the knee.
As for pet insurance, why not do a search on the net. I am in Australia and here they do need you to inform on pre existing conditions. Most insurance companies will explain their terms and conditions on the net. Hope you find one that doesn't require info on pre existing. Good luck

[CarolineS]

Originally posted by Anne
Is that Dr a qualified vet?

Dr. Miller is a fully qualified veterinarian who specializes in the field of animal orthopedics.

[flyballmom]

Hi,
Yes, TPLO is a surgery for a torn cruciate. There's a surgery called TPO that's for the hips. Both surgeries require certification. Go to www.slocumenterprises.com or www.acvs.org to locate a qualified ortho. ACL tears are VERY common in Rotts, unfortuantely. I have heard of a couple dogs who have had bilateral TPLO's but it's not common and in my opinion should only be done if the dog is hardly weight bearing on either leg anyway. Good luck with your decision as which procedure to choose, it's not an easy one.
Beth

[Judi W]

Regarding delays in repairs. The longer a joint is being used incorrectly due to malfunctioning ligaments, the more damage is done to the joint itself. Surfaces are not being used in the manner in which they are designed function, and arthritic changes that might not otherwise occur are stimulated. Delays can have long term consequences where stability is compromised.

[Kayla]

My first Rottie Nadia (at the bridge) blew her ACL at about 3 yo. We had an orthopedic specialist repair it by replacing the torn ligament with a suture. A few weeks into her recovery, she blew the other knee probably from putting all her weight on it during her recovery. The same specialist repaired that one too. It was a long and difficult recovery with two blown knees, but she did recover and lived to 12+ yo with excellent mobillity. The surgeries were $1000 and $1500 (10 years ago) and we did have VPI insurance http://www.petinsurance.com/ which saved us a lot. I hope Spike gets on the road to recovery soon and has a long healthy, happy life.

[spidey]

IME, in most cases, even if the insurance company doesn't ask about pre-existing conditions before they issue the insurance (which isn't very common, AFAIK, they usually require you to send a health certificate signed by your vet on which s/he is expected to list anything they've treated the dog for to date before they issue the insurance policy), there is usually a section on the claim form which asks if the condition existed prior to commencement of insurance.

I believe that there may be some insurance companies which will insure even for pre-existing conditions (at greatly inflated rates, of course), but I'm not sure. I suggest you Google for pet insurance companies and see what your options are.

Sorry to hear about this, good luck!