Cranial Cruciate Ligament Rupture

[Echowe]

Hi everyone,
It has been awhile since I was here. It is good to know I can always come here to get advice.
My 5 year old female Rottie, Tayler torn her right knee ligament. I have been surfing the web to find out more about the surgery and her condition. The more I read about it, the more I am not sure about having the surgery done. After reading different opinions from different vets, I don't know if I should put her through surgery. I am wondering if her pain now exceed the pain she'll be having with the surgery. The recovery period will also be very difficult for all of us. My vet said the knee eventually will stiffin-up with scar tissues and she might walk with a slight limp if I opt not to have the operation. Even with operation, she may walk with a limp. Her prognosis is pretty much the same, with or without surgery, she will still develop arthritis and her other knee will blow also....
She is scheduled for the less invasive surgery where the vet uses heavy gauge suture material to stablize the knee. for next Tuesday, 22nd. I am so confused now. If the end results are pretty much the same, both will still lead to arthritis, what is the benefit of the operation then? I would not hesitate with surgery if the prognosis is better.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Eliza

[JD102175]

This is a thread I started when Brodie tore his Cruciate in Oct. of 03. There is a lot of great discussion(pro's and con's) about the traditional repair, which is what it sounds like you have opted for, and the TPLO repair that I had done on Brodie.

http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/sho...highlight=TPLO Check it out, maybe it will help to clear up some of your confusion.

Jaime

[Echowe]

Thanks Jaime,
I have read your thread and also did a search on the topic.
It IS comforting to hear the success stories with TPLO procedures as well as some success with traditional procedures. Does anyone really know the long term prognosis on their dogs as far as arthritis is concerned. It seems everyone is opt for surgery also but is there anyone out there that didn't operate on their dogs? How are the dogs doing? I just want to do the right thing. I don't want her to go through unnecessary surgeries. Tayler may be brave and tough but it will break my heart watching her go through this.

Eliza :(

[JoJo]

I have an 8 year old female who blew her knee out. We could not do the surgery on her. Not that we didn't want to, but because she would not have withstood the recovery. Reba is our rescue girl. She is way out of standard. She's one of "those huge dogs", weighing in after being on a diet for a very long time is now 118lbs! She was 130lbs. She is riddled with arthirits and has ED, plus had a cancerous tumor removed which was a rare form and will return. She lives on pain medication (Deramaxx) daily which makes her life pleasent and our wallet lighter. Having the operation would have made her life fulfilled. I wish we could have had it done. We chose not to do it just because of her special circumstances. Reba's poor bones/body would not have withstood the recovery. A situation where the operation was a success but the patient died. She also does not do well being put under and chances were great that she would not have come out of it. Thank goodness all was required to remove the tumor was a local otherwise we would have been in big trouble. Poor Reba is a mess! She walks with a limp, she is not allowed to run but goes on short walks daily. If you saw her you would think she was in great health for her spirits are high and she's happy, but that's with meds. Life is still there even though it sounds horrible, so we just keep on trucken with her. I guess what I'm saying is if you can do the surgery, do it. Even the healthiest of dogs can come up with arthiritis. Don't let that stop you from giving your dog the best of quality of life. We wish everyday that our Reba could have had the surgery but fate was against it. If you follow the doctors orders, keep your dog quite (crated) during recovery I truly believe all will be fine. Yes, if you don't do the surgery the knee will develope scar tissue and that will be the ONLY thing holding it together, but the leg muscles will become atropied and just get weaker for the dog will not be able to withstand much weight on the leg. Chances are greater that the other knee will blow just because of the extra weight being forced on it. This is our biggest fear. We live day by day with Reba now and enjoy each and everyone with her, for we don't know what tomorrow will bring. So weigh out those pros and cons and see what you come up with. I know what I WISH I could have done.

All the best to you and your dog.

JoJo

[Echowe]

Thank You everyone for your vote of confidence and helping me focus on Tayler's issue. It will be a great challenge during her recovery but I can only do my best and hope things will turn out for the best also. In the end, whatever happens, I can at least say I did what I thought was best for her and did what I thought would give her the best chance for a full recovery. I will keep you posted on Tayler's recovery.
Thank You very much for all your replies.

Sincerely,
Eliza