My 17 month old male working GSD has just tore his ACL in his right leg. Anyone that has experience in this area that knows information on rate of sucess with surgery, how good of a recovery is possible for a working dog?....I have yet to deal with this so also what my options are. Any and all advice is appreciated.
Pat

Patrick,
I'm sorry to hear about your dog. I have been through this with my Lab, who was previously training for SAR. I have only one word for you (well, it's not really a word, but...): TPLO!!!!! The Tibial Plateu Leveling Osteotomy is, in my opinion, the ONLY procedure worth considering for a working dog. The success rate for full recovery is very high. My Lab had the procedure in December of 2001. The recovery took a full six months out of his training. It was expensive. But it was worth it. You will have to seek out a surgeon who is qualified to do this particular surgery. Here's a link that I hope you find helpful:

http://www.slocumenterprises.com/tplo_surgeons.htm

Ultimately, you need to do the research for yourself, and make the right choice for you. But I strongly urge you to consider the TPLO.

My brother in law's Rottie had the traditional ACL repair surgery around the same time that my Lab had his TPLO. A year later, the Rottie was still limping and on Rimadyl, and the vet was recommending the TPLO. In contrast, my Lab is to this day fully functional in that leg. As a matter of fact, it's probably the strongest joint in his whole body.

Ditto on the TPLO. Did some research on this recently with one of our psd's Aparently there is a patend on the prcedure so you need to shop around to find a doc who can do the procedure. Good luck with your pursuit.

One thing that I should mention, is that there is a ***very slight*** chance of bone cancer developing at the site of the metal plate. It happened to a friend's Rott. My understanding, having recently spoken with a veterinary surgeon about this, is that the odds of this happening are *extremely* minute, but not impossible. I don't want to scare you; in my opinion, it's worth the risk, but it is something that you should probably be warned about.

Thanks to everyone. I will keep you posted on what I decide...it will be a tough decision.
Pat

Pleasetplo let us knowtplo what youtplo decide! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Gotta cast another vote for TPLO. Results are phenomenal; heck, the buck-wild border collies can return to agility at speeds of 90 to nothing and stay sound after TPLO. That's pretty impressive. But there are vets out there doing the procedure who have NOT been to the classes - make sure if you go this route, that you make sure they have gone to the formal education and aren't "winging it".