Oscar has finally torn the CCL in his right hind leg, after partially injuring it 2 years ago. We knew this was coming, and are probably lucky we went the last 2 years without problems, but that doesn't make it easier to deal with. Board certified ortho vet saw him Friday (same one that saw him 2 years ago and correctly decided he wasn't in need of surgery at the time) and we all clearly saw quite a bit of movement now during the drawer test... broke my heart.

So, while he isn't limping too badly, or seemingly effected otherwise, he reliably won't put full weight on it while standing, and we need to decide what to do to A. get him back to as close to 100% leg usage as possible and B. reduce and OA that is surely starting to set in. Doc said TPLO, without even discussing the other surgical options (which I've read up on, but were obviously inferior, in his opinion), and said non-surgical options would likely not do much to improve things. Oscar's a lean 95lbs and conservative management is really only recommended for dogs under 15lbs or so... I've only read a few personal accounts of this working on dogs Oscar's size, but each case is different, and a lot of them were house pets, not working or very athletic animals, so back to "normal" didn't include running 4 miles a day...

I've read all the previous threads here on this - most in favor of TPLO, only a few vehemently against it - but many are a few years old. Could anyone share any current experience with this injury and recovery with an active large breed dog? Is TPLO sill the "gold standard" for CCL repair? What was recovery like, how long till your dog was back to full working/active function? Did the dog blow it's OTHER knee shortly after recovery? (our doc said in HIS experience the national average of 38% for this was LOW...)

And lastly, what supplements would you suggest during and after recovery - Oscar is all raw fed, gets salmon oil, vit E, ester C and will be going back on glucosamine... the vet said even though the ligament was clearly quite torn at this point, he was surprised there wasn't MORE damage to the joint since it had been a full 2 years since the initial injury... I think his great diet played a big role in that, so I want to keep doing every nutritional thing I can to supplement the physical care he's about to receive...

Many thanks to anyone who can offer some experience or advise here.

Cheers,
~Natalya

Nancy, do you have any web links on that research? I've not come across anything like that and would love to read more about it... I'll start searching!

Thanks!

~Natalya

Hey Natalya,

I thought I bookmarked the info on stem cell research. I seem to recall Peggy Bayer or Sue Tuck posting about it here. Maybe they'll see this and respond.

So sorry about Oscar...poor dude. First the tooth and now the knee

I've seen dogs undergo TPLO. They had an excellent surgeon doing the surgery, which obviously makes a huge difference. Total recovery time was 2-3 months but the dogs are up and moving the day after surgery. Stitches are out in 10-14 days and you have to really restrict activity for the first 6 weeks(no stairs, no jumping, on leash even when outside to potty).

I did not see any dogs blow their other knee following surgery, but maybe because I only worked in a hospital for 4 years?

Thanks Sarah, we're going to have trouble with the no stairs thing - we live on a second floor! Plus, our stairs are quite narrow and steep... Ian can amazingly still pick up Oscar, but I can't, so we're going to have to practice using a sling so we can get the weight at least off his back end... it's going to be a looooong 6 months...

Our surgeon is quite good also and I have much trust and confidence in his abilities - his clinic specializes in TPLOs and he says, other than blowing the other knee, his patients generally have long-term great results. We're also very close to the Tufts ortho center, though they're often booked way out and we'd probably have to wait months before we could have the surgery done there... I will look into them for the PT though, as I don't have another option.

~Natalya

Sadly I have been down the TPLO road, not once but twice. 10 mnths apart. The first was just a partial and only mildly bothering her. The second was a no brainer, she NEEDED surgury. Happened two weeks after my husband was out of the hospital with multiple fractures. (I fondly call last year the summer from hell).

My Boxer is large 80 pounds. She was running 5 miles a day 5 days a week and doing agility and a service dog to my then 3 year old nephew and helping (she thinks) run the stables.

I had a HORRIBLE rehab the first TPLO. Ava freaked out with all the issolation and confinement. It was a VERY VERY long road to recovery. I seriously cried when the second knee went but now I am glad. There is nothing left to worry about.

She is back to running, jumping, trail rides, agtility, got her cdx in obedience (which she hates). Had the second knee not gone I would never have let her back running or agility because I would always want to protect. Now it is like having a bionic dog.

My vet also said with a dog as large, muscular and active the TPLO was the only choice.

BEST OF LUCK.

This is the article - here the application was dysplasia but someone posted on a search and rescue forum a few weeks ago they were doing this for a dog with a torn crucial ligament instead of TPLO. He was going to keep us posted on progress; still very new. You can google the company from the article and they list vets who do the procedure; perhaps they may have more info.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Story?id=4109559&page=1

Wow, Nancy, that's VERY cool. I just spent some time at the Vet-Stem site, and reading articles... from what I gather, it's being used most for arthritis related treatments, and yes, it's very, VERY new, but it sounds really promising. I don't quite understand what the full capability of the stem cell therapy is - I'm not getting a sense that it can regenerate a completely torn ligament (help surrounding arthritically damaged tissue, maybe, but creating a new, functioning ligament, I'm not sure...) but what do I know??!!!

I found a vet within 50 miles that is credentialed to work with the company in Cali, so I'm going to check them out tomorrow and see if they can tell me more... I'm really interested in the progress of the dog from the other forum - if you get any updates, or could even put me in contact with the dog owner, please feel free to PM me!!

Thanks guys,
~Natalya

 Quote: Natalya Zahn

Wow, . I just spent some time at the Vet-Stem site, and reading articles...

I thought I saw you there, Natalya

There are a few vets in my area who work with Vet-Stem and I'm happy about that. Very exciting stuff and it sure beats True having a total hip replacement.

Hi Natalya,

This is the article I had posted a while back. Good Luck with your boy.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4109559&page=1