Yes, gingerly. I elevated and did ice for the first day, and also anti inflammatories...it took about 3-4 weeks to heal.

True saw the vet and was x-rayed and it looks like he has ruptured the meniscus in his left knee. I'm lousy at reading x-rays but even I could see it didn't look right.

The x-rays are being sent to the radiologist tonight for review and confirmation and I'll know for sure by the end of the week. We'll have the surgeon look at them and see what he recommends.

Connie gave me these links:

http://home.earthlink.net/~tiggerpoz/id16.html
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1975

If I'm understanding the vet, and what I've read, correctly, a dog can completely tear their ACL without immediately rupturing the meniscus. However, if the meniscus is gone, then the ACL is gone, too. Does that sound right?

I've been told surgery is the only option here and I'm familiar with the surgical procedures, risks, and possible complications. ACLs don't repair themselves...the meniscus *might*, given proper rest and enough time...but holding off on surgery invites further complications and problems down the road. I worry about the added strain on his other leg.

Has anyone opted not to go through with the surgery and, if so, did your dog recover and have a good quality of life? Is surgery really the only option?

:frown:
Sorry 'bout that Sarah and True.

Sarah, I'm so sorry to hear about this. Keep us posted...

sarah, really sorry to hear about true!

i've torn multiple ligaments at the same time, with only one popping noise, but hopefully in true's case it's just the meniscus.

did the xrays show the extent of the damage to the meniscus? my understanding is humans can injure it without tearing ligaments, though i don't know if that would be true for dogs.

and i couldn't tell....you don't know for certain if the ACL is torn? i would think how torn it is (what grade) would impact whether surgery is required.

if it helps at all, i have partially dislocated my knee and torn a bunch of little supporting stuff in the process, partially torn my patellar tendon (the big knee tendon) (about 1.5cmX2.5cm), and torn 2 ligaments in my ankle, both grade 2 tears, and i've never had surgery. still running lots! (none were running injuries, i should note) so hopefully the extent of tearing for true isn't too bad and he can rehab, rather than surgery.
(assuming i can apply human experience to dogs)

I only know one dog that had the tplo surgery and she recovered fast and without any complications. I don't know of anyone who chose to not have it repaired though. Good luck with everything Sarah.

I am so sorry about True. As id that poor dog has not been going through enough!

Last night while relaxing on the patio, I was talking about what happened, and how you described the pop. Rob kinda cringed.

To give you back ground, this man has had every joint worked on at some point, including BOTH knees. His left knee has a completely torn PCL (runs along the back of the knee) and a partially torn meniscus; both injuries from Jiu Jitsu. The doctor said knee splint and NO weight in the leg at all for six weeks to allow the swelling to go down, and then to expect to eventually have to have the knee replaced when the rest of the meniscus is destroyed/worn away. No surgery for a PCL. After NOT (stupid jerk ) resting his leg for the recommended time, a year and a half later he felt some pain and some inflammation, but not too unbearable or frequent, yet.

His right knee was injured while working patrol four or five years ago, but literally from just stepping off of a curb. On that knee his meniscus was also partially torn, and surgery was performed to “clean up the edges.” His ACL has torn half way through, and the doctors had him on bed rest for six weeks (jerk used his splint and a cane) to allow the swelling to go away. He was told that the ACL will eventually tear all the way through and he will have to have either a new/old cadaver tendon bolted/screwed in or one removed from his leg. Because of the meniscus, he will also have to have that knee replaced…

For both injuries he heard that POP you described, and no pain, just a sudden weakness. For the work injury, he just got into his patrol car and finished his shift, and at the end of it, was in so much pain from the inflammation, he needed help to get out. The other knee he was hurting that night, but not as bad as his ankle (whole ‘nuther stupid injury involving tendons and bones&hellip

Long story short, if the ACL is not severed, a HUMAN does not have to have surgery, but expect it to be a long period of healing time and rest, BUT expect it to likely tear the rest of the way at some point… The meniscus, if not too badly injured, can be left, but will eventually erode away and necessitate a knee replacement… He also said (for a human any way) that the meniscus and ACL are not mutually inclusive (see the first injury). You can tear one without damaging the other. Only an MRI can tell you for sure…

Again, this is all on one human (that won’t listen to the doc) and his experience and research. He is still an active duty officer and leads one of the city’s SWAT teams, and still competes in Jiu Jitsu with these injuries, but is in pain (back, shoulder, ankle, both knees&hellipthat he lives with WITH OUT meds. He still has a productive and active life!

I hope it helps…

It showed the meniscus clearly and to the vet (and to non-medical me) it looked like it was broken off or in pieces.

So far as I understand, you can't see the ligaments on a normal x-ray. She performed the drawer test when True was sedated and the slippage she felt indicated a complete ACL tear.

I asked "Can a dog rupture the meniscus without rupturing the ACL" and she said it is highly unlikely. Almost always they go hand-in-hand.

True, when he's up and walking, walks almost normally. He's a little wobbly but seems OK. He's steadily gotten better since this happened Saturday. So if he completely tore his ACL wouldn't you think he'd be limping or holding up the leg?

heh, jessica, as soon as i could bend my knee again after tearing the patellar tendon, i started running. course, i refused to go to the doctor for months on that one.... :whistles:

sarah....that's good he's moving around decently. i haven't torn any knee ligaments so i can't say for sure, but in my experience with torn ligaments and tendons, range of motion is affected (but it is not affected with a torn meniscus). don't know if that helps. how does his range of motion seem to be?

eta: smaller or less torn ligaments shouldn't affect range of motion as much as more serious tears.

The pop makes everyone cringe.

Amazing as it may seem, True doesn't have any significant inflammation that the vet could see or feel. Whether that is due to the fact that his rear legs are so heavily-muscled, he's resting in his crate, or the injury is not quite as bad as is believed, who knows?

I guess the problem here is that in the case of a partial tear, dogs (and some humans ) won't necessarily slow down and take it easy if they're feeling pain. True won't. He'll keep going until it's unbearable. So a "wait and see" approach probably won't be of any use. And the longer the delay, the longer he's out of commission, and the more likely it is he'll blow the other leg.

And waiting also means True can't do anything. I can't run him, play fetch or tug, do any of the things he loves to do. Sounds like a pretty miserable life for a young dog.

Having listened to vets for 4 years saying "Surgery is the only option" I really want to make sure that IS the case and that I'm not just following the party line. I figure if there are other options out there someone here will know.

We can't do anything right now while he's got a staph infection so it will likely be November before we can get this fixed.