Sarah, how's True doing these days? Are you all going crazy with her "bedrest?"

My Lab had the TPLO surgery several years ago. At the time she was 30 pounds overweight and tore her cruciate ligament while playing with my Malamute. (I think he had something to do with it, he always pulls at her legs.)I did not see it happen but I noticed her leg was turned in and she walked differently, with a slight limp. There are two different techniques to do this surgery, I had the older method performed because it was less expensive and I liked the Vet better. She recovered great. I was told to keep her in a crate for recovery, I did not. I just laid her a bed in her area and she pretty much stayed in a 12x12 pen for 3 weeks. This is an active dog who loves to play ball (She is an outside dog)She has since lost her weight and looks and feels great. Went from 130 pounds to 85 pounds. The Vet said if she did not have the surgery she would start to favor the other leg, putting to much pressure on it with the possibility of blowing out the other one. He also said it could cause severe arthritis over time. I am glad I had the surgery, it was well worth the money and her health and ligaments so far have been great.

True is doing OK, Stephanie. I'm teaching him floor tricks..."Roll Over", "Play Dead"...to give at least one muscle in his body a work-out and provide some outlet for his energy. Frankly, he seems in better spirits than I do.

Lisa: Thanks for sharing your story...It's good to hear a happy ending. I may have to do a pen, too. I've been looking at True's crate and thinking it may not be very comfortable for him post-op.

I'm still waiting for the Radiologist's evaluation. Then we'll meet with the surgeon and see what he recommends.

Funny thing about dogs, they just are. They live in the moment, and don't dwell on and mope about what used to be or what might have been, like humans do.

Sort of on a related note: I just got back from seeing my Derm Vet who confirmed what Connie reminded me of: No surgery until the staph infection is cleared up.

Mucho thanks to Connie for being WAY more clear-headed than I was at the time.

He also mentioned something else that was news to me: Steroid use can weaken ligaments and tendons and can play a role in the kind of injury we think True has. True has taken Temaril-P (which contains a small dose of pred) off-and-on for severe allergy flare-ups. I know of the other dangers of steroid use but I wasn't aware of that one.

In any case, even if steroids were the safest drug on the planet, animals facing major surgery can't take it one month prior to surgery and one month after because it slows healing. Yet another factoid I learned today that I thought I'd share.

I'm still waiting for the Radiologist's evaluation to come back so we can figure out where to go from here. I'm irked this is taking so long. It's very hard to believe this dog has a major injury...he's not limping, wobbly, or favoring the leg AT ALL. It's very odd.

wow, i'm sorry it's taking so long to hear from the radiologist! but that's great news that he seems to be stable/doing better (his leg, i mean).

Interesting, about the steroids. That's great news that he's doing so well!!!! Definately keep us posted... I'm VERY interested, as you well know!

I finally got the Radiologist's evaluation:

"There is moderate intracapsular soft tissue swelling of the left stifle. There is new bone formation in the cranial tibial plateau region. There is mild periarticular remodeling. The tibia is cranial displased relative to the distal femur".

Conclusion: "Cranial cruciate rupture with degenerative joint disease".

NO mention at all of a ruptured or injured meniscus...the only thing my vet said looked "funny". So, the thing you can see on an x-ray (the meniscus) is OK. The thing you can't see on an x-ray (the ligament) is not. Part of me wonders if anyone is reading this right?

My vet suggested that the presence of DJD may indicate True injured the ligament(s) some time ago with the whole thing giving way 2 weeks ago. I guess anything is possible except for the fact that True hasn't limped, favored, or put a foot wrong in almost 2 years.

I mentioned, and my vet couldn't say, that wouldn't you expect True's leg to look different, "remodeled", given the fact he's had bi-lateral HD his entire life and has never had a normal gait?

She agreed that, given the diagnosis, it's extremely odd he's not limping or favoring the leg AT ALL.

So I'm sitting here with vets telling me that surgery is needed and my dog is telling me "Not yet". Obviously, if he was in pain or limping this would be very clear-cut. But he's not. And I'm not so sure that rushing in to fix something...just because you can fix it...is always the right thing to do.

I still plan on consulting with the ortho surgeon but right now...today... I'm leaning toward conservative management with lots of rest, time to heal, to see where things stand.

Good idea or bad idea?

 Quote: Sarah Morris

I still plan on consulting with the ortho surgeon but right now...today... I'm leaning toward conservative management with lots of rest, time to heal, to see where things stand.

Good idea or bad idea?

Sarah,

Man, do I feel for you and your pup! What a confusing situation.

I think it's great that you're going to consult with the ortho surgeon and get that input.

If I were in this situation with my dog, and she wasn't showning any signs of pain...limping or favoring the leg, etc., I'd probably want to go the conservative route and try management and healing first, too. Like you, I'd want to get as much professional information as possible. Maybe even second and third opinions, too. (Do you have any vets in your area that specialize in rehab/sports med for performance dogs? Someone like that would be a great resource in this situation.)

While I've never dealt with this problem<knocking on wood>, it sure sounds to me like you have some strong concerns about proceding with surgery at this point. The only constructive thing I have to say, given my lack of any relevant experience, is to listen to that voice inside you that is not sold yet on going the surgical route. It doesn't sound like taking the time to make sure about this decision is going to be harmful to him (unless you get other advice from the professionals you are consulting), but one thing I do know is you sure can't unring that bell<g>.

Good luck, and I'll be eager to hear what the surgeon says...

leih

Thanks, Leih.

We do have rehab facilites and trained pros in this area and up in Santa Cruz who, if we go the conservative management route, we can consult and work with.

Following the vet's advice I stopped Metacam 2 days ago to see if possibly it was masking anything. So far, no limping.

It's been posted before but worth mentioning again: There are 2 Yahoo groups devoted to canine orthopedic issues

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodogs/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ConservativeManagement/

You have to join to read and post...you also have to deal with the awful Yahoo board format...but both groups are a great resource for anyone with a canine orthopedic issue, whether you choose surgery or conservative management.

And I guess I need to make something clear to anyone reading this: If True really needs surgery he'll have it. Whatever it takes and whatever is in his best interest is what we'll do. I'd hate to leave anyone with the impression that we wouldn't.