Cruciate Ligament Damage

[Runter'n'Puby]

My dog Punter is experiencing intermittent lameness on his left back leg, and this has been going on for a couple of months. Two vets have felt his leg and said nothing is wrong with it (except for a hopeful suggestion by one of a mild luxating patella? but the second vet said they could see no evidence for this). Neither would do x-rays or check any further because he wasn't lame at the time so they didn't think it could be too serious.

It has been suggested to me by another DOLer that it might be cruciate ligament damage, so I wondered if anyone else has experienced this with their dogs and can tell me what the symptoms were and what the solution was?

I'd be grateful for any input.

Regards,

RnP

[indigirl]

My dog has had both his cruciates ruptured. the first when he was about 3 yrs old. Symptoms are lameness, limping, trouble getting up and an inability to bend his knee. Solution is knee reconstructive surgery, costs about $1000 or so. Definatly not something to look forward to! The worst thing is the long slow recovery period, for at least 6 weeks after surgury they have to be kept very quiet, no steps and as litle walking as possible. After his 2nd cruciate was done he also needed weekly shots of a quartizone to aid healing, this went on for i think 8 weeks at $40 a shot. All in all very costly and tedious excersize... however he is now 10 yrs old and still going strong. he does have mild arthritis in his knees but it doesnt bother him too much. The vet told me that its quite common for large dogs to rupture thier cruciate ligaments. My dog weighs over 50 kgs so he was a prime candidate. Also, it can reoccur so you have to be mindful of your dogs weight and excersize regime for the remaidner of thier life. Fingers crossed your dog hasnt done its cruciate!

[Paula-]

My girl Stella has had 3 cruciate surgeries, starting when she was about 18 months, she's now nearly 6. One leg fixed the traditional way, one with a wedge resection where they cut a piece of bone out - more expensive but recommeded as a better option for a large, active dog. There's some big threads here somewhere about cruciate surgery and recovery etc. - http://forums.dogzonline.com.au/index.php?...amp;hl=cruciate

Stella completely tore her first knee and she went lame immediately, she partially tore her second and had intermittent lameness - she would be fine for a while and then slightly favouring her leg, we were referred to an ortho specialist for confirmation and treatment.

Stella is now fine - surgery is expensive and recovery takes a lot of time but we had a great outcome.

Hope Punter's OK

Edited October 27, 2006 by paula_canberra

[cavNrott]

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Edited May 29, 2009 by cavNrott

[Runter'n'Puby]

Thanks guys for your responses. I can see that it's important I get a second opinion at another vet clinic (this will mean driving to another town about 50km away, as there is only one vet clinic in my closest town! but I understand that its obviously important to get this taken seriously).

Punter is not a big dog, he is a labrador crossed with some kind of working breed (border collie, maybe cattle dog?), he's only 26kg, so I guess I had thought that this type of injury would only happen in a much larger dog, like a rotty.

However I'd rather not run the risk of this getting worse and him getting arthritis later on, so I'll bite the bullet and find a more thorough vet clinic!

I'll let you know. Thanks cavNrott for your original suggestion that this is what it could be. Its taught me to not take my vet's word as the word of God and to get a second opinion if my suspicion tells me something is not right.

[Kavik]

Is there a dog chiro around you? Zoe has been sore/stiff in one back leg for a while too - vets x-rayed and nothing they could see. She has rested and now moves fine, but I can see that when she sits/drops she holds one back leg in a funny position still. I am going to a dog chiro to see what he thinks. It is cheaper than a vet visit too

[cavNrott]

.

Edited May 29, 2009 by cavNrott

[brittanygirl]

Crutiate damage doen't just happen on large dogs. My 10 kg shih tzu X had both his repaired last December. He tore his very noticeably. The first he tore on a walk at the park, one minute running towards me, the next collapsed on the ground. The second happened on the way to the vet for a 1 week check up after his first surgery, he tore it while walking slowly to the car.

[wheres my rock]

there is an excellent dog chiro out gippy way cant ermemebr her name but i belive she does work from moe vets on some days will try and find her name for you otherwise i know an excellent bowen therapist

[Runter'n'Puby]

oh, thanks for that Wheresmyrock. I would appreciate that info.

[InspectorRex]

We have an excellent qualified Chiropractic Vet here in Morwell, Latrobe Valley. Her name is Dr Kate Haines and she holds a Masters Degree in Veterinary Chiropractics.

Feel free to PM me for further info.

She will at least tell you whether or not it is a ruptured cruciate ligament and then arrange treament( be it reconstructive surgery etc) as appropriate.

[JackieW]

I've had 3 dogs in my life, 2 of which have had cruciate problems. The first (kelpie x) did hers in sliding on wet grass as a pup. She had the 'normal' op and was fine for the rest of her life, just limped occasionally. The dog I got after she died has recently damaged his leg, running and turning sharply playing chasey with the dog next door. He's 9-1/2, 32 kg. He's going in for the 'normal' op next week. Neither had intermittent limps, my current dog has been limping for weeks since he hurt himself. He was booked in for an op nearly 2 weeks ago but it got postponed.

[Runter'n'Puby]

JackieW, sorry I'm a little confused, what is it that you mean when you say "the normal op"

[bilby]

Hullo Runter .. my (Bouf's) story's on the link given earlier .. but I just wish so much I'd got a 3rd opinion much earlier for Bouf.

He had intermittent lameness from 5 months .. & I went to & fro & to & fro to 2 vets for 2 years ...

till I was referred to Murdoch Uni ..

He's had the full osteotomy, is just at week 13 of recovery .. & is so sound & so happy .. but my head's pretty sore from thumping myself on the forehead for not getting a 3rd opinion sooner when my poor dog was telling me how sore he was .. even though those 1st 2 vets said he wasn't.

[Kelly_Louise]

Hello!

I agree with CavNrott, the sooner you get a diagnosis the better. Whether it be cruciate damage or not, the longer a dog has problems with it's legs undiagnosed and not properly treated, the arthritis kicks in FAST. My girl also suffered for a long time before we finally got referred to an orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed and performed 2 tibial wedge osteotomies on both back legs. The result..... absolutely FANTASTIC. My only regret is not knowing about it sooner, and knowing that in that time Chloe was suffering because we were given inaccurate advice. And her arthritis advanced so quickly in that time.

I think the 'normal' surgery being referred to is sort of like a suture method, or where scar tissue is allowed to build to support the cruciate ligament. Not usually recommended for bigger dogs, and Chloe was also not recommended to have this surgery (and she is 27kgs). The osteotomy techniques provide alot more stability (in my opinion anyway) for bigger dogs. Chloe's involved cutting a wedge out of the bone just under her knee (at a very specific angle) and then have the bones plated together to heal. It adjusts the angle of the knee, giving the knee stability and negating the need for a cruciate ligament. There is no longer a risk of reoccurring damage to the cruciate, I one of the risks is that the screws may back out or the plate come off before the bone is healed... which i believe is a minor worry. Chloe, at 8yrs has had a miraculous recovery, and I sooooooo couldn't be happier with her. It cost (all up with after care) about $10k in total to have both legs done, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The aftercare was stressful and slow, but again, worth all the agony... and apart from being confined for a period to restrict her movement, she really didn't seem to suffer too much at all.

Anyway, hope some of this info has helped, and hoping you get the answers you need soon to get your boy on the road to recovery.

[cavmad]

My dog has had both his cruciates ruptured. the first when he was about 3 yrs old. Symptoms are lameness, limping, trouble getting up and an inability to bend his knee. Solution is knee reconstructive surgery, costs about $1000 or so. Definatly not something to look forward to! The worst thing is the long slow recovery period, for at least 6 weeks after surgury they have to be kept very quiet, no steps and as litle walking as possible. After his 2nd cruciate was done he also needed weekly shots of a quartizone to aid healing, this went on for i think 8 weeks at $40 a shot. All in all very costly and tedious excersize... however he is now 10 yrs old and still going strong. he does have mild arthritis in his knees but it doesnt bother him too much. The vet told me that its quite common for large dogs to rupture thier cruciate ligaments. My dog weighs over 50 kgs so he was a prime candidate. Also, it can reoccur so you have to be mindful of your dogs weight and excersize regime for the remaidner of thier life. Fingers crossed your dog hasnt done its cruciate!

Wow, over 50kgs! What kind of dog do you have? Mines 5 kg!!!!!