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Cruciate disease Advice

We have a 10 year old Mastiff he is always been in good health and active . His right leg was diagnosed with this disease . They want to perform an TPLO surgery to repair we have been told there is a 60% chance that the other leg will get this within a year.
We would appreciate any advise from anyone that has hed this surgery done and what we have to look forward to in care after the surgery. They want do do arthroscopic surgery as it is less invasive.

Cornell University Hospital quoted around $3000.00 but a waiting list of 12 weeks. Our local Vet has a travelling surgeon that wants $5800.00. Our first choice was Cornell Hospital where they would do the surgery and keep River 4 days for monitor also they have the facilities in case there are complications.

The local Vet will give us River back the same day the only advantage is he does not to have pain for 12 weeks.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Scott& Julia
 

marke

Well-Known Member
how long ago did this happen ? how was it diagnosed ? does the dog put any weight on the leg ? does the dog need to do stairs ? those would be considerations i'd use ........ i'd prefer cornell too , if for no other reason they would keep him for 4 days , those are a tough 4 days at home ....... you could always set up the surgery and use the 12 week wait and give the non-surgical method a shot . assuming the considerations I listed don't eliminate that option ........ tplo surgeries are pretty effective , I know a dog continued to weight pull after having one .... lots of dogs do tear the other ccl , I think it's that most of them are not rehabbed properly and or their normal behavior predisposes them to tearing them ........ they are going to do a tplo arthroscopically , or want to diagnose it with an arthroscope ?
 
this happened about 2 weeks ago they did x rays and physical exam .Yes he he is still active and can put weight on the leg. What is the non surgical method? Yes the tplo will be done arthroscopically. You can hear a clicking in the joint. Thank You for your response
 
We took River in today to Catskill veterinary hospital at 8 am picked him up at 4:30 cost of PTLO with 2 plates $5300.00. When The vet techs brought him to the car and loaded him I was in shock. My best buddy was a different frame of mind I did cry for the second time in life. We live in a 900 sqft cabin on many acres in the Catskills where he has free roam. On our road stopped and asked a good neighbor for help. after we unloaded him into the house I knew this would not be an easy, to help me get him out of the car,and inside.
I read all the week by week breakdown of care and decided my work season was over keeping a 200 lb dog with harness confined for a minimum of one month with only bathroom breaks is a great responsibility.

I am not a regular forum poster but will try to keep up with his progress so others will be advised of the responsibility of the aftermath of care that follows after surgery
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
Thankyou for these sites alot of info out there just have to make a decision
If you are on Facebook you might want to check out Orthodogs. There are plenty of people whose dogs have had TPLO including some with +200lbs dogs. I found them to be a good resource for keeping a confined dog and their owner sane.
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
Wait a minute... how to you do a TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) arthroscopically?

When I was looking at that for Denna (she was diagnosed with a torn CCL earlier this year), the whole idea of cutting the bone, re-angling the knee and adding screws and metal plates to her knee kinda turned me off of that idea. We're going the "Conservative Management" route, but it's going slowly. www.tiggerpoz.com is another great source of info if you don't go the surgical route - and also has tips for rehab if you do go ahead with surgery.

I'm not sure I'd want to do a TPLO on a 10 year old mastiff... but, it would depend on how active he is and the home environment, as Marke suggested. (and I didn't want to do the surgery on a 5 yr old mastiff... so... there's that, too)

The Orthodogs group on FB is a very good source of info on TPLO and other surgical options, too.

Is he already on some good joint supplements?
 
Third day swelling down a bit there was no confinement for this dog we left him for a couple hours and he developed his own way of peddling his front legs and skating the rear legs. He has a 10x10 area seems to be working out all right. He is able to stand and walk for short outdoor trips.
 

Courtney H

Well-Known Member
I’m so sorry you are going through this. I can say that I know exactly how you feel. It breaks your heart because you feel helpless.

My Corso had TPLO surgery in May on Memorial Day weekend. She is 90 pounds and she was a 2 year old very active pup. I actually just posted a new thread regarding her recovery. She is not back to 100% yet, and I’m frustrated. I think I’m most frustrated because I just want her to run like the wind again and I have to continue to leash her.

There are other surgical options that are less invasive and cost effective. To my understanding, they are ideal for older dogs. My neighbor had an 8 year old husky that had the less invasive surgery and she recovered quickly and lived to be about 13, no complications from the surgery.

A lot of vets tend to steer more towards TPLO because they are MUCH more sturdy than any other option. The chances of reinjury is less than 1% or something along those lines. The other option can tend to “fail” or break. I would have done TPLO regardless of her age, though. I have done a lot of reading on this topic and I personally feel it’s the best option. I am also extremely lucky to have a wonderful surgeon 10 minutes down the road from me. Cora tore hers on a Wednesday, they got her in for surgery on Friday. He’s incredibly skilled and has done many of these surgeries. I live in a small town in New Hampshire, so you wouldn’t think I’d have that convenience at my disposal! Her surgery was just shy of $2000 (including pre op and post op appointments & medication).

The best advice I can offer is to see a surgeon who specializes with CCL injuries and repair, and go with their advice. Keep your pup as quiet as possible in the meantime. Too much activity WILL result in a full tear and your pup will be on three legs. If you haven’t already, start your pup on fish oil and glucosamine supplements. They help a lot.

My thoughts are with you and I wish for a speedy recovery. Please keep us posted with how everything goes.
 
It has been 7 days after surgery big difference in River most of the swelling has gone some still on the lower joint. He can get up on his own with slight struggle we take him out for brief. walks 4 times a day. At night he skates across the floor on his rump, we put some area rugs around his bed to help him get up on his own.
The vet gave us some relaxers for night which made a big difference in helping him sleep,before he was very antsy and swelling was up.
Thanks for the above replies