Torn ACL

[TDomaille]

So I have a 5 month old Black Lab that tore his ACL. The Doc says He cannot have surgery for 4 months. I have him on anti-inflamitories and he is a mellow dog so keeping him quiet is not an issue.

Has anyone had this done? How are they after recovery? Any issues?

[B-man715]

My male beagle blew out his rear knee. I think recovery time was something like 8-12 weeks? (no climbing up stairs at first, jumping off the tailgate, jumping of couch/bed etc.)

He healed up just fine, but after a day of running snowshoes he walks a little gingerly on it. (he runs over 10 miles a day when hunting, so I can understand a little pain)

They also say if your dog blows out one knee, you have a 50% chance of the other going out.

And be sure to shop around after your diagnosis. The prices vary a ton for the same surgery. For Gunner it was anywhere from $600-$1600 for the exact same surgery!!!!!!!! (from local vets)

I've also read about people spending $4000+, thats NUCKING FUTS!

Good luck and I hope he heals up well

[bigred1974]

my pit bull blew out both of her rear cruciate ligaments, We kept her quite for the winter season anf fed her rymadil religously. she got better

[blarkey]

Had it done on my yellow lab it was about 6 months recovery 1100 bucks did just fine a little slower swiming but thats about it when he got older he had very stiff joints good luck

[MIKE IN lINO III]

Had it done on my Black Lab, $900.

He's a little over weight and old so it slowed him way down.

Good Luck.

[snatcher20]

My lab just had the surgery on 8/13. She should get the green light on Nov 1, but I'm still going to sit her out this hunting season. Maybe a late pheasant hunt.

Mine cost probably $3000 when all said and done. You have before/after x-rays, vet visits, the surgery, drugs, an emergency vet visit for a swelled leg over a weekend...

She just had her after surgery xray last week and all is healing well. As much as she is ready to run, I'm more ready to stop doing all potty breaks while on the leash. She hasn't been off the leash outside since 8/12.

[duckbuster]

Mesaba vet clinic, Hibbing MN. Roughly 6-700 dollars. They have dogs sent to them every week from the U. The U has very high regard for this vet clinic.

Also, for those of you who have had a dog with this situation be prepared for the other side to go. The chances of it happening are very high.

[snatcher20]

Duckbuster-

I'm curious...Why would the U refer clients to another vet located 200 miles away if they can do the surgery themselves as a veteranary hospital? Aren't you discrediting your own practice/clinic by refering another, 4 hours away? Wouldn't the U want the business for financial gain as a business with a bottom line?

[Ralph Wiggum]

IMHO, U of M is tops, but it comes with a price tag.

Dr. Vicki Wilke is acutally doing a study right now on surgical vs non-surgical treatments. She did surgery on our dog (not ACL surgery) this spring, and she's a phenomenal surgeon.

Google the name of the study and Dr. Wilke if you're interested.

More info:

Quote:

Non-surgical management of cranial cruciate ligament rupture

Current Status: Active and enrolling

Principal Investigator: Vicki Wilke, DVM, PhD, DACVS

ELIGIBILITY

Dogs with unilateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture will be considered as study participants.

Study participants must be willing to have a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) performed on the affected knee

Study participants must meet the following inclusion criteria:

Body weight > 15 kg (33 pounds)

Body condition score > 6/9

Essentially normal baseline CBC, biochemistry profile, urinalysis

No prior surgery for CCLR in dog’s medical history

No use of steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for 5 days

DESCRIPTION OF STUDY

Two randomly assigned groups: Non-surgical treatment group (weight loss plan, physical therapy, NSAIDS) and Surgical group (same plus TPLO surgery)

Progress followed with a client questionnaire, clinical assessment by an orthopedic surgeon, DEXA scan to measure body fat and muscle mass, gait analysis and radiographs of affected knee at four time points: the initial visit, at 6 weeks, at 12 weeks and at 6 months.

Client is responsible for initial exam, baseline labwork, initial radiographs and all costs associated with surgery if assigned to surgery group

Study pays for recheck exams and radiographs, DEXA scans and gait analysis, Rehab program of initial plus 6 sessions, 3-month supply of Deramaxx, individually tailored nutrition plan and 3-month supply of weight management diet, CBC, chemistry and UA at week 12

$100 payments at 12-week recheck and 6-month recheck

If you have a potential candidate for the study or have any further questions, please contact Dr. Wilke, Alexa Hart or Dr. Wucherer.

[duckbuster]

Straight from the horses mouth that information came. The clinic in Hibbing do 3-4 a week and have the U to thank for that. The U has very high regard for the Vet at the clinic.

So, one must ask himself, do I pay 2,100 hundred or so from the U or drive a bit and pay a 3rd of the cost.

Give them a call and ask the questions that need asking.

GOOD LUCK

[TDomaille]

Thanks guys for all the help. I do not know what I am going to do yet.

I am going to order a brace from Woundwear.com. They have a brace for the knee and I will try it. I talked with the Vet at Woundwear this morning and if this works, he may heal faster. Very interesting concept.

[Leaddog]

It was close to 20 years ago but a 3yr Samoyed blew his ACL. I gave him one last shot at some roosters (he was an incredible rooster getter) then put him under the knife. But I was broke, told my vet in N/YA that I had $150 to spend. She fixed him doing a fantastic job including followup for what I could pay.

That's part of why she still treats the whole team even though she's now an hour away.

Lesson is: All things are negotiable especially services.

Good luck.

[IceAge@work]

The biggest variable in cost will be the procedure you choose. The TPLO procedure will typically cost at least double the extracapsular (fishing line) surgery. You can Google them to get more info.

Both procedures have supporters but after the fact studies don't show a clear advantage for either one. I chose the extracapsular because of cost and because I thought TPLO too invasive and too extreme. TPLO involves removing bone and changing the basic structure of the joint. I just felt the worst case scenario issues with TPLO were too much to chance.

It's been three years for me but believe initial rehab will involve 4-weeks of minimal activity. Then if you follow the vets reccomendation on recovery excercise expect 4-6 months of time after that for full recovery. Ramp up activity slowly and swimming is a great option during warmer months.

That's a very young dog so don't be surprised if the repair needs to be redone later in life.

Also comments on the possibility of the other leg going are spot on. Consider giving the dog a good fish oil supplement and a glucosomine/chondroitin supplement to protect the healthy joint and speed recovery on the repaired one. Also keeping the dog slim and fit will go a long way to extending its hunting life.

[KOTTKE]

just found this post, thanks all for the great info, I have a 6yr old choc. lab that blew her back knee last yr and was quoted $2500 for the surgery. I see there are alot of pricing options out there. The question I have is the recovery for this surgery. We now have a very energetic 1 yr old choc lab, and the 2 love to wrestle around. How careful will we need to be after the surgery with my older dog. I under stand the first 8 weeks is critical, but its going to be almost impossible to keep these 2 apart. Also does anyone think she is getting to old to have this done. She is a house dog and apart from having a hardtime jumping into bed with the kids she getts around just fine.

[duckbuster]

Your dog is not to old to do it. It is more a matter of you thinking is it worth it at this age or not. Since your uncle lives up north I would have the procedure done in Hibbing, less money with very, very good results.

Recovery will be spent in the kennel-aire and when you air the dog it should be alone on a lead.

GOOD LUCK!!!

[mnhunter2]

I have just had my 10 mth old lab xray and she has one rear knee with an ACL tear and the other knee is loose. She has had lameness problems since August and has spent the time with very little activity and is lame again. I will not spend 1000 to 1500 to repair a problem in this young of a dog,she needs to heal herself or she will become someones pet, she weights 60lbs and we are going to take 5-7 lbs off her and keep her quite for another month and then slowly get her back in shape to see if she will come back to some sort of huntable use. If she comes up lame we will let her rest for the winter and see what she looks like next year. The great question is why do we have all these joint problems with young pups that have cost a lot of money!!

[muzzy]

My Chocolate Lab tore his ACL in Jan/Feb and had it repaired with the tightrope method near Rochester (I drove several hours to get this done). This method isn't as intrusive as the TPLO and less expensive. The material is much stronger than the fishline method also. There aren't many vets that do this method but I would recommend it. Granted, my dog is going on 9 years old...he still goes balls to the walls in the field but is pretty darn sore the next day. Rimadyl helps the inflammation. He's really only good for a day hunt as of now. I tore my ACL 2 years ago and I feel his pain!

[duckbuster]

Hunter, if you had a problem like this at 8 months old I might head back to where you bought the dog from and ask some questions.

That right there is NOT RIGHT!!!!

[mnhunter2]

I have talked with him about this problem and he didn't offer anything yet but I haven't pushed him either. They replace for bad hips but knees seem to be treated as an injury problem. I wonder when both knees are bad what is going on, right now I am waiting a week or so to think about how to handle this. I have little faith in breeders, they all talk big intill they have your money.

[jeffreyd]

I agree with Duckbuster. One thing that I was told in the very beginning from my first labs breeder was to limit how much hard running and jumping they do in the first year to allow their bones and ligaments to grow. We have held him back and started working with him now that he is just a tad over a year now. The problem i have is that we have ceramic tile floor and the way he lays on it he gets water on his front elbows. he went in for one year shots the other day and the vet said that he should be laying on a min of 4 inch thick mat. but he loves the cold tile so cant force him. she is not concerned said it will go away over time. i think i would find out from the breeder what the blood line looks like and the health guarantee. good luck

[duckbuster]

Ask for a partial refund. You won't get all of your money back, you most likely wouldn't if it were for hips.

If that is unacceptable to the breeder then ask for another puppy.

2 ACL's in the first 8 months of this dogs life is NOT RIGHT.

GOOD LUCK

[Bigslugger]

Our yellow lab blew both her ACLs in her rear knees at 1.5 years old. The one was $3000 to do at the U of M (TPLO) 10 weeks of recovery and the day that she could walk on it again, she blew the other one. Luckily they cut a deal and did the other one for $2500. Granted this was when they first started doing these procedure. Money well spent for sure. She walks like nothing ever was wrong. Only on days that she has been running a lot will you tell that she is sore.