Medical Question ACL Surgery Cost

[Muskiebait]

Just found out today my Chocolate lab tore his ACL in his left rear leg? we are in the process of getting referred to the University of Minn, just curious if anyone else has had this done, how the outcome was, and how bad it was on the pocketbook?

[eric29]

If you have to go to the U of M its going to be pretty expensive. There are alot of other places to go that have orthopedic specialist that are certified to repair an acl injury. If your interested in coming an other 45 min south of the U i could recommend a docter who is certiefied in both TPLO and TTA. From what i understand there are only a few docs in the state that can do both and im assuming theyd have to do one of them to repair the tare(im not sure tho).

I had surgery done here for my labs knee, but it wasnt an acl problem and that costed about 1300 so that can maybe give some ballpark figure or maybe not. I did call three other places to get prices including U of M, Iowa state, and a place in Inver grove and they were all atleast 400 to 600 more.

Hope that helps

[Ralph Wiggum]

The U of M will be great, but expensive.

[just_jig]

Just had the surgery done last week on my lab. One vet was $900.00 and included x-rays. The vet I went to was $675.00 included X-rays, medicine and collar.

[311Hemi]

Keep in mind that they surgery you choose is going to affect the cost. The "fishing line" fix is going to be the cheapest and from what I have found has a high success rate, although if your dog is younger and you plan on hunting him a lot more over his life one the more expensive surgeries (TPLO or TTA) might be a better option. Many vets will perform the "fishing line" themselves but will outsource the TPLO and TTA. Can't go wrong with the U of MN but they are a little more costly, otherwise the surgeon at Inver Grove (I think it's Levine?) does a lot of the more involved surgeries around the twin cities so you could check cost at some various vets around you to see what they charge. I had elbow surgery done on my lab at the U of MN and would certainly go back.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Do you hunt this dog or is it a family pet? I was actually talking with a U of M surgeon last night who is going to do a neuter and gastropexy on our dog next month. The topic of cruciate ligament tears was brought up, and she said a lot of times, surgery isn't necessary. Now if you're hunting him, he might need it, but it might pay to get a second opinion.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Oh, and if you talk with Dr. Vicki Wilke at the U, she is fantastic! She's done a lot of ACL research.

[311Hemi]

She said a lot of times surgery is not needed for cruciate tears?

[MIKE IN lINO III]

I had the fishing line surgery done on my lab about 5 months ago. He is older and will not hunt any longer.

There are days he acts like a puppy and then there are days he acts like his owner. He is still in the recovery mode also.

Cost was around the $900 mark.

Good Luck.

I don't think opting out of the ACL surgery is an option. Mine couldn't even put weight on his knee.

Mike

[Ralph Wiggum]

She said a lot of times surgery is not needed for cruciate tears?

Yep. But it depends on the severity of the injury, lameness of the dog, and how active the dog is.

[311Hemi]

I could see on a partial tear that possibly being true, but don't see it being a common practice or recommendation on a full tear unless you have a really old and/or very inactive dog. Luckily I have not had to find out yet!

My lab was diagnosed with a partial CCL tear last fall and after roughly 8 weeks of strict kennel rest and 100% on leash bathroom breaks, and then slowly rehabing by increasing activity every week he is now back to normal and running around with no lameness.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I could see on a partial tear that possibly being true, but don't see it being a common practice or recommendation on a full tear unless you have a really old and/or very inactive dog. Luckily I have not had to find out yet!

Well, she's got a DVM and PhD and is a prominent researcher in canine cruciate ligament ruptures, so I won't argue with her. I'd trust her opinion over a general practitioner anyday. Not saying that it's the right decision for anyone's dog, but it wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion.

[311Hemi]

Originally Posted By: 311Hemi

I could see on a partial tear that possibly being true, but don't see it being a common practice or recommendation on a full tear unless you have a really old and/or very inactive dog. Luckily I have not had to find out yet!

Well, she's got a DVM and PhD and is a prominent researcher in canine cruciate ligament ruptures, so I won't argue with her. I'd trust her opinion over a general practitioner anyday. Not saying that it's the right decision for anyone's dog, but it wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion.

I can't disagree with that. You made it sound like it's fairly common that surgery is not necessarily on the cruciate tear by what she stated and I wonder really how often that is the path they choose with sporting dogs. I had never heard of that being common practice but your right, she's the DVM/PhD and deals with it daily so I am in no place argue, just curious on the facts. I may try giving her a ring if I get some time.

I have had many talks with ortho surgeon down there regarding joint issues when my dog was in a study there following surgery, but have not talked with the one you mentioned.

[Ralph Wiggum]

That is indeed what she said. Again, this was in a conversation about Great Danes. Could be different for a lab. Danes aren't as active, but they do have quite a bit more weight to carry. If you're curious, you can find her contact info on the U of M HSOforum.

[311Hemi]

Yes, I found her info on the U of MN site, thanks. Looks like she is running a study on this exact topic (Non-surgical management of cranial cruciate ligament rupture). It will be interesting to see the results whenever the study is done!

[Ralph Wiggum]

Looks like she is running a study on this exact topic (Non-surgical management of cranial cruciate ligament rupture). It will be interesting to see the results whenever the study is done!

I was going to mention that, but didn't want to sound too much like an advertisement for her. We'll see how she does on my dog's surgery, first

[phantomfisher]

my boss got the fishing line acl repair and the line snapped after a week and had to go get the more expensive surgery and that is still holding. Keep in mind the best rehab is swimming if you can do the surgery in late spring or summer that would be best

[311Hemi]

my boss got the fishing line acl repair and the line snapped after a week and had to go get the more expensive surgery and that is still holding. Keep in mind the best rehab is swimming if you can do the surgery in late spring or summer that would be best

I'm curious if he knows what size line they were using, or if he could find out?