Torn CCL

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

It seems that after several visits at a canine rehab center, the vets have settled on a diagnosis of a partially torn ACL. I got the call on Saturday and I'm still trying to process the information.

Here is how it all started:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

So today I made an appointment for a consultation with an ortho specialist. It's this Friday.

I'm so confused and scared about all of this. Is surgery always the only option? How do they even know for sure it's a torn ACL? What do I need to ask the ortho specialist?

I'm having a hard time envisioning the post surgery time. Even now, I was told Monty should take it easy and not run or jump. So our daily outings to a dog park are out of the window. We went for a mile long walk this morning, which does not nearly cut it for both active boys. I worry that Auggie loses a chance to burn more energy while following Monty's calm regiment now. It's really hard to do that.

And if surgery is the only option, it would mean that I will need to take some time off work to be at home with Monty while he is in recovery. Has anyone been through the ACL surgery? What do I need to expect? How did you manage to go through the whole process (and still work full time)?

UPDATE (Feb. 26, 2015): I've realized that I have not updated this discussion. So I just wanted to let you know that Monty had a TPLO surgery on January 29th. It was a partial tear on his ligament, his meniscus was fine. We are currelnty in week 4 post-op. He is doing great, it's hard to keep him calm since he thinks he can run and jump just fine. We did a second session of hydrotherapy today.

His next check-up is in 4 weeks.

Hydrotherapy - Feb. 26, 2015 

UPDATE (April 2, 2015):
We had our 8 week post-op checkup last Friday. The vet took x-rays of Monty's knee and everything seems to be healing fine. She did not see any limping. We were cleared to use the stairs a couple of times a day, so I finally got to sleep upstairs in my real bed. Monty still needs to be on leash at all times, but we are up to 30 minute walks a few times a day. We are still doing hydrotherapy once a week and several exercises daily. We are half way through the rehab period, yay!

Monty is actually having so much fun during his hydrotherapy:

Hydrotherapy #5 - March 25, 2015 

UPDATE, July 1, 2015:

We were in week 14 post-surgery, only two weeks away from Monty being able to run off leash. I noticed him limping on the other leg. The vet did tell us that there is more than 70% chance he would damage his other knee ligament thanks to over-compensating for such a long time. The partial tear was confirmed and Monty had a second knee surgery on June 24th. So here we go again, poor guy. We are down week 1 post surgery....15 more to go. I'm sure glad dogs only have two knees. The good news is that our pet insurance covers the second surgery as well. I just wish we didn't have to go through this yet again. What a sucky year for my boy.

UPDATE, November 1, 2015:

I'm yet again way too late with an update. The second knee surgery went fine, but Monty had tough few days afterwards. He had a different surgeon and this time they wrapped his entire leg after the surgery. Being a primadona, he refused to pee or poop...and after a couple of days refused to eat. So we rushed him in. As soon as the vet took off his leg wrap, we went outside and Monty finally relieved himself. After that, it was the usual recovery, including PT and hydrotherapy.

I'm happy to report that we finished all PT on Oct. 15th and slowly started off leash activities. First, a dog park without throwing a ball. Then short throws for him. It is really nice to be able to take both dogs out somewhere at the same time. 

Here is a fun video from Monty's last therapy session, he was wearing a GoPro camera:

Last rehab session from JarkaH on Vimeo.

I took both boys to an open space with creek today and Monty got the zoomies. Yikes! I still get covered in cold sweat when I see him run full speed or jump through ravines like he did today... I'll take me a while to stop worrying.

Video from today: 

Nov. 1, 2015 from JarkaH on Vimeo.

BUT: he had a blast AND I did not observe any weakness in his legs after he took a nap. It's sure soooo nice to see that he can play, take a nap, and not have a hard time getting up and walking. I'm really happy. Hopefully, we are off to a new start now. It's been a really long year... but it seems he is as good as new.

[Paul Schumacher]

Hi, I'm so sorry to hear you and your boy are dealing with this.  I am not a medical professional, but I would expect your vet or ortho to do a drawer test on the ligament.  You can read more about that on the following website, which was IMMENSELY helpful answering all of my questions.  It isn't a substitute for a vet exam or vet advice, but I treated it as a compliment to it.  http://tiggerpoz.com/index.html

Here is a link to summarize the experience we went through with Zoe and a partially torn Cruciate ligament last year: Zoe Cruciate Tear

Here is a link to my original thread when it happened: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/cruciate-ligament-tear-1

If it is a partially torn, walking a mile a day isn't going to allow it to heal.  I encourage you to read all about the injury itself and treatment options on the above link.  Another piece of advice- as you lower his activity level, but sure to decrease amount of food accordingly so he doesn't get overweight.  Also, the less weight on the joint, the less stress, the quicker the healing.

Good luck! Hang in there!

We were very successful without surgery and I hope you have the same luck.

[Rica + Margot]

Paul's info has been really helpful for me. Margot hurt herself at the park 10 days ago and was limping. We went to the vet a week ago and he thinks it's a partial tear. We were going to see how she did with a bit of rest since she's only 6 months and surgery isn't an option at this time. It really does depend on the severity of it, but keeping her quiet has helped tremendously. She's been putting weigh on the leg and limping less. We're hoping she'll make a full recovery soon (she is also a mini and a puppy). Perhaps with a long rest, Monty can avoid a surgery. Keeping her quiet and happy is a challenge for me too. I've been trying stimulate her with games that don't require much movement.

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Thanks, Paul. I'll definitely read through all the links before we go see the ortho vet on Friday. The vets at the canine rehab center did the drawer test. It took us three separate visits over the last few months for them to find out that his knee was looser.

[GBK]

Paul, thank you so much for posting.  I feel so much better about my vet (new and totally did not push surgery!) and the website does relieve some of the fears I was having after reading on the internet.  I hope Bud does as well as Zoe has.

 

[Paul Schumacher]

Best of luck to Margot, Monty and Bud (and their parents!). Please keep everyone updated on here so this can be a resource for those in the future who encounter this!

[BG and Gavin]

So sorry to here this Jarka. I know that Nicki has been through surgery with Boris and Sherri (Lucy and Anabelle) rehabbed foster Honey. sending best wishes.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm pretty sure Sherri's Lucy also had knee surgery. Hopefully she'll comment. 

And I think we have a number of others here whose dogs have had knee surgery.

My Miniature Poodle had surgery to replace a knee ligament when she was 9 years old. She did great and the recovery and rehab wasn't really that hard that I remember, although it was a while ago. For sure I didn't have to take off from work. I think the hardest part was keeping her from chewing through her cast. :)

I personally believe that if something can be fixed once and for all, and there is a good prognosis, it's a much better option than having a dog live with a chronic condition that forces you to restrict their life-style long term and may be causing pain. With surgery, once you get through the recovery, the dog is back to normal. My poodle had another good 7 years after her surgery with no pain, complications, or restrictions whatsoever.

Good luck.  

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Thanks, Karen. The thing is he does not limp all the time, only after exercise, after he sleeps. Has a hard time getting up, but then he walks it off. He is an active and playful dog. I certainly don't want him to live with chronic pain. I limited his exercise over the weekend and on Monday. Today, he was already stir crazy and as soon as we got up in the morning, he started zooming around the house trying to get Auggie to chase him.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Many of the things that you are saying here are exactly the things that we went through for I'd say a couple years before we finally ended up having the surgery.  Lucy started out just being like a little stiff.  She would get up really slow.  Not all the time, but when they had been out for a good romp or a really long walk.  We actually had the Vet check her hips on more than one occasion because we thought it was her hip.  Then on occasion she would limp.  We would rest her for awhile and it would seem a little better.  Then it just really seemed to progress downhill.  By the time she was sent to the Ortho and we got on his schedule for the surgery, she was limping all the time and was just sort of toe tapping with that foot.  Here is a link to her surgery discussion and the set up for her we had in the living area of the house. 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/surgery-is-over

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Thank you, Sherri. It's so hard for me right now to look at the pictures. Poor Lucy. And they shaved the whole leg instead of just the knee.

I could barely sleep last night...and I know it's way to premature since we have not even had our eval by an ortho vet. I just can't stop thinking about it and trying to visualize the months of recovery.

How did you get her our to go potty?

Did you do pre-surgery rehab to strengthen her muscles or just post op rehab?

How would I even get Monty in and out of the car? He is 86 lbs.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Jarka -- First of all, I think that I really can say that it was much easier than I thought it would be.  It went by quickly.  It was fairly easy to get her out to potty.  The first couple of days she did the three leg thing, then she started toe tapping with the surgery leg.  She was able to maneuver the two steps in and out just fine.  We were able to assist her in getting into the Van.  We did remove one of the seats so that she had space on the floor and we didn't need to get her up onto a seat.  She was 82 lbs.  They do sell a strap or you can even use a towel to just put under her belly and bring it up on each side to help lift or help him take a little of the weight off.  We did not end up needing one.  I really would not attempt to take him to your upstairs.  I would set him up in an ex-pen downstairs.  If you needed to sleep on the sofa for a few nights I wouldn't think you would have to the entire time.  We crated Lucy at night.  She was fine with it even though she wasn't used to being crated.  We didn't do any sort of rehab outside of just walking her as much as we could.  Have you noticed any muscle loss in the injured leg?  Sometimes they are overcompensating with the other leg.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Sorry to hear this Jarka. I'm thinking of you and hoping you come up with a good solution.