Boca didn't get a very good gift for her Gotchaversary

[Adina P]

Today marks 6 years since baby Boca came home

Boca has been a wonderful family dog!  The unfortunate gift she got today finding out she has a torn CCL.  I've been looking at old DK discussions from others who have been through this and our experience with Boca seems similar to Jarka's with Monty insofar that at first we thought the minor limping was just over exertion after the occasional fetch (because we didn't run her hard often, we figured the consequent temporarily limping was just from not being used to the effort).  Then after the first day of the Walla Walla Romp it got much worse. This morning she got an xray and the vet gave us the results of a torn CCL. 

Sounds like no matter what procedure we choose for repair, the after care is critical and the chances of the other knee needing surgery later are fairly high.  I'd love to hear from those of you who have been through it and how things are going now and any recommendations you have. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm so sorry poor Boca got such a rotten gotchaversary gift. :(

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Doggone it! That is a bummer.  I hope those that have been through this chime in.  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Oh NO.....I haven't been through this, but I'm so sorry to hear this news.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

So sorry for poor Boca ... We have been through it with our Lucy.  We were so worried about the other knee, but we are almost 4 years out and so far, so good.  I still worry though every time I let her out.  We are probably the exception in that we did what is called a suture procedure versus the TPLO or other procedures.  I think the major different is that initially you have to be a little more careful so that the sutures (which is actually like a fishing line) don't tear.  The explanation to us was 6 months down the road all will be equal regardless of procedure.  The Suture procedure is somewhat cheaper than the other choices.  I think the rehab makes the biggest difference in the recovery.  That comes after the first six weeks.  Starts with 15 min walks and then increase by 5 mins each week.  You need to build the muscle back up.  We got a little sidetracked when it was that time with Lucy because that is when Sophie got sick.  But, she is doing fine now.  Best of luck with Boca.

[Adina P]

That's the only kind done locally. No board certified surgeons in town. There is a teaching hospital 2 hrs away. But it sounds like TPLO is a harder rehab. And 3x more expensive. So for rehab I'm envisioning crating 24/7 except for leashed potty... Plus whatever walking is approved. Is that about right? Boca does not potty on leash. But I guess she'd eventually go. Also what about jumping? Leash does not prevent jumping up with enthusiasm. I KNOW Boca will be fine because it's such a common injury and surgery, not cancer, not life threatening. But I'm stressing out over how I'm gonna manage all of this with work and kids and time. We will manage, but it's freaking me out. All night I dreamed about sutures :-O

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Above was Lucy's set up for the 1st 7 weeks (should have been first 6 but Dr. was on Vacation).  She was in this unless we were on leash outside to potty.  That was the only walking allowed for those first 6 weeks.  Jumping during the early weeks is particularly bad because with the suture procedure the suture's are what is holding everything together until scar tissue grows over everything and holds it.  Jumping can bust those sutures and then you start over (including paying again).  In all honesty it wasn't that bad.  Initially she is drugged with pain meds so she just slept.  She could sort of toe tap to get outside when she came home.  They kept her overnight.  We had two steps that she had to get down and the Dr. was fine with that.  She would walk around the yard to potty for maybe 10 mins after the first several days.  We put a chicken wire top on the x pen so she couldn't jump up if say the door bell rang.  If we were just watching TV or something I would sometimes sit on the floor with her and let her out of her crate.  This gets dangerous towards the end of the 6-7 weeks as she did jump up on the sofa once.  Scared the crap out of me.

This was our night time set up.  We just did this so she could be in with Sophie in their room and we didn't have to move the x-pen.  She did fine in the crate at night.

Our schedule was:  1st 6 weeks, ex-pen/crate or on leash to potty.

2nd 6 weeks was she could be of leash in the house, (still not supposed to jump) and walks outside 3 times a day for 15 mins and then add 5 mins each week.  After the 2nd 6 weeks she was allowed in the back yard off leash.  It was funny in that the first time we let her outside off leash, we were so excited that the day finally came and she just walked outside and layed down right off the patio.

The hard plastic cone is the only one we found that would keep her from getting to the stitches.  We tried the blow up ones and the soft ones but she could get to her knee.

Sophie seemed to understand that Lucy was hurt and therefore we didn't have any problems with her being too rambunctious ... although that could be attributed to the fact that maybe she was getting sick and her symptoms just weren't showing up yet.

I've told many people before that I think people worry that it is going to be a whole lot worse than it really is.  I think I would just have the kids and Rosco in another room when you take Boca outside ... that way hopefully she will be calmer.

Our regular Vet did the same procedure for my Mom and Dad on their lab.  She had told us that she could do the procedure but recommended since we had insurance that we might want to have an Orthopedic surgeon do it because while she does maybe one a month, he would do a dozen a week.  My Mom and Dad's dog did fine as well.

[Adina P]

Thanks for sharing how it went.
The local vet that I took her to for xrays is fine with doing the lateral suture.  My regular vet clinic said they refer out all cases to Spokane (2-3 hours away) for the TPLO.  But a friend of mine said a different local vet clinic did both knees in her dog (I'm assuming lateral suture too).  So between your good experience and that of others, I want to do lateral suture.  But then the teaching hospital at WSU that I called today said that the lateral suture is more apt to snap and not be as stable in dogs over 40#.  So I'm all over the place.  What if Boca would be fine like your dog and my friend's dog with the lateral suture, but out of fear I spend 3x more?  It's not inconsequential.  Then again what if the LS doesn't withstand Boca's tigger-ness and hard running starts and it has to be repeated?  I hate tough decisions like this.  I want Boca to do great and I want to be wise financially. 

So I've been treating Boca like she just had surgery and she's getting very little freedom today.  At least for practice for me.  But she is bouncy.  We got home at lunch and I immediately leashed her up but even on the leash, she just wants to jump for joy.  I have no idea how I'll keep her from being so excitable.  Can she be on Benadryl for 6 weeks?  JK

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

It really is a tough call.  Lucy is not a super hyper active dog like Boca but she is 82 lbs.  Ortho wanted her down to 60 lbs, however, we have tried everything and the weight just doesn't come off.  Even had her thyroid tested.  I think one thing that will be in your favor in the beginning is that she isn't going to feel like being all bouncy.  The pain meds are going to keep her really sleepy in the beginning.  I think sometimes they do keep them on pain meds a little longer just to keep them quiet.  

[Adina P]

Boca is 62 per last weigh-in. I could get her down 5#, but she's lean enough and I would think being slightly starved wouldn't help healing. We'll see what the next vet says. We go in for a consult with a diff very tomorrow. Lateral Suture still the main idea, though. I was looking at braces online but they are almost as expensive as a second surgery.

I'm curious about this post op "sling" a few people mentioned.

[Stella]

For the first few days it can be helpful to use something under their belly / hips when they walk to help them out, especially if they need to go up / down steps or stairs to go,outside to potty. You can buy specialized harnesses / slings, but as it would be for such short term use a towel under her belly would work just fine.

[Ann Kendig]

The Doc that did Duke's surgery will only do the LS on small dogs. Duke had something called Extra-Articular Technique. I couldn't even begin to explain it. If you're interested best to Google it. It doesn't involve cutting bone so recovery is easier. Good thing with our surgeon is if he has any more problems with the knee area there will be no more charge for future surgeries. That includes miniscus tears, and failure of the CCL surgery. If the other knee goes we will have to pay the full surgical price. Unfortunately we don't have pet insurance.

[Kathy Janes]

We felt the same way, so our vet gave us tranquilizers to keep Mater settled down during those early critical weeks.  We never used it at all because the pain and meds kept him very calm.  He still has only jumped on the sofa once.  Anyway, yes, you can calm her with meds if need be!  But likely you won't need to.  He weighs 80 lbs, and although they mentioned the suture procedure, no one recommended it for him.