TPLO - Trying to Make a Tough Decision (poodle, laser, vets)

[Festivus]

I think that I may now be in the same situation. My 9 year old mixed breed, Amber, hurt her right hind leg while fetching a ball in the yard this past Saturday. She only started putting any weight on it this morning. She weighs 70 pounds.

I have a vet appt tonight to get the leg checked out. We also do not have the money to drop $2k plus on a surgery. Honestly, I don't know that I would spend that much to repair my own knee and I lift weights and exercise regularly. In today's unstable job market it seems like a risky thing to charge to a credit card. And with Amber being 9 years old, I'm afraid she would either need the other leg done soon or not recover well from this one. We love her very much but the entire family is already making sacrifices to survive economically. Our kid got into a little trouble so that's been another unexpected expense.

The real question here is, why does it cost so much? I would be interested to see the cost of the time and materials for a vet that performs this/these procedures. If she is diagnosed with a ligament tear, and surgery is an option at her age, I'll definitely shop around for a more reasonably priced surgeon. The vet hospital sounds like a good idea. Again though, I'm wondering how one place can do a procedure for so much less than another? Sounds like a bit of greed involved here taking advantage of the love of a cherished pet.

Well, hopefully it's just a pulled muscle and I'll find that out tonight. Good luck to everyone else!

[Amazonchix]

We chose a surgeon that not only when to vet school, but is also a "Diplomate American College of Veterinary Surgeons." Basically, he completed vet school and an additional 3-4 years of specialized training residency in his respected speciality.

A friend who told me we could get the procedure cheaper was telling me that her regular vet (no specialized training) sometimes will perform such surgeries. In our situation, our furry children ARE our children and we wanted only the best. Yes, often times the best comes with the increased price but we paid for experience. But, IMO my furry children have still cost us less than any human child. This is our situation and I know it doesn't reflect most of America. This is a difficult situation for many people.

[Festivus]

I truly wish that money did not factor into the equation. But it does. I've personally put off visits to my orthopedic surgeon for my chronic shoulder problems because of the steep copays and time off work.

I love my dog a lot. Believe me. It tears me apart to see her limping around the house. But spending $2-3k on her now, then having to do the same on the other leg in a year, spending months recuperating from both surgeries, then having her pass due to old age in a couple more years seems like a very unwise decision financially. And it might not be the best thing for her quality of life in her last few years. Plus we both work full time jobs and can't sit at home with her while she recovers. I've never had an employer that gave time off to care for a sick or injured pet.

[grannynancy]

The TPLO procedure is involved and orthopedic surgery requires much more in the way of a sterile operating room than typical K9 surgery. There is also special training for K9 orthopedic surgery of this type.

You are paying for a lot of schooling, specialized equipment, etc. In perspective, my own fractured ankle cost about $35,000 in 2005, and the surgery was much less complex [slapping on a mending plate]

[Amazonchix]

There's been several who have mentioned the need for a second surgery on the other knee. The need for the other knee to be operated is 35-40% in dogs that have had surgery on one knee. It is largely associated with over-weight dogs and whether your dog has steep knee angles (genetics).

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by Festivus

I truly wish that money did not factor into the equation. But it does. I've personally put off visits to my orthopedic surgeon for my chronic shoulder problems because of the steep copays and time off work.

I love my dog a lot. Believe me. It tears me apart to see her limping around the house. But spending $2-3k on her now, then having to do the same on the other leg in a year, spending months recuperating from both surgeries, then having her pass due to old age in a couple more years seems like a very unwise decision financially. And it might not be the best thing for her quality of life in her last few years. Plus we both work full time jobs and can't sit at home with her while she recovers. I've never had an employer that gave time off to care for a sick or injured pet.

I had a boss who did let me bring the dog to work, when she had surgery
he as I loved animals! I was somewhat lucky. They had the crate and me
therefore were watched, and safe. When one of my dogs had to be put to sleep, It hurt so bad, I took a sick day, to cry, with my other dog!
Yes, he did understand.

[Festivus]

Well, Amber had an exam on the leg last night. It wasn't conclusive. The exam was painful for her and she flinched every time the leg was moved. The vet said that he felt some popping, but couldn't be sure of any complete ligament tear or not. There was some movement that shouldn't be there but not a lot. His best guess is that she either tore or stretched a ligament and maybe damaged some cartilage. Hence the popping.

For now, she's on tramadol and duramaxx. I've been advised to rest her for 2 weeks while on the drug therapy and see how it goes. I didn't do an x-ray due to the cost and the fact that the chance of a break seems to be minimal at this point.

As far as the work thing, I work for a large corporation in a large building. There's just no way that I could bring my dog to work as it would set a very bad precedent. Imagine 500 employees in a building and 50 of them bringing their dogs. Sometimes my wife can get away with bringing her to work but only in the occasional emergency. She couldn't do it for weeks at a time.

Drugs and exam cost me $99. My fingers are crossed that we're looking at a partial tear here and that she's better in 2 weeks.

[Amazonchix]

It's good you didn't get the xrays. ACL tears are not visable on xrays. It is detected by a vet who can do a thorough physical examination by manipulating the knee.

Just a heads up, make sure to keep your dog down and limit the mobility while in recovery. Hopefully in your situation it is a pulled muscle.

My dog (Pearl) had a partial tear and required surgery. Just a tad of hx on Pearl. Pearl was dx'd about 2 years ago with hypothyroidism. Pearl gained 21 lbs during that time. We had taken Pearl 3x's to the vet regarding her weight gain and other (-) sx's. It was at the advice of our SPOT Clinic (a low cost s/n clinic where we volunteer) vet friend that we have a full blood panel drawn on her b/c he felt she was hypothyroid. Our primary care vet didn't think she was and discouraged us from testing her. Long story short, Pearl's thyroid was so low the labs couldn't pick it up. Once on her thyroid tab Pearl quickly bounced back to a slim 58lbs. During the time of her weight gain...Pearl sustained an injury to her back leg. We were told again by our vet (twice) that it was a strained muscle and we were given Deramax (anti-inflam). Pearl's limp was an off again/on again issue for the last approx 18 months. We again asked our vet friend for a HUGE favor. He physically examined Pearl and told us he felt she had a ACL tear to her left knee. He feels confident that Pearl sustained her ACL injury when she was too heavy for her frame. The surgeon told us after her surgery that 80% of her cruciate ligament was torn. The only time xrays were taken was pre surgery and post surgery to show the placement of the plate and screws.

Yes, we have switched primary care vets.

[Festivus]

Yeah, the xrays would have just been precautionary just in case of a fracture. I didn't see the need for them and my vet was pretty straightforward about it.

She gets caged during the day so she can't really jump around even though it is a pretty big cage in the unfinished part of our basement. I've been taking her on short walks to let her do her business. Both our next door neighbors have dogs so I don't want to just let her out into our fenced yard in case their dogs are out. She hasn't even attempted to jump up to her spot on our couch. I think she knows that would be a bad move.

I was a little disappointed that she looked to have regressed a bit overnight. Last night she wasn't limping as badly. This morning she was even picking up the leg. But rain has moved into the area so maybe she's like me and her tired joints ache in damp weather. Time will tell.

I live fairly close to Ohio State Univ. They have one the biggest vet programs in the country. Heck, the place is a city in itself. If she's not better in 2 weeks I'm going to take her to them for a 2nd opinion.

[Jessica Beganski]

My dog, Willy, has had the TPLO surgery on both of his hind legs. He's a pit bull mix, about 70 lbs, and started with a limp. I have three other dogs so it's hard to manage play time but for about 6 months, I pretty much kept him from running and jumping. Despite all that effort, he ended up having almost a full tear.

So, I had the operation done. For six more months, he went outside only on a leash, couldn't run etc. Slowly I increased the walks but wouldn't you know it, a few months after he was fully recovered from the first surgery, he tore the other side.

Six more months and he's doing well, although I notice some stiffness. He has a hard time getting up and down. He was taking Dasuquin for the arthritis, as this is very common in dogs with ACL tears, but I took him off and am looking for a less expensive alternative. He runs, jumps, can stand on his hind legs but I'm still careful with him. He doesn't seem to be in pain, which he definitely was in before.

My advice...have the surgery done (it cost me about $2500/leg) but really follow through on the rehabilitation. My vet wanted Willy to do water therapy but since he's terrified of water, I chose to just walk him a few times/day. I think that if I had done the rehab with him, perhaps his other leg would also have been strengthened and may not have given out too.