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Hey everyone! I'm new to the forum, and wanted to get some advice and opinions from individuals who have been or may be in a similar position.
About a month ago our lab mix, Duke, was playing with his sister, cried, and started limping. He's had some sprains and pulls before that healed, but this was to his left hind leg. He would use it inside, and sometimes outside, and then other times not at all. We just saw a vet and he said he though it was a torn cruciate, sedated him and did x-rays, told us it was a torn cruciate. He told us about two types of surgery. One that would involve using nylon to correct the ligament, and TPLO to correct the issue. I was pretty confident that the TPLO was the way to go as he is a larger dog, and I want him to (hopefully) fully or nearly fully recover and be able to go back to being his old self. Now after more research, I'm totally confused and conflicted. Is TPLO really the way to go, or should we pursue something else? I'd love to hear responses, both positive or negative.
We went through TPLO last year and you wouldn't be able to tell he had surgery. He recovered very quickly (about 6 weeks and he was up and running) and has had no issues since.
That said, x-rays are not the way to diagnose this, I'd get a second opinion. The only way to diagnose a torn ligament is through the drawer test and manipulation of the leg. An x-ray will not show this.
Your other option is TTA, but for active dogs that is not recommended. We are very glad to have gone with TPLO, but I'd get a second opinion from a surgeon who performs these surgeries, not your vet. Good luck and know that they heal fast and you won't even know he was injured once the hair grows back!
Not to throw even more confusion into the mix but I have a Blue Heeler who recently ruptured his CCL (ACL). We happen to have a specialist in the area whose been doing these repairs on racing greyhounds (and other dogs) for over thirty years. He told me that TPLO is a good surgery but that TTA is even better. There are not many people who know how to do TTA (this guy does) but apparently it's the absolute best way to go. In fact, unless someone specifically requests a TPLO surgery to be done, he won't do one simply because the TTA is so much better - and they run approximately the same cost.
He explained it to me but I'd been awake for 24 or so hours and was having a hard time paying attention. I know it involves a titanium "cage" and some sort of bone plate. I also remember something about the TTA surgery being performed on the non-load bearing portion of the tibia whereas the TPLO surgery cuts into the load-bearing portion of the tibia making recovery faster with TTA and less risky than TPLO.
If you're in the Memphis area, let me know and I will give you the name of this guy. He's in a ramshackle little place that looks a bit insignificant but, I'm telling you, he's probably got more experience doing this stuff than all the vets in Memphis combined.
PC got injured in July. Our vet said no to surgery and told us to rest him to see if it improves. It didn't and only got worse. By October, his ligament completely ruptured and he couldn't put any weight on that leg. Wish we had done it sooner than October since he was clearly in pain for all those months and limping.
Our vet doesn't just jump at the chance to do surgeries. In fact, he didn't perform the surgery because he said he will not operate on such an active Bulldog. While he could have done it, he referred us to someone better suited for the job. We were referred to a specialist that deals with more active dogs and couldn't be happier with the results.
In fact, unless someone specifically requests a TPLO surgery to be done, he won't do one simply because the TTA is so much better - and they run approximately the same cost.
Really? We were quoted under $2k if we chose TTA (we declined). The TPLO cost us $4500 because it's more labor-intensive and takes much longer to complete.
Worth every penny, we wouldn't have done it any other way. It cost $4500, but you'd never be able to tell he had surgery unless we told you.
Now that's sticker shock.
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Now that's sticker shock.
