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Originally Posted by Hugo12  Thanks for the replies and great info. I spoke to the orthapedic surgeon on Saturday when I took him on Saturday. He was scheduled for surgery and I didn't go through with it. Apparently the surgery is not specifically for the LP, it's for the torn ligament that they determined from doing physical tests on his leg.
I'm just concerned that no x-ray was taken. I understand that you can't see ligaments from x-rays, but an MRI or CT Scan shows ligaments but the surgeon said they only conduct an mri or ct scan if they are uncertain it's a torn ligament after doing the physical movement tests on the leg.
He's almost 4 yrs old and this is the 1st time he's held his leg up and limped. Nothing that I know of occurred for the injury to happen. He's an indoor dog 100% who goes on pee pads and with me literally 24/7. He's not in pain it doesn't seem. He lets me touch it and squeeze it. Even the vet had no problem conducting the tests. I'm just real confused on what to do. |
A CT or MRI is definitely not needed to determine a torn ligament. It would be a waste of good money that could be spent on the surgery. You can determine a ccl tear by manipulating the joint. its hard to explain how exactly its done but i have done it on some of the dogs that come in so i can see how bad the tear is before surgery. An x-ray can be taken to see if there is an inflammation or arthritis but its not going to help pre or post surgery because you won't see anything. Only in metal implants are used will you be able to see if the placement is good.
Some dogs are very stoic and won't tell you that they are in pain. However limping, holding the leg up, kicking it backwards, or bunny hopping are signs of LP or cranial cruciate tears. Tears hurt more then LPs because the ligament cannot properly hold the stifle in place anymore which causes the femur to slip beyond the joint so its grinding against the head of the tibia.
If your unsure, please get a second opinion to see what another surgeon says. it will make you feel better.