ACL surgery
 

Yesterday our pom fell in the kitchen. She was walking across the tile floor and just fell with all 4 legs straight out (kinda like Bambi on ice). I thought that her hip was injured but it turns out that she has blown the ACL in her back leg. Little thing didnt even cry! She is 10 1/2 yrs old,heart is good,blood work is good,hips are good,she is about a lb over weight (8lbs instead of 7lbs). We have started pain and anti-inflamitory meds to help her. She is not allowed to walk on the tile anywhere in the house for right now,just to much of a challenge with her injury.
I understand the surgery for repairs and was needing to hear what others have done for recovery. I want to make sure that I am prepared before we go into this. What is usually recommended. Thank you in advance for your time.

My desi was running full steam after a squirrel, all of a sudden she went down like a ton of brick, tore her ACL on the left leg. That was in August, we decided to operate and $1700 later an a lengthy recovery she was much better. Last month she went to climb some stairs and - bam- down again she went. Tore her ACL on her right leg. In August, the doctor did tell us that once they tear an ACL on one leg they usually end up tearing the other, he was right. This time he treated it with bed rest and medication to keep the inflamation down. I kept her in a X pen with as little movement as possible. Carried her to go outside and carried her in again, as little walking as possible. The plan was to allow the leg to form scar tissue and this tissue would actually hold the ligiment together. Well, to my surprise, 2 weeks later she's walking normally. You would never know that she has anything wrong with her leg... now... my question is...why couldn't we have done that the first time and save $1700??

That's sad! I hate to read of a 10 year old having an accident like that.

Cathy (107barney) just had her Barney go through ACL surgery a week ago tomorrow. You should send her a pm and she'll help guide you, I'm sure. My Kacee saw two large dogs cut across a corner of our yard and she tore out running like a maniac and turned wrong in her fenced-in yard and tore her ACL completely in two. She had surgery and you'd never know it ever happened. That was a little over three years ago now. She couldn't jump or run for two months. I had to take her out in her yard on a leash to be sure she didn't take off running. (She often gets the zoomies when she's out there!) She is good as new today. No indication it ever happened.

Hello. As Karen said, my dog Barney just had surgery last friday. He is 11.5 years old so naturally this was very stressful for us once we realized he had to have surgery. I was very worried as he had not been under anesthesia in many years (since his neuter as a puppy actually).

My advice is to take your dog to see a surgical specialist who is an ACVS dipomat (visit American College of Veterinary Surgeons to find one in your area). There are several procedures that can be used to correct an ACL and that decision is based on the particular dog. My dog had an extracapsular repair where a "fishing line" type filament was used to emulate the function of the ligament he tore. But, I went to a surgical specialist with expertise in ALL the types of repair so that the right repair strategy for our dog was chosen. There is a great article here by a surgical specialist that you may find helpful Yorkie Haven Rescue - Cranial Cruciate Ligament Tear Info

There is just no way I'd ever let a general vet do orthopedic surgery on my dog. Once the ACL is torn, it is likely the meniscus is also torn, and once those things are torn, the stability of the joint is just forever compromised without surgery.

I'm so glad I took Barney to surgery, it was scary and expensive, but it was the right thing to do for him. He has a long recovery ahead, but after just one week, I can see the promise in this solution, and I know it will be successful.

Good luck with your dog.

:thumbup::thumbup:

Good luck with your pup!

Thanks for the great advice. My vet would not even think of doing a surgery like this,bless him he knows his limitations. He did tell me that he has a specialist in mind. I have not been here all weekend and she seems to be about the same. Tomarrow we start anti-inflamatory meds to go with the pain meds. I had to wait for a different med to wean out of her system. I know that she is miserable.