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05-05-2005, 06:07 AM | #1 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Victoria mn
Posts: 31
| Cranial Cruciate Ligament Injury I have been off and trying to find out what is wrong with my Rocky. We got Bullwinkle 6 weeks ago as a play mate for Rocky. Rocky is 5 years and Bullwinkle is 14 weeks. Took Rocky a week to let Bully stay. ((smile)) Rocky started limping and I thought oh great his knees. We 2 nights ago he and Bully were chasing and having a good ol'time and Rocky turned a yelled out in pain. Of course I took him in. Had 3 x-rays and found out that his knees are great, but he has blown out the lagiments that hld the two bones together. Aso showed that it must have happend before on the right leg, arthritis already setting in on the right leg, and muscel mass has decreased on the right leg. Now the left. He is limping and will limp to got to the potty and back to laying down. We cannot afford to put out the $$ to do both legs. We are going to wait and see how he fairs. He could be just o.k. and no jumping or stairs from here on out. Or he could be in alot of pain. My hubby, son, daughter and I cried our eyes out last night to think of having to put him down. He is only 5 years old. Anyone else ever have this happen to their baby? |
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05-05-2005, 07:09 AM | #2 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 9
| ligament injury One of my other dogs, a Lhasa, has this on her rear left leg. We opted not to do surgery because while the success rate is pretty good, we were told it is very painful (a neighbor told us their dog cried for months!) and that she still would have a 50% chance of developing arthritis with the surgery (70% chance without.) This all happened last summer. She's 6 years old. We opted to put her on Cosequin (per the vet's recommendation) - twice a day - for several weeks and after two months, tapered back to one capsule daily. Within two weeks, she started putting weight back on her leg. Within 6-8 weeks she was running again. Because she didn't use the leg regularly for so long, she did lose quite a bit of muscle mass, but it has built back up to the point where it is almost as strong as her good leg. We still have to limit her playtime and rough-housing and are very careful about her jumping off any high places (she loves to jump off the last two stairs!) It just becomes something you manage, but fortunately, there are quite a few good products out there for preventing arthritis, reducing inflammation, and protecting their joints. I do recommend Cosequin, and until they come out with something better, Ginger will be on this for the rest of her life. Good luck with your baby. I know how upsetting these types of setbacks are, but they can be overcome. |
05-05-2005, 07:13 AM | #3 |
BANNED! Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 8,246
| How much would the treatment be for both legs? |
05-05-2005, 10:15 AM | #4 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Victoria mn
Posts: 31
| Cost of Treatment for Both Legs It would run close to $1000. per leg. And the vet would only do one leg at a time. There is a 3-month recovery after the proceedure. 6 months + tied up in getting this done. We had a family meeting, my son is 14 years and daughter 8.5 years, we all cried at the thought of losing Rocky. We have decided to let him heal, and see how he recovers. Right now he gets up to go potty and eat and then back to the pillow. I just got home, and usually both boys meet me at the door. Only bully was there and Rocky was all perky ears waiting for me to come to see him. I cried. He is my fur baby. I want him to have a good life. After the healing time if he is only going to get up to potty and eat - - what kind of life is that? Really struggling here |
05-05-2005, 10:16 AM | #5 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Ojai
Posts: 88
| Try this You can choose to try this: can get arnica montana and give 1/4 of the bottle dosage for humans. Also get a tube of the cream of arnica cream and rub it on. I would also add in Omega 3 oil to the diet. I do these things for my family & they all work great. Healing is in 1/2 the time and complete from my experience. best, deborah |
05-05-2005, 10:29 AM | #6 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California
Posts: 516
| Thanks for all of the great info! i looked up Cosequin online and I can get it for $26.99 for 90 tabs, whereas my vet wants $48 for the same amt! The site is entirelypets.com. My Chewie has the luxating patella thing, so I am going to try that for her! Thanks again. This is a GREAT forum! I love it! |
05-05-2005, 10:32 AM | #7 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California
Posts: 516
| Amd for Rocky, I would try some of those things, too. Good luck! |
05-05-2005, 10:46 AM | #8 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California
Posts: 516
| Also, we built a ramp for her to get on and off of the bed and couch. You might try that, too. And they have pain pills you could get for him, too, I think it's called Rimadyl . Ask your vet. I would not put him thru the operations even if I had the money. The recovery period is terrible, as your vet mentioned. Last edited by spydergurl; 05-05-2005 at 10:48 AM. Reason: wrong info |
12-05-2005, 07:48 PM | #9 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Canada
Posts: 5
| This just happened to my Yorkie, Cruella 1 month ago and she is to go for surgery on Dec 15, but I ache at the thought. It will cost me 1500.00 for this surgery. |
12-05-2005, 08:07 PM | #10 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Central Texas
Posts: 2,624
| My daughter's cocker spaniel had the surgery and she did great - it wasn't bad at all, she didn't seem to be in pain much after surgery. My daughter did the physical therapy and she recovered very well - it did take some time though, and my daughter had to do the therapy for many many weeks. A canine orthopedic surgeon did the surgery and he is top notch. I would definitely recommend an orthopedic surgeon, if you can find one (for those of you who opt for the surgery).
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12-05-2005, 08:15 PM | #11 |
Donating YT 30K Club Member | Zorro my yorkie I had back in the '80's came out of the bedroom crying, my young dtr was with him so we don't know what really happened, but I took him to the vet and they said he had a tear in his cruciate ligament and his knee cap needed regrooving. I had the surgey done which even back then cost 700.00 and he never completely healed. He would always hold that back leg a little off the ground. The recovery was not too bad, my in laws were in from Florida and were home with him for 2 weeks. He was a very laid back dog so he was content to jusy lay on a pillow. I don't think he was in much pain after the initial tear so I don't know if it was worth having the surgery done or not. Good Luck
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12-05-2005, 08:51 PM | #12 |
YT Addict Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: AB, Canada
Posts: 387
| My little silky x had this happen about 5 yrs. ago. My vet told me that if she were a larger dog he would definitely recommend the surgery even though the success rate is not 100 %. However because she was so small he said with proper care and rest there was a good chance that it would heal well enough for her to get along fine and that is what happened. We had to watch her for about 6 wks. no jumping up or down, no stairs etc. It was difficult because she was very active but we did our best and she healed really well. From that time until she passed away in August (at 12 yrs. of age) she had very few problems with her leg. Once in a while if she really overdid it she might limp for a couple of days but she certainly didn't seem to be in any pain and those times were few and far between. If you do consider the surgery I would be sure to get a second opinion because you don't want to put them through it if there is any chance that they can manage without. Whatever you decide I hope your little one does well. Kathy, Tango and Gypsy |
12-06-2005, 02:56 PM | #13 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 9
| It's a tough decision to make. I mentioned above in an earlier posting, that one of my other dogs, a Lhasa, had a cranial cruciate ligament injury to her left rear leg about 18 months ago. Her left leg is as strong as it was before the injury and her muscle mass is back to normal. However, about a week ago she was rough-housing with Bart, our Yorkie, and she is limping again - but it's her right rear leg now! At the time of her initial injury, the orthopedic surgeon suggested surgery to fix her left leg. The surgery would have fixed the tear and he also would have made grooves into her leg bone so that the ligament would be more secure in the future. Apparently, the way she's built, the ligament is not secure. However, that surgery would not have prevented her current injury in the right leg. Apparently, it's the way she's built. She's always going to be prone to this type of problem. So, if you are trying to make a decision, my recommendation is to find out a) whether your dog can successfully heal without an invasive treatment like suregery; and b) is your dog predisposed to this type of injury because he/she is built a certain way. I know some dogs may have only one bad knee or leg. My Yorkie, Bart, has one loose knee, according to the vet - so I may very well consider surgery should he need it some day. However, with Ginger, the Lhasa, we could end up having surgery multiple times! With this new injury, I gave her Metacam for 3 days to reduce any swelling and I doubled her Cosequin to two capsules a day (she weighs about 15lbs.) Within a few days, she started putting weight back on the leg and she's now jumping back up onto the sofa and going down the stairs again. (she's not yet going up the stairs - probably too much weight on the leg.) In a nutshell, I would recommend talking to an orthopedic vet AND a regular vet not associated with the surgeon's practice. Just as with humans and their doctors, many surgeons believe wholeheartedly in surgery as the answer, while general pracitioners and internists may not. Good luck! |
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