CCL surgery in Labrador

R

Richard Lathrop

Active member
We just found out one of our Labradors has torn the CCL ligament in left rear leg. Has anyone else gone though this with their Labradors?

Rick
 
As luck (bad luck) would have it, our lab appears to have done the same two days ago. Off to the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow for a closer look and to discuss options.
 
Had this happen with out viszla cross. Surgery and rehab was fine. She was not a working dog tho.

Not uncommon for dogs to blow the opposite ccl.

Sammi went thru the surgery and rehab and she was good as new afterwards. She never blew the opposite ccl but she was older when her first one blew. She lived the rest of her life as though the blown ccl never happened once she was healed
 
Yup, I have had labs all my life and have had several have this happen. They all did well with the surgery and rehab. I will say it is a expensive procedure and follow the recommendations of the vet. I build a ramp so the dog doesn't have to climb the stairs getting in an out of the house. Also for the first couple of weeks the dog needs to be kept quiet, all my dogs have been crate trained so that helps.
 
Thank you for all the responses. Consultation with one vet yesterday and another vet on Friday. As mentioned this is not cheap surgery and according to the vet the other leg is starting to show signs of damage.

Issue will be keeping two active Labradors calm for the rehabilitation period.

Rick
 
Located in Lewes, Delaware but talking to vets who specialize in CCL surgery in Philadelphia suburbs.

Our vet does not do the surgery and gave us several recommendations.

Rick
 
I would make sure and go with an orthopedist vs someone who does the surgery.
Make sure he is performing a TPLO.. there are other procedures out there .. but that is the one that fixes it the best; quickest return to work, least chance of long term failure..

Cost down here is about $4500-5
 
I had a lab blow out his CCL about 10 years ago. He was a big 95 lbs. guy. We had TPLO done. Not cheap, rehab took a few months. Vet warned he would likely do other knee but never blew out that knee. If the dog is young and active then I would repair it. But if the dog is older or retired from hunting I might just skip it and let him adapt to the unstable knee. I'd at least discuss options with the surgeon. The best one I've heard about is in Sun Valley, Idaho.
 
My lab tore her CCL in January 2021, on the last day of the duck season. She was only 5 at the time, after discussing options with a few vets and surgeons we opted to have the TPLO surgery done. She got it done the first week in March, and her first training retrieves were in late June. I was worried that her leg would never be the same but I have been amazed so far at how well she recovered, it didn't slow her down one bit and she can swim and run like nothing ever happened. We hunt waterfowl and upland and she's good to go with both. Honestly the recovery period was the toughest thing for us mainly because as soon as they feel better a week or two after surgery they think that they are back to 100% and want to go go go! We hunt a lot of shallow water that's not quite deep enough for her to swim in and too deep to just run through, I think that puts more stress on the joints than swimming or running and might have been a contributing factor.

The TPLO surgery is expensive for sure but seems to be the best lasting fix, for what it's worth it cost just under $2500 in Utah. Best of luck, I'm sure your dog will be raring to go before you know it!
 
Blue Pearl in Newark Delaware quoted 6-7K for the TPLO surgery. We have talked to other vets. The other vet is recommending an artifical ligament. He has done about 1500 and feels this is less invasive to the dog.

Ours is a family pet so not as active as a working dog and she damaged the leg playing with our other labrador.

Rick
 
I would strongly discourage you from the ?artificial ligament? . It is nothing more than a piece of monofilament. It?s not a matter of if but when that fails. Then you will have spent 1500 and still have to pay for a TPLO.
That procedure is recommended only for dogs less than 40 lbs
 
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