Dog question??

Huntindave McCann

Huntindave McCann

Well-known member
Sponsor
I just got off the phone with my wife who had just got off the phone with our vet. My dog still needs xrays to confirm but preliminary diagnosis is he has a torn "acl" which will require surgery to correct.

Anybody have experience with this issue? I like to hear what you can share regarding the outcome and his future.

Thanks
 
Tell me more about your dog? Breed, age, weight, level of activity....In general, most of my patients weighing less than 20 lbs I would chose conservative treatment, cage rest and pain meds for 6 wks. In greater than 40 lbs and especially active hunting kids, I would vote for TPLO surgery. Get it done by a specialist (not me!!!). pm or call if I can help

Brian
cell 256-566-3870
 
Dave,

I haven't experienced with any of my dogs. Hope everything comes out okay and Jack's back up around soon.

Ed L.
 
There is an alternative to TPLO surgery. It involves implanting a length of monofiliment in the joint to mimic the ligament. Ultimately tissue grows around it and serves the ligament function. Dr. Ira McCauley, of Fatboy fame, performend this operation on one of my labs and she is good as new...and she is a very athletic retriever. Ira left today for a goose hunt on Hudson Bay. Maybe he'll see this when he gets back and provide more information.

Jeff Churan
 
Thanks for you reply. To answer your questions and to give everyone more info;

Breed : Lab
Age : 7 years
Weight: 60 lbs
activity: home schooled hunting dog, slightly out of shape due to the off season but defiantly not overweight, generally a hard charging dog

If I happen to be working on one of my boats in the drive way he will, with out encouragement, jump up into the trailered boat just to be with me. When he see me loading hunting gear he will do the stationary jumping thing while still in his kennel. You would swear he had a pogo stick under him!

This was all good right up till late May of this year. At times he would let out one quick yelp as if he had stepped on something. At first this was only once in a great while and then became more frequent.

Two weeks ago I took him in to the local vet and started him on some meds. The meds made for a very limited amount of improvement but the problem was still there. That brings me to the current situation of the torn "acl" diagnosis.

Would you mind if I gave you a call sometime over the weekend? (free cell phone minutes ;>) )
 
From you description and from what my wife related to me, it sound like the implant thing is what my vet has in mind. He mentioned replacing the tendon/ligament (?) with a titanium wire. Too bad for me Ira left today, I would have liked to discuss it with him. Right now Jack (my dog) is schedule for this procedure next Tuesday. I couldn't see waiting till more damage was done. As it is this will put him on the injured list for this season.

Humping my sorry butt across the marsh, chasing a cripple, will either get me in shape or kill me. Guess I'll be more selective on my shots this year.

How long ago did Ira do this for your dog? How old was she then and did Ira give you a life expectancy for the procedure itself? I know in humans, replacement hips and such wear out and need redone, don't know if this would apply here or not.
 
Dave,

The surgery on our dog was done a year and a half ago...prior to last hunting season. She was four years old and weighs 70 lbs. The procedure he performed involved attaching a strand of monofiliment, not titanium. I'm sure your vet knows about it. The TPLO procedure involves hardware, is patented, and can only be done by licensed veterinary surgeons. Ira will not be back until Wednesday. His brother, Aaron, is his partner and is enroute to their duck camp right now. If you e-mail me, I will give you his cell number. The prognosis for success is very good. In fact, there is a greater likelyhood of her blowing the other ACL out.

Jeff Churan
 
Dave

I compete in field trials and have known several dogs that have had the tplo sergery done with great success they are generaly back to work in 3 months or so this dosn't help you much this year to hunt over your dog also the dog will need a few weeks of phisyo therapy after the sergery and this is generally pretty pricy the average cost hear in Canada is around 3500.00 by the time you are finished.

Chris Bayles
 
Jeff,

Thanks for the additional info. I'm just trying to get a handle on real life results concerning this. I know that each case will be different and has to stand on it's own merits but trying my best to eliminate any surprises.

If Ira and his brother, Aaron weren't on a hunting trip I'd probably give them a call BUT I'm not going to interrupt their R&R.

I'm not sure if the titanium wire is a replacement for or just an option to, the monofiliment but he specifically said titanium. Maybe it depends on if he is a fisherman or not. (joke hehe)


I just reread your reply and realized that (if I understood correctly) Aaron is Not with Ira and is at their duck camp there in Missouri. I'm still not going to bother him tho, There is a reason it's called time away from the office.


[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]
"The prognosis for success is very good. In fact, there is a greater likelyhood of her blowing the other ACL out."
Click to expand...
[/font]That does help put my mind at ease.
 
Dave,
I would at least talk to another vet before choosing a procedure. If nothing else, they will give you piece of mind that the procedure is a good option for an ACL tear. When Bailey was diagnosed with hip dysplasia, I talked to a couple of other vets about it, and between them found what sounded like a good middle ground for managing it. One place you might check is a university vet program. They often are aware of the latest information.

Scott
 
Dave one thing for sure make sure the vet who does the procedure has done several of them this is a common ocurance in retrievers the clinic around here see about 6 a month.

Chris
 
Dave, Sorry to hear about Jack but the good news is that ACL probklems are common enough that vets do enough of them to be good at it. I know of several dogs that have had this trouble and recovered completly. It's a bit like Walkers hip dyspasia- my vet said " Just let him tell you when he has had enough and the truth of the matter is that we should maybe not go at it 110% all the time too. The vet was a pheasant hunter with two springers that had bad hips and he would just go slow and stop when the dogs told him to. The very best of luck to you guys and keep us informed on the progress.
 
Tom, as always there is always lots of good and expert advice on this forum. I run field trial dogs and torn ACLs followed by the TPLO surgery is fairly common. One of the vets who specializes in this surgery in our area also runs field trials so he well understands the intensity of work these dogs perform.

I agree with those that suggested you consult with an orthopedic specialist. I don't know the relative factors between the TPLO which is pretty major, they actually cut the bone and reposition it relative to the joint at and angle that is easier on the ligament. The vet I told you about can pretty much tell just by looking at an xray which dogs will be prone to tearing an ACL vs dogs that you really don't have to worry about it. Basically the dogs that are ok are dogs with legs already at the angle the TPLO would be trying to achieve.

Is there a good University vet school near you? Out here we either go to Washington State, Colorado State or Univerty of California Davis. You have probably already done this, but google TPLO and you will learn a lot about it and probably find a certified surgeon near you. I don't know how you will get an objective, expert opinion on which surgery is better for your dog though.
 
John, I think you are a bit confused. Dave has the dog with the torn ACL not me. Mine has his own sets of problems but the onew in question is Dave McCann's Jack not mine. Good call on the university vet hosp tho. I live in the Mpls./ St.Paul area and we have acess to a great one at the U of Minn. Oh well no foul at all just wanted to clear up some confusion.
 
I had a chocolate lab he was very similar to your labs weight. I know you are going to say this is crazy but.... My dog tore his acl, I took him to 1 vet who was for surgery. I took him to the vet she recommended for the surgery and he told me the cost and the problems that could arise. Before i left his office he also stated that in several cases he has seen dogs recover by limiting their movement etc. Because of money issues I decided to wait it out for awhile. Point blank Max healed and he never looked back. I can say he never favored his left leg again. Maybe a far stretched sucess story but it worked for him. Oh yeah I prayed alot for him and that pain medicine helped him I'm sure. Whatever you do I will pray for your dogs total healing with or without surgery. Good luck
 
Dave,

I spent some time with Dr. Aaron McCauley this weekend and I asked him about the procedure he did on my lab female. He said it is called the "extra-capsular" repair. He has never heard of anyone doing it with titanium wire. He used to use monofiliment, but now he uses a braided surgical product he called fire wire. He said the TPLO procedure is a very good one...its only drawback being the cost. He said the heavier the dog is, the more he'd lean toward TPLO. He said there are other methods besides these two.

Good luck with this.

Jeff Churan
Chillicothe, MO
 
Thanks for the additional info Jeff.

My dog Jack goes for x-rays tomorrow (Tuesday) and I'll be talking with my vet on Wednesday when I pick Jack up. I'll post an update with what he says.
 
Brian

I'm not sure how to say this except to just blurt it out. I know your heart's in the right place but looking at your avatar leads me to believe that you might be a little young to be offering advice?????

Gee, you sounded a lot older over the phone!

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
 
I'm glad my boy takes after his momma.....hopefully number 2 will also!

Good luck with your pup and give me shout if I can help.

Brian
 
Dave, this is good advice. Both procedures are options. Generally, we do not reccommend medical management unless the owner wont do surgery. There is progressive arthritis and you can loose your surgical opprotunity if enough arthritis develops. Extracapsular repair is the old standby that has been around for years and years. I hear that a modified method is getting ready to be published and think we are doing it now by and large with the new suture that we are using.

TPLO has been around for a while now too and it has been very successful by and large. Either procedure has its possible problems. Age, cost, size and body condition are all factors that we take into account when deciding what procedure to perform. Be prepared for 10- 12 weeks of R&R for your pooch!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top