Torn ACL
Submitted by clintf07 on April 1, 2013 - 2:47pmHi All,
Just got back from vet and sounds like Bean has a torn ACL. Our vet performed the 'drawer test' and concluded that Bean in fact has a tear. Reading some past post by others on this board about ACL it appear there is some differences of option on surgery or not. Our vet essentially said some patients who opt to take anti-infamatories for a number of days have recovered from partial tears but can and sometimes do come back later with a full tear. I don't want to rush to surgery for anything but don't like the idea of Bean being in pain any longer than necessary. From other post it looks as though recovery is crucial and takes a good while of crate rest and rehab (simliar to humans w/ ACL). I'd like to hear other thoughts here or links to extra reading material. Bean is 1 1/2 and recently went through entropion surgery which also leads me to ask about estimated cost of surgery. We'll find out soon enough from the specialist I guess but we've had a rough run with vet bills the past few months.
Thanks,
Clint
no experiencs , so sorry to hear
I hope everything works out well for you an your little buddy an their are a few people one here who will have a vast amount of knowledge with this.
Cory & Penelope
We put Chester on anti imflammatories for his leg...
the ortho doc and our vet thought he had a partial tear, he was limping badly. After a few weeks of that and rest, he has been fine, no limp, no soreness and he plays with our other guys without any problems. It just depends on how bad the tear is I guess. Our ortho doc wanted $4400 for the surgery and regular vet was $3800. We had just spent $10,000 on emergency palate surgery, so we tried to avoid another one and it worked out so far. We live in Phoenix and prices are pretty high here.
Winston had a torn ACL
Firstly, I think we got an amazing price, but our vet is very good to us so take it with a grain of salt. Prices are going to vary, but I think you need to do your research on vets close to you who are experienced with both the surgery and bulldogs. Ours cost about $650, we had the traditional surgery performed (not TPLO).
That being said, you need to consult to determine which type of surgery would be best for you. Winston had a complete tear so crate rest and pain meds would not help. He stayed at the vet's from a Friday morning through Tuesday and came home Tuesday afternoon. He was clearly sore and groggy and had a zombie leg (it had a drain in the knee). For the first 2 weeks we had to carry him in and out to potty and he stayed in the crate the rest of the time unless he was going potty. Jon actually slept on the floor of the living room with him the first 3 nights he was home just to make sure he was ok in the crate.
Once his stitches and drain were removed we let him sit quietly on the couch with us but he still spent a lot of time in the crate. We slowly started letting him walk more on his own. We're about 9 months post op, and just went to the vet last Friday for his annual exam and the vet was really pleased with his knee recovery. He's back to 100% and the only thing he has to show for it is a small scar on his knee.
I think you need to determine if Bean will gain anything from crate rest (a partial tear may benefit from that). As well as contact your local bulldog club to see if any of the members can recommend a specialist vet close to you for the surgery.
Good luck and please keep us posted!
Shannon and Winston :)
My swimming bully buddy!
My 2 year old bulldog
My 2 year old bulldog partially tore his acl on March 14 so about 3 weeks ago. He has been on Rimadyl the last 3 weeks and has been spending a lot of time resting. His injured leg no longer has any limp to it but he started to favor his other hind leg. He had is check up a few days ago and due to him compensating while he was healing (just a guess the vet had) he now has a partial tear to his other back leg. He said it is not uncommon for a dog to injure the opposite leg once they do so to the first leg. So now its more bed rest and medicine to try and heal the other leg. I have been reading a lot abut the surgery too, and got mixed reviews. My vet said that if Otis is able to heal and have a good portion of his natural ACL left than that is better than having something artificial put in. I read about a product called Inflapotion-I havent tried it yet but I am thinking about getting it. I also give him a glucosamine supplement and fish oil. It all depends on the dog though. Good luck with your guy! Keep me posted I would like to know how it turns out for you. Thanks!