ACL Tear -- would love to hear your experiences/thoughts.
Submitted by blueovalgal on October 29, 2010 - 4:34pmLast week, we took Angus Rose to the vet to have her limp looked at. Our vet took X-rays and said it looked like Angus had a partial ACL Tear. She recommended us to a vet specialists group for a second opinion. We took Angus two days ago, and it was confirmed that Angus had torn her ACL on her right rear leg. They recommended sugery (TPLO). It's expensive so we're trying to come up with the funds to pay for it. Though I trust the opinion of the vet specialists group, I'm wondering if we should try and find an English bulldog vet to get another opinion? Will their opinion be different?
I guess I'm wondering if I could hear your thoughts and experiences about this. I've had her on Cosequin for almost two weeks, and she seems back to her normal self, wanting to run and play, which I try very hard to limit. (I don't want her to make it worse.) She turns four years in December.
Thanks in advance,
Barbara and Angus Rose
Sadie tore her CCL when she was 8. We took her to orthopedic
specialists, and we opted for the TTA because it is less invasive. I also want to add Sadie is not real active so the TTA worked out well. The hardest part of the surgery was keeping her calm for 8 wks, it is amazing how fast they bounce back. She is now 10 1/2 and we have had no issues. Best of luck to you.
Yes, CCL! :)
I keep forgetting that's what it's called... ;) In addition in trying to figure out the funds, we've been trying to figure out how we're going to keep her calm for those 8 wks. Thanks for your feedback! We do appreciate it!!
We were fortunate that she liked her crate. When she wasn't in
her crate, we would keep a very short leash on her and tie her to the couch. As long as she was with us she was ok, and the leash prevented her from making sudden fast movement like playing with the cat.
she
2 ACL Surgeries 10 weeks apart !!!!
I know my story is pretty unique. At the young age of just 11 months our pup Eleanor jumped off the daybed while playing with her Aunti and tore her right acl. We had surgery on 3/11 and home we went for the recovery. Keeping them quiet for 8 weeks is a challenge. Well 10 weeks post-op she was out in the backyard and decided to race to the fence with the rest of the bulldog crew and was accidently run into by her mother. Well she went down and when she tried to get up she fell right back down and could not walk on her "good leg". Back to the vet we went who confirmed she tore her acl on her good leg ! 1 week later on May 27 we were back to surgery and when the orthopedic did the repair he told us that the injury appeared to be old as there was already moderate arthritic changes !! We think she hurt both of her legs initially and it was just a matter of time before her "good leg" gave way. Great news is we are now 5 months post op from her last surgery and she is doing fantastic. She gaits without even a limp. Good enough that she will be back in the show ring next month. Lucky for us ACL is deemed an injury and she can still be shown. Of course jumping of any sort has been totally banned from my house !!! Eleanor's grandma Gracee who is 9 years old has had a partial tear (not bad enough to require surgery) for 4 years now and is doing just fine. She is on vetprofen and is having no issues. I think the trick is to find a good orthopedic surgeon. Lucky for us the ortho came to our vets clinic to do the surgery. We do have Eleanor on chondroflex. Also her acl repairs were just the standard TTL and not TPLO. Hope this helps ! Good Luck !
Wow!
I'm happy to hear your dogs are doing well now!! Do you think we should find an orthopedic surgeon who specializes with bulldogs? As I wrote in the other post, Angus is very active and sometimes seems to forget she has a limp. She also injured her leg after she ran into my boyfriend's legs, and similar to your situation, the vet thought Angus might of had tears already and running into my boyfriend's legs took it over the edge and ripped it. How were you able to keep the puppy calm when she had to go potty? Thanks for info! Every thing everyone is writing is helpful for me!
I would definintely find an
I would definintely find an orthepedic surgeon that knows bulldogs when it comes to using the correct anesthetic. Bulldogs are so tough that they forget sometimes they are hurt especially if they are active to begin with. Eleanor being just a puppy was even tougher to keep calm. For each surgery it was 8 weeks of crate rest. We also started physical therapy with her 3 days after surgery for 8 weeks. Mostly flexing exercises followed by heat & ice 3-4 times a day. It really helped that my hubby and I work opposite shifts as he would do her morning PT and I would do late afternoon and then before bed. I would be more then happy to share the physical therapy schedule with you. I strongly believe this played a big part in her recovery. Also, for 8 weeks when we took her out to potty she was on a leash. For the first week we used a support that went under her belly - this helped balance her. They typically will start to toe touch and in about 1-2 weeks will start putting weight on the surgery leg. Anything else - just ask. I've gone through a total of 4 acl surgeries in my 13 years in the breed.
Yes, I'd be interested in that!
I'm getting ready to email the breeder whom we got Angus from and ask if there's anyone she'd recommend. We're still working on getting the funds together so we can get the surgery done soon. Thanks for your post and will keep in touch with you! Barbara
HI Barbara,Where are you
HI Barbara,
Where are you located ? You can e-mail me at bullyfulbulldogs@msn.com and I will e-mail you the PT schedule. Please keep me posted on Angus !
Kym
I'm in Los Angeles...
It's really late here but will email you tomorrow! Thank you for your advice and help!! I appreciate it more than you know! Barbara
Rosie tore both CCL
We just had her right leg repaired..TTL in July...We found a good ortho vet and went with the surgery...we decided to do the tradional method due to it being much less invasive and the vet agreed....She still has a limp and gets stiff when laying around but that could be the arthritis? she is 7....she needs her other leg done but we have put it off for now...the funny thing is she limps more on her repaired leg then on her torn one..funny but true! She was kept crated for 8 weeks and did fine with that...leash walked and definitely no running, jumping or fast movement during those 8 weeks.....I have seen on the news recently a newer procedure that involves stem cells that I am trying to research but havne't found much on it..maybe because it's newer? You might want to look in that route as well..basically the procedure involves taking fat from the dogs and creating stem cells then injecting them in the knee to repair it.....sounds like a great option IF it works but since it's still pretty new it's hard to find a lot of info on it. goodl uck :)
Danielle & Rosie
Angus hates her crate...
Hated it since she was a puppy. She associates her leash with going for walks, and it's been hard, trying to get her to associate the leash with going JUST to the front yard to go potty and to stay calm. She gets excited for her walks! Thanks for your input!!
Exercise Pen
or play pen was recommended by my vet as well as the ortho surgeon instead of a crate. I've gone through 2 of the surgeries with 2 different dogs. The surgery will only be as good as the post surgery care. No stairs, running, jumping, etc. is extremely important for 8 weeks for the old method and 15 weeks with the TPLO surgery.
Best of luck! It is difficult keeping them quiet, especially if they are active.
We do have a pen...
we're trying to plan for everything before we do the surgery. I agree with you that the surgery will only be as good as the post surgery care. Limiting Angus's activity will definitely be our biggest challenge especially AFTER the surgery. Thanks for your thoughts and advice!! It's giving me lots to think about and prepare for!
Practice
before the surgery. I would start doing what you will be doing after the surgery now to get Angus acclimated to the new routine.
Ditto to that!
We started to do that, and though some of it is going well, having her on the leash to go potty instead of walks outside is confusing for her. I hope she figures it out soon! Thanks again for your advice and help!! I really appreciate it! Barbara