# Kane has a partially torn cruciate ligament.



## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

We went to the vet's today for a completely unrelated thing I wanted to get checked out.

He has a spot on his right front paw, on the right-most toe, that is either getting infected from a splinter in there or is a histiocytoma. Dr M looked at it, told me to try more conservative methods before biopsy, like soaking the paw in epsom salts, gave me some antibiotics, and then turned her attention to his limping.

She asked me if this was the same limp I'd taken him in for at the end of April (right rear leg if you don't remember). I said yes and told her that now it was to the point where it wasn't getting better even after crate rest. She told him to sit and then lay down and noticed both times that his leg was cocked out to the side instead of underneath him. She then laid him on his side, manipulated his leg, and diagnosed him with a partial cruciate ligament tear. She can feel swelling in the joint and said there was grade 1 "drawer movement", which means the knee joint is moving forwards and backwards like a drawer instead of on a hinge.

She advised me to get him in to a specialist as soon as possible. She CAN do the surgery, a TPLO, but because he's such a young, active dog, she wants him to try getting a TTA surgery instead. It's cheaper, less invasive, less recovery time, and has a 97% recovery rate of mobility versus 90 (or 93?)% with a TPLO.

Right now she said it's gone on long enough that he WILL have arthritis in his knee, and that's why she wants me to get him in as soon as possible. She was saying even 2 months could be detrimental to him. The longer we wait, the more the cartilage in his knee degrades because of the frayed ends of the ligament rubbing against the kneecap. She also wants to prevent a complete ligament tear if we can, although it IS possible he has a complete tear instead of a partial because she did have one of her dogs with a complete tear that was only showing signs of a partial.

So. Kane's consultation is on August 25th at 8:30 at MSU veterinary school. It was the earliest they could get me in, but it's still irritating that it's almost two weeks in. They gave me an estimate of $2600-$3300.

Wish me luck guys. And if you have ANY information on this surgery, pre- and post-op, please let me know.

eta: Oh, also his CGC test is tonight, and he's going for the American Temperament Test on Saturday, so wish us even more luck, lol.


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## MY MIKADO (Apr 7, 2006)

I hope everything works out well for you guys. I am sending you healing vibes and loads of good luck wishes for his upcoming tests.


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## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

Thanks. I wasn't expecting to get this sort of news today and it came as a big shock. I wasn't aware that cruciate ligament tears were so prevalent, nor that they tended to affect young, athletic dogs more than any other although that makes sense.

I'm starting him on GlycoFlex per vet's instructions and we'll see what they say during the consultation.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

This is why I tell people to be so careful when just playing with a dog at any age. Things like playing a simple game of fetch if not done with caution can tear a ligament. I am just speaking in general not at you and Kane.

JMO I would go with the other surgery where it is less invasive and this is based on experience. Tasha blew her knee and we did the Surgery where the vets stitched the partial tear and it was a little more involved than that but I think that is what your vet was giving as the other option. Partial tears can be fixed like that full tears require the TPLO. I have had several clients do TPLO and it is about half and half on a good out come. My vet does the other procedure for like 1200 so you might want to get a second opinion when you make your mind up. Sorry you have to go through this, poor little Kane.


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## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

I don't know that I'll be able to play fetch with him ever again. I know fetch is what caused the initial injury. He's so over-the-top when he plays fetch, somersaulting, twirling, etc, because he loves it so much. The vet said that I need to prevent him from pivoting on his feet, and that's what he always does when he plays fetch. He runs as fast and hard as he can, realizes at the last second he can't slow down to catch the ball, and pivots back around to try to snag it at 20 mph. I don't know. I'm very scared for him. He's too young to have a bum knee, and I can't stop thinking of him being crippled for the rest of his life even though I know that's not true.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

He won't be crippled he will be fine if you get it fixed, don't let the vets scare you! I didn't know that is how he tore his ligament but it makes sense. I only play fetch with my dogs who are not hard on their body like that, the others I do flirt pole with. You can control that if you are careful, you could also try treadmills for exercise.


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## woof_sense (Apr 30, 2011)

It's really an unfortunate situation to be in. If surgery is the answer so your pet can regain full use of his limbs, then I wish you the best of luck. Here's some more information about the procedure-- Cranial Cruciate Ligament Rupture Repair ? TopDogHealth.com

Please do update us.


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