Cruciate Ligament Damage

[kid curry]

does anybody know how long it will take, before a dog who has had the above operation, will take to start walking normally again

[Eels]

Depends hugely on the type of operation (TPLO, over-the-top etc). All the different ops for this problem have the same time-to-100%-soundness (usually about 6 months), but time-to-bear-weight varies.

Can't help without more info, sorry.

[kid curry]

thanks Eels, the op was a partial torn cruciate, and therefore the vet has cut the rest of the ligament, as a tear is more painful than a complete break. Dog is a Labrador cross, slightly bigger than a thoroughbred Labrador. does this help?

[lankeela]

Try this link:

http://www.rottweilerwelfare.co.uk/Cruciate%20Ligament.htm

[lankeela]

Scroll down to CitiVet bit, where it says if bone healing has taken place (at about 8 weeks) then you can do light work at 2 - 3 months, light training at 3 - 4 months and full training at 6 months.

Sorry, but this is always a long job, and it has to be adhered to or the op will need doing again.

[Snappy]

A friends lab had this operation, it took her about 4months to get back to normal, then the other one went and she had to have the op again! I should mention the dog was and still is very overweight!

[Eels]

kid curry - what form of surgery did the dog undergo? There are a number of different techniques, with varying recovery times. No matter what form of surgery is done, average time to return to fitness is 6 months but for example, dogs which have the TPLO op will be putting their foot down sooner than those which have an over-the-top or d'Angelo repair. Without knowing which op the vet performed I can't say how long it will take for the dog to be walking comfortably again.

The most vital thing is rest for minimum 4 weeks after surgery. I really think you should be discussing this with your vet, to ensure the dog makes an optimal recovery.

[Pebbles]

Please, please be very aware that this operation can have problems in the future. Our beautiful Mastiff had this operation about 4 years ago and everything was fine until last year when the plate became infected and 2 small holes appeared in her leg with pus coming out. She had to have an operation to remove the plate but sadly suffered a stroke on the operating table and died.

Keep an eye on the plate. Any problems get it looked at immediately. I don't think we could of done anymore for her as we weren't aware this was a possibility.

[Eels]

Pebbles - so sorry to hear of your loss. Even if you have been aware of the potential for infection (which is present with any surgery, just increased when there is an implant in the bone) there is nothing anyone could have done to save her having the stroke. I'm so sorry for you.

Just to make this clear, that is only one form of surgery and other methids do not involve implants. As we are unsure if kid curry's dog has had the same surgery or not, we can't say whether this is a risk for his pet. In any case, this unfortunate outcome is thankfully very rare.

[Eric Git]

Just as Eels said, it depends on the surgery and the dog invloved. My springer had this op and hated being on the lead for six weeks, but what we did was after two weeks we took him to the local pond and let him swim on his lead, we also took himto the beach and did the same ther, that way he built up his muscle around the joint without putting pressure on it. This made all the difference when the time came for him to be able to roam free again and he never had any problems with the joint after that. By the way he was nine when he had his op and lasted another six years.