Hi

just wondering if anyone elses dogs needed an op for this? lady has damaged hers badly, they gave us drugs to try and help with the swelling but it seems to be getting worse and she has been on bed rest since her trip to the vets.

what can i expect to happen?

i know she will need hydro therapy with leashedforlife told me about- thanks again and i have some links to read up on about that. i just mean with the op and the healing time, when you can start walking them again etc

thanks in advance

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Indie completely ruptured the cruciate on her left knee, and had to have it repaired. In very simple terms, the vet used an acrylic cord to form a false ligament, by drilling a hole through one bone, and using a natural hook on the other bone. The body rejects the acrylic cord as a foreign body, and coats it with cells, eventually forming a false structure, if you like, not the same as a ligament, but pretty much in the same place. In the meantime, with careful exercise, the knee joint builds up a good muscle structure to help hold everything in place.

Indie is now sound again, big and daft as ever. She did go on to develop a problem with the meniscus pad in the same knee. These are kidney shaped and there are two on each knee that form shock absorders, one of hers had folded over, giving a stone in shoe type effect, leaving her in some discomfort and continually lame.

I wouldn't ever take her soundness for granted and am very careful about her exercise and diet, she needs to be kept trim for life so as not to exert too much undue pressure on that particular joint, as a lot of these problems are exacerbated by excess weight, not particularly obese dogs, but just a little bit extra can make a difference.

Also, Indie's rupture seems to have been an unlucky twist, and she appears to have had an old injury to that knee that I knew nothing about. But cruciate injuries can be bilateral, so can affect the other knee, particularly with the extra strain from weight bearing on the sound side whilst the other knee heals. So if the knee joint is of a structure where it is prone to cause cruciate ligament damage, then you need to be very careful about the other knee whilst the damaged knee heals. Hope that makes sense.

Good luck with Lady, it is a long road to recovery and you need to be very careful, but it is definitely possible to get them fit, sound and enjoying life to the full again!!!

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thank you very much for your reply and the information. so how long was your dog on bed rest for after the op? did you do the hydro therapy too?

sorry for the mountain of questions i just like to know what i am talking about when discussing it with the vets

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Indie was pretty much rested solidly for six weeks, I slept downstairs with her during that time next to her crate. She was in a lot of pain initially, it is a big operation for them, so be prepared for an uncomfortable few nights from them.

The tricky part is the pain medication, you don't want them to be in pain, but neither do you want them leaping about as if they can't feel a thing. Pain is there for a reason, it is to tell you that doing that isn't really any good for you. So as soon as you feel you can, wean the medication down and completely off, but you need to judge how you think Lady is doing, you'll know better than anyone and don't be afraid to tell the vet what you want for Lady.

Yes, Indie did do hydro, but she doesn't particularly like swimming, and it didn't help that the insurance only covered the use of certificated hydro places, which are those one's that have the dog stuck in the centre, triangulated on ropes in the middle of the pool so they are swimming nowhere. Looking back, I'd rather have paid for hydro where you/instructor gets in with the dog, and gets them to swim of their own accord.

It took a full 18 months for Indie to get fit again, and despite what the vet said, I wouldn't feel happy taking her on hugely long walks. Their view was that she should be able to run around as a normal dog, but unfortunately, she does show signs of lameness if you overdo it with her. My ex used to take her on ten mile walks, too long for a dog with a rebuilt knee in my books.

What do you feed Lady on? There are a few things you can add to diet, other than the glucosamine/chondroitin, off the top of my head there is also devil's claw and joint aid (which I think contains the g&c mix). I can look up a few others for you as well.

Indie recently took part in a fun gundog day to raise funds for charity, and came third in the scurry, which involved a couple of low jumps over hay bales, and and all out short sprint, not bad at all considering all she's been through, and being up against younger and fitter dogs

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Countryside Alliance



Follow my art here http://tarimoorart.blogspot.com/

omg i knew this was serious but i didnt realise just how serious it was if that makes sense. poor lady she is so miserable not going on her walks as it is and we are only at the start of this journey

i really pray we have enough on the insurance to cover it all too.

i have just bought two huge bags of arden grange dog food on the advice of some of the forum members.

i was really hoping these anti inflamertry drugs would help but i dont think they will not from what you have said. i wasnt there when it happened but hubby said she was playing with suki in the pond thing in the woods when he just heard her scream out in pain and she kept crying until he made it around the pond to her. she has been limping ever since but doesnt cry if you touch her leg or the joint.

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Yes one of mine did. He did the injury just running out in the field one day. The vet said it happens commonly if they are running at speed and then sharply change direction- like footballers! He had surgery on the leg though I am unsure what type his was. It wasn't that expensive, maybe £600 in total for everything. Three months after the surgery he did the same injury in the other leg. I knew instantly! So he had surgery in that one too. Anyway to cut to the chase he did fine, recovered well and you would never have known he had had any problems with his knees. He had full tears and also damaged the meniscus in the knee too which needed cleared up. Never had hydro or anything like that. He did well on the glucosamine tablets and didn't develop arthritis in later years. He had the ops at 10 years old and died sadly of cancer at 13, but his legs never bothered him.

Think Rona has...not 100% sure though.

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My two babies. Separated for a while but now both reunited on Rainbow Bridge, running in a field of daises. Gone but not forgotten. Love you always and forever



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0281358/quotes?qt0401992

You didn't look at that link I gave you the other day did you?

argh sorry rona guilty as charged

since baby is asleep i shall look right now x

thanks everyone x

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Yup my boy had a wedge tplo surgery to correct his ruptured CCL.

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