Cats and Birds information on net.

Q. My 9 yr old 40kg dog hurt her cruciate ligament in her right back leg two weeks ago. My vet took xrays and performed tests on the knee and told me that the ligament had completely torn. He then advised strict rest for four weeks and to use Rimadyl anti-inflammatories. Yesterday however I came home from work to find her not using either of her back legs. I rushed her down to an emergency vet who said it was highly likely that her other leg was starting to rupture too. No neurological problems were found. The emergency vet suggested that I contact an orthopaedic specialist as surgery was almost certainly warranted in the right leg now. Since then we have booked her in for surgery and she is on rimadyl and glucosamine to keep her happy in the meantime. Any advice? and are there any other alternatives at this stage? Thank you

A. It is quite common for dogs who have a cruciate ligament rupture in one leg to develop one in the other leg unfortunately. It is however, a little strange that two complete ruptures occur at the same time like this. From your description of events it does sound like this is what is occuring here though. Surgical stabilization of the stifle (knee joint) is advocated by most veterinary surgeons when cruciate ligament rupture has occurred in both legs as this will aid recovery. With both legs possibly ruptured I would definately seek specialist help like you have to ensure the best treatment is received. In this circumstance a double (bilateral) TPLO surgery may be necessary to ensure a quick recovery (although I am not an orthopaedic specialist this sounds the most sensible to me). Surgery is also likely to reduce the amount of arthritis that will build up in the future. The other alternative is to continue resting her with anti-inflammatories, although I think this is less ideal because the healing process will probably take a lot longer.

# posted by Medical Information : 1:22 AM