Comments on: Hidden Costs and Unexpected Costs of Cranial Cruciate Ligament Repair in Dogs

By: Krystle

Krystle — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 04:51:18 +0000

Shannon,
I am going through the same thing. My 8 year old Beagle was diagnosed as having a ruptured ACL but I really would like to stay away from surgery if possible and was thinking about hydrotherapy. What did you end up doing?

By: Lee

Lee — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 20:22:36 +0000

I have a 2 year old female St. Bernard (Hannah). A few weeks ago we noticed a serious limp. Took her in to my vet who xrayed and tells me she has torn her craniel cruciate ligament in her hind left leg. I’m from a small town and need to travel 4 hours to have the surgery performed.(since she is a large breed dog) The surgery date is scheduled for Oct. 19 which is still a month away. Trying to restrict her activity as much as possible but with 2 other saints it’s very difficult as she wants to run and play with them. This past week her limping seemed to subside and I thought it wouldn’t be a problem waiting the month for surgery. However, today I get up and she is limping terribly when she walks and when she is standing in one spot her hind leg is dangling. I’m giving her glucosomine nightly and also meloxicam. Is there something else I can give her during the days that she seems extra sore while we wait for the surgery. Any advice would be greatfully apprecieated!!!

By: Robert Collins

Robert Collins — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 07:55:43 +0000

i am looking for cheap fat pads, can someone tell me a store that sells them cheap?~”;

By: Sofia Singh

Sofia Singh — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 05:10:49 +0000

i am looking for cheap fat pads, can someone tell me a store that sells them cheap?.:*

By: LSM

LSM — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:17:27 +0000

I am sooooo very sad. I have 2 sons, one who is a beautiful 4 yr old and my oldest who is my 150lbs rottie/shepard named Sammy. I found out yesterday that Sam has a ruptured/torn cruciate ligament. the vet says that surgery is our only option which would be performed by a specialist at approx $3000.00. Sammy is 8yrs old, and I do not have $3K. I am thousands of dollars in debt, and I am completely lost. I am not ready to let Sammy go. I am crying while I type this. Since my “human” son has been born, Sammy has taken a back seat, and now the guilt is like poison. I cried all day at work…ALL DAY. My eyes are sooo swollen. I dont want him to be in any pain, and I heard that no human can truly understand how high of a pain tolerance canines possess; so he could really be feeling so much worse than I could ever tell. He is limping but other than that, he is wagging his tail, he seems happy to see me when I come home.

the worse part is that I live in an APT, and he HAS to climb 13 steps to go in & out for bathroom trips. so far he can go up & down but i have no idea how long that will last. i dont even know when this became torn. Now my 4yr old is taking a back seat, because i truly cant think about anything else. someone please tell me what to do…or at least what i should be looking for. i dont want to put him down unless it is necessary. i cant stop the tears from falling; someone please tell me something…

im not ready to lose him…is it time? my vet didnt give me many options; just surgery. any insight would be very much appreciated.

i am sooo sorry; i am just overwhelmed with sadness; i just want to do whats best for him…

By: Stacey

Stacey — Sun, 16 May 2010 00:43:42 +0000

My 7 year old lab/rhodesian ridgeback might have a torn ligament. We took him in last week and they said that there is movement but to just keep him on bed rest for two weeks and bring him back. If he has a torn ligament will it ever get better with time without surgery? The cost of surgery is aweful. I do not know what to do. He is a big suck. We also have another dog(Chesapeake Bay Retriever) with the same problem but he has had it for 6 years and you would not know that there was anything wrong with him except when he comes down the stairs he only uses three legs. I would just like some opinions on what to do that is all.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:39:08 +0000

We have a 11-12 year old 35 lb. beagle mix that has a leg injury. One vet wasn’t sure if it was a full torn ACL and that their was inflammation and to keep him in a kennel and on anti-inflammatories for 2 weeks and bring him back for a check up (which will be 1 week from today). Took him to another vet for a second opinion and she said she thinks it’s a full tear and surgery is necessary. He seemed to be doing better for last week, but last night seemed worse again. So, thinking it’s time for surgery and trying to decide between the TPLO or the traditional micro-filament surgery. The traditional seems so much less invasive and has less complications. Just thinking that since he’s already 11 or 12, I hate to have him miss out on the entire summer of swimming and (light) playing since he doesn’t have many summers left. With TPLO, sounds like he’ll be recovering all summer long. Any advice? Should we wait another week or go ahead with surgery ASAP?

By: Kenneth

Kenneth — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:10:16 +0000

Hi Sandy -

If you’ve talked to 2 vets who have given you different opinions, I’d recommend to go see a 3rd. If $2,500 is too much to spend, I’d be inclined to say that diet/weight restriction would be a great place to start to see if that helps your dogs mobility at all. We had the surgery, but our 60lb pitbull dropped 25% of her body weight… she now ranges between 42-45lbs… Can you say “Biggest Loser”???

Weight loss has defnitely helped our dog, and while it won’t take the place of having a knee surgically repaired, it will definitely help in mobility and recovery.

Best of luck.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 01:04:27 +0000

my 2year old 85 lbs lab “lady” started to have trouble going up 3 steps I thought she was just clumsy, then she didn’t want to get out of her crate in the morning, her vet checked her found some arthritis and order X-rays and said nothing would show up but put her on cosequin DS “for life”. she has better days now but still she send me to the surgeon for a 2nd opinion, he said lady has a torn ligament on one leg and partial on the other,im a little confused because once she is up she can run fine. I Love my dog as much as any pet owner but $2500+ now and $2500+ soon after? what if i don’t go for the surgery? one vet said she is over weight 10 lbs the other said her weight is fine. could it be something other than the ligaments?

By: Kenneth

Kenneth — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:35:37 +0000

Hi Spleena -

I’m hoping that another reader will be able to weigh in with some information. I’m not sure whether it be best to have the surgery now with the dog so young, or wait until she is entirely done growing. My initial thought would be to wait, but I know that can be hard knowing that your dog is in some pain.

Best of luck to you and Annie and thank you for contributing to this site.