SubscribeDiagnosing a Torn/Ruptured Cranial Cruciate Ligament in Dogs
When our dog tore her CCL, she imediately came up lame and was unable to put any weight or pressure on her right hind leg. She had minor hip problems previously, so at first we thought that she just overdid it while playing at the beach, so we took her home, gave her some MetaCam and let her rest overnight. When nothing had changed the next day (Sunday), we decided to take her to the pet Emergency Room.
At the ER, they told us that to diagnose the problem with her knee they were going to have to do 2 things:
- Take x-rays of the stifle (knee) joint to make sure that there is no bone damage and/or arthritis.
- Manipulate the joint while the dog is sedated to check for instability (drawer movement)
So we left our dog at the emergency clinic so that they could sedate and diagnose her injury, and when we next heard back from them, they told us that she most likely has a torn cranial cruciate ligament (CCL; misspelling: cranial crucial ligament) and that we should take her to her primary care veterinarian to discuss repair options.
Image by anearthling.
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- Diagnosing a Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) Injury
- Diagnosis – How We Determined Our Dog Had A Torn/Ruptured Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL)
- Diagnosing a Ruptured Cruciate Ligament in a Doberman Pinscher
- Surgical Options for Torn/Ruptured Cranial Cruciate Ligament (Cranial Crucial Ligament)
- How Our Dog Ruptured Her Cranial Cruciate Ligament
Is your dog a greyhound and did you have the surgery done?
My greyhound is over 13yo and seems to have the CCL injury. She started by walking sideways several weeks ago and the vet chalked it up to arthritis. She has gradually gotten to the point of putting no weight on the lame leg and on Monday morning the knee was swollen. Xrays showed no dislocations or arthritis. We have been referred to an orthopedic surgeon if the pain meds and antibiotics don’t give her any relief within a few days.
Hi Julie -
Our dog is not a greyhound, she is an American Pitbull Terrier. We did have the surgery done, and it was the best decision that we could have made (for our situation).
If you’d like to do a write-up on your dog, we’d be happy to post it to our blog to see if we could get any comments/responses from our readers.
Best of luck to you and your dog.
A few days ago my 11 yr old 7-3/4 lb Yorkie started limping and hardly touching his left hind leg to the floor. When I took him to the clinic, the vet said both his knees are bad but that he had apparently torn the ligament in his left one. While he was examining the knees, the vet told me that most dogs had to be sedated to do this manipulating, but Trey didn’t even act like he felt it. I’m hoping this means the tear isn’t as bad and may heal, but I’m giving him Metacam anyway. How I wish they could tell you when they hurt!
Our 5 year old black Lab/Shepard mix (Harley-Earl)was playing with me in the front lawn on Sunday. When he turned quickly he yelped and came limping back to me. We watched him over night and the pain seemed to be worse as he would not put any weight on his leg and held it up walking on three legs. After the trip to the vet we were informed that he had torn his CCL in his left rear leg and the vet recommended TTA surgery which is very expensive by my standards. ($3,900)He scheduled for surgery on Monday so I am researching to verify that this is the best for him or if there is a acceptable non surgical rememdy.
Hi Joe -
From everything that I’ve heard and read, I’d assume that TTA would be a good option, however, I’m not too familiar with the pricing in that type of surgery. I’m sure there are others out there who would advocate TPLO for this injury, as I’ve heard from many Lab owners who have had TPLO surgery performed on their pet.
Whatever happens, best of luck, and I wish Harley-Earl a speedy recovery.
My mastiff / Great Dane mix ~ Molly the Moose had been limping and was favoring her back left leg. I thought she had stepped on something and did not take her to the vet right away. She did not injure herself (that I saw) and was not acting like she was in pain. After about two weeks I took her to our regular vet. We were told that she had a torn Cranial Cruciate Ligament and we were reffered to a specialist. The Specialist has recommended the TPLO and we have the surgery set for Thursday morning. The surgery is going to cost $2700. This includes the meds and the follow ups.
Molly is a big girl, she weighs in at 135 pounds. She is not overweight. We do agility, frisbee and alot of hiking. I understand that this may the cause of her injury.
My questions are:
#1 what is the likley hood that she will tear the other one? (the vet told me it was likley)
#2 During the 2 week recovery time how much time can i expect to get away from the house?
#3 With a large dog how do you manage potty breaks, eating, ect…?
Thanks so much!
Kayle
Hi Kayle -
I’m just answering from personal experience and from what I’ve learned while going through this with our dog, so don’t hold me to these answers. I’d love to hear input from others too!
I hope this info helps, and I wish you and Molly the Moose the best of luck!
All of the symptoms that I have read/researched were true of my 7.8 yr old Airdale. She was limping and not putting weight on the right hind leg on a Monday night and paced almost all night long. Tuesday morning I took her to the vet, who diagnosed a partially torn ACL. This diagnosis was confirmed at the veterinary surgery center. I had scheduled TPLO for tomorrow morning, but postponed it, after getting a 2nd opinion from my sister-in-law’s vet. (She lives out in the country and has 10 horses & 5 dogs) He agreed there was a partial tear, but was not quick to recommend surgery. He took a more ‘wait and see’ position. Since the intial visit, she has been on a daily dose of Tramadol and Etogesic.
So, I am keeping a close eye on her, but do not want to risk further damage. Would you suggest TPLO, or the older ‘mono-filament’ ligament method?
Thank you -
Mark J Gross
Hi Mark -
I’m not a vet, so it’s hard to say. There are positive arguments for each type of surgery. I’ve typically read that the mono-filament method is not intended for dogs over 50lbs. or more due to the strain that they’ll put on the stifle joint. These are questions for your vet that will have to be answered by the activity level of the dog, current weight, goal weight, etc.
Best of luck!
Hi,
I’m just researching around the net to better understand the CCL repair and recovery. I have a 9 month old Blue nose Pit Bull who began to favor both of his rear legs. It’s an intermittent thing, as sometime he appears to be fine and then all of the sudden he favors one of the rear legs for a bit and then seams fine again. I took him to have x rays which do not say 100% that he has an CCL injury, but does show some signs of it. Our next step is a joint tap, but the vet says he’s 90% sure he has tears in both knees – not ruptures. Anyway, I’m thinking that we will end up in surgery. Can anyone help me out with how you went about dealing with the recovery part of it. I’m told the surgery is the easy past (aside from cost) and the recovery is the hard part. Kenneth, if you read this; since you have a Pit Bull; how was it for you? My dog wants to run and play as any 9 month old would. Even now he wants to take off and run around the house with destination unknown. I’ve had three Pits throughout my days and have found that they tolerate pain very well. Do you put him on meds to keep them calm? I understand he will have to be confined to his crate for a period of time. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and what joint supplement do you folks recomend?
Hi Jose -
Our red nose pit that had the surgery used to do the same thing. We’d take her to the beach where she’d run and play for about an hour, then later that evening and into the next day, she’d favor one (or both) of her hind legs. I was told that it was hip/knee stiffness when this used to happen. It’d take a day or so, and it’d go away, every time and she’d be fin afterward. Our veterinarian had given us Meloxicam in the past. Meloxicam is an anti-inflammatory that seemed to help our dog dramatically. The problem with this would be that if your dog does happen to have 1 or both CCL’s torn, then Meloxicam might give your dog a false sense of stability allowing it to further injure its leg(s). Get it checked with your vet and/or get a second opinion to see if the CCL is torn for certain. If it is not, then rest and less strenuous activity would be a good way to move forward.
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