In Dec of ’09 my 2 year old 75lb pitbull had the Extracapsular Imbrication Technique repair done on his RH knee. Now it is a year and a half later and he had started to limp severly again without any specific instance of reinjuring it. We did all the physical therapy after his first surgery and stuck VERY strictly to the exercise restrictions and things were going well for a bit and then he started to deteriorate again, bearing less weight on it and was even tripod skipping around again which wasn’t helping his masculinity any….so I took him to see the surgeon and she diagnosed Rimadyl which I realy don’t like using because of it’s effect on the liver and 4 weeks rest. Of course while on Rimadyl he was slightly more comfortable but the second he was off the meds he held it up again. At that point I went to get a 2nd opinion and this new surgeon states that the surgery he had is much more successful in dogs under 40lbs OR older and less active dogs. Instead my VERY active now 3 year old pitbull has just undergone the TTA surgery on the same knee (I wanted to do the TPLO but due to scar tissue, a torn up meniscus & the arthritis he had developed from his knee still having drawl in it from the first surgery we had to do the TTA which I’m told is comparable and at least much more effective than the Extracapsular Repair method on dogs of his age/size). I feel SOOO completely gypped that the orginal surgeon who does not perform either the TPLO or TTA wouldn’t have at least given me the information about them or referred me to another Orthopedic surgeon to educate myself fully about it before I paid the original 3K plus $500 for physical therapy at that time. He now has an 7K+ knee and really I could give a crap about the money…it just breaks my heart that he is going through all this again because I didn’t have all the information orginally to make a better choice. Do any of you have any thoughts or have you experienced something similar to this…should I write the original vet office a letter so that at least the next person gets all the info. I understand that there is google out there nowadays and I probably should have educated myself, but I really trusted the first surgeon, and after all isn’t that the reason I paid the $100 exam fee…the get the education? I’ve realized now she just wanted my business. What to do…?

How is Metoo doing now, 8 months after surgery? Do you still have to restrict her activity around the other dogs? Your comments were encouraging as my 6 pound, 3 year old chi (named Peanut)has a similar problem. One rear leg has a torn ligament and the knee cap will not go back into place. The other rear leg has serious patella issues and is looking worse than before now that the “good” leg is having to bear the extra weight when she holds the bad one up. The surgeon we were referred to is recommending TPLO and the cost is $3500. What type of surgery did you have? I’m guessing it was not TPLO since you paid $1,000. Also, have you made plans yet to have the other knee cap repaired? My Peanut will surely have to have the other leg done too.

My parent’s 6 year old cocker had the $3000 extracapsular surgery. He is doing great but it was expensive and required extensive therapy. Now, my cocker just did the same thing Saturday and he is scheduled to get the TPLO surgery in the morning. This one costs $850 for me and is less extensive but not “half ass”ing it if you know what I mean. My cocker is also on Rimadyl for right now and ‘acts’ like he feels better, although you can still see him limp and the look in his eyes makes you want to melt. He is 6 years old and about 35 lbs. I will let you all know how it goes!

So sorry to hear about your dog. I can’t even imagine what you, your family and your pet are going through. I have had questions from some readers about having both hind legs repaired at the same time, but I haven’t really been able to get much feedback from our users on this situation, so I’m sure there will be even less feedback when it comes to having all 4 legs repaired at once.

In terms of keeping her comfortable, all I can recommend is limiting movement and at the same time, just try keeping her close to the family wherever she may be penned/crated.

I’ll see if I can come up with anything for you, and in the meantime, best of luck and stay strong.

Any suggestions on how to keep her comfortable as long as possible? She is our baby.

Anyway, the vet I talked with is board certified (diplomate), and according to his techs, he’s been doing this for about 15 years. However, he did not take any x-rays – he said that cockers have a steeper slope to their tibias, and so he would recommend the TPLO over anything else.

He knows about the tightrope surgery, but he told me that he does not do them, and he wouldn’t recommend them because the material used is braided or twisted, and there is an increased risk of infection because there is more material for germs to “latch onto.” Plus, he was dismissive of the “ch-ching” for Dr. Cook (the inventor), which I thought was a little petty.

In any event, the cost in Michigan at this clinic (board-certified surgeon) is $2500-3000 for the suture surgery, and $3000-3600 for the TPLO. I had to do my own research on the potential risks/complications for both procedures, as my vet did not tell me what they were for TPLOs. I asked him what they were, and he just mentioned the potential for infection that accompanies any surgical procedure.

My dog was put on Rimadyl for pain management for now, plus glucosamine, and I’m just wondering if the recommendation for the TPLO is warranted in light of his size (27.1 pounds) and the potential for bone infection/break-down, etc. (The Rimadyl helps with the pain, although he thinks that he can jump up on things the way he used to, and he can’t.)