The cranial cruciate ligament in dogs provides stability to the knee (stifle) joint. Any strain, tearing or rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament can, and will, result in knee (stifle) instability. A strained cranial cruciate ligament can, in many cases, be repaired or heal itself without surgery. Strains should be treated with conservative management. Tears and ruptures of the cranial cruciate ligament require more drastic treatments such as orthopedic surgery. When it comes to surgical repair of the CCL, there are multiple CCL surgery options available and it is always best to consult with your veterinarian prior to deciding which option is best for your dog.

The necessity of the cranial crucial ligament (CCL) can be compared to the necessity of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) that is found in humans. While there are people who have bypassed having surgery with a torn ACL, their knees are typically less stable for the remainder of their lives and their activity has to be severly limited. The same holds true for canines – should a torn or ruptured CCL be left untreated, the dog will survive, but may display lameness in the limb with the torn ligament, and the dogs activity level will not be the same as that of what it was prior to damaging the ligament.

Related Posts

• Surgical Options for Torn/Ruptured Cranial Cruciate Ligament (Cranial Crucial Ligament)
• Tightrope Surgery in the Treatment of a Dogs Torn Cranial Cruciate Ligament
• Diagnosing a Torn/Ruptured Cranial Cruciate Ligament in Dogs

The Lateral Fabellar Technique, or Extracapsular Technique, is a common surgery performed on dogs to stabilize the stifle (knee) joint after a tear or rupture in the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL; misspelling cranial crucial ligament). Normally, the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) prevents backward-forward movement (drawer movement) of the stifle joint. Untreated instability in the knee/stifle joint due to a turn/ruptured CCL can result in a tearing of the meniscus as well. When it tears/ruptures, the stifle joint becomes unstable and the dog suffers lack of mobility, lameness or loss of use and is subject to chronic and progressive arthritis in the stifle if untreated.

In a Lateral Fabellar (Extracapsular) procedure, heavy suture material (monofilament nylon cord) is passed from the lateral fabella to the tibial crest in order to eliminate joint instability (drawer movement). It is this nylon cord that will act as the CCL ligament in the future by holding the joint together and keeping it stable.

The lateral fabellar surgery will not stop the progression of arthritis that is already present in the joint. Your dog may have some stiffness of the limb and may have some lameness after heavy exercise.  Chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine may be given to help with stiffness.

Typical downtime and rehab:

• First 2 weeks, dog should be crated and only let out on a leash to go to the bathroom.
• After about 2 months, lameness should decrease significantly, but it was recommended by our veterinarian to keep our dog crated still.
• After 3 months, our dog had regained full use of her leg.

Related Posts

• TPLO vs. TTA vs. Lateral Fabellar Traditional Technique – Cranial Cruciate Ligament Repair
• TPLO – Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy – Cranial Cruciate Ligament Repair
• Surgical Options for Torn/Ruptured Cranial Cruciate Ligament (Cranial Crucial Ligament)

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:

1. Take x-rays of the stifle (knee) joint to make sure that there is no bone damage and/or arthritis.
2. 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.

Related Posts

• Diagnosis – How We Determined Our Dog Had A Torn/Ruptured Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL)
• Surgical Options for Torn/Ruptured Cranial Cruciate Ligament (Cranial Crucial Ligament)
• Diagnosing a Ruptured Cruciate Ligament in a Doberman Pinscher