In responding to questions about types of surgeries to repair torn cranial cruciate ligaments in canines, I’ve come across 3 main types which have been previously discussed on other posts. I just heard from someone who had been looking for information on External Capsular Fixation but was unable to come up with any results, so I thought I’d try to offer a little bit of help.
My first thought was that there was simply a misunderstanding between the patient and the veterinarian. External would imply that there wouldn’t be need for …

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 …

Both the TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) and TTA (Tibial Tuberosity Advancement) surgery options involve altering the angle in stifle (knee) joint by cutting and changing the biomechanics of the tibial bone. Through all of my research, I came to the conclusion that TTA will not be an option that is available to all dogs, but that will of course have to be a decision that is made by your veterinarian prior to surgery.
TTA is said to be a newer, less invasive procedure with a quicker recovery time, so if …

When it comes to caring for our pets, we all want the best possible option, however, most veterinarians will have a single method that they prefer to perform, thus leaving you to find another vet if you do not agree with having a specific CCL surgery. Prior to committing your dog to a surgery, you’re going to want to find out what option your veterinarian will perform, the recovery time, what percent of normal activity level will the dog return to when fully recovered, etc. Of all the surgery options, …