Add Riley to the list of Cruciate Tears

SheilaT

SheilaT

New member
Last night, Riley leaped over the pool gate and managed to tear his cruciate ligament. We saw our general practitioner vet this morning for confirmation and advice. Well, I was not comfortable with his advice. I made an appointment for a consultation with a doc in Tampa. He is a surgeon, but doesn't just push surgery. I'm hoping we can start off with conservative management to see if his knee will stabilize itself without surgical intervention. I don't know. I'm new to this injury. All I know is that I didn't like my vet telling me there is only one surgery that is effective for extra large dogs ...the TTA...and he was going to call in his friend to do the surgery, and no, he doesn't specialize in ortho surgery. Uh....no.
 
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Murphy

Murphy

New member
Oh boy.. Take a deep breath.. Got a bit of a journey ahead with all kinds of advise coming from very wise and not so wise people.. but all with good intentions.. ... In the end.. after all the consults and well meaning wishes.. you will know what to do.. and we will be there right along side to support any decision you make.. lean on those who have been through it.. not for advise necessarily but comfort and support... :hugs:
 
HeidiPeterson

HeidiPeterson

New member
Sheila, my golden had a TTA done and is doing wonderfully with it! Affiliated Vet Specialists in Maitland was where I took him. Dr DeHaan is wonderful. He is considered one of the best surgeons in he state. He went over all the options with me. Since Jake swam everyday he recommended the TTA because he would get full range of motion. He also said it was the best way to go for a big dog. But he let me make the decision and whatever I said went. I highly recommend them, the doctor, staff and facility was awesome. Good luck with Riley. (((Hugs)))
 
sbyer

sbyer

New member
Oh no! Good luck with your research and finding the best route for you and Riley to take. :hugs:
 
NewfLove

NewfLove

New member
This is the place to be for situations like this. I have no advice, but I will be following your journey....
 
Sheila B.

Sheila B.

New member
Our Blizzard had the same thing happen. She was running and twisted back to bark at Crystal and coax her to chase her. She did have the surgery. Ultimately had to be re-operated because the first time they didn't carve out a deep enough notch to seat the bone (I was not charged for the 2nd operation). After many weeks of therapy, she ultimately did very well. It was a long, slow rehab process but the end result was very good. Much of her rehab was in a friend's pool to help prevent too much early weight bearing and was very successful. Sending hugs your way, it's always so hard to see our babies in pain. :hugs:
 
SheilaT

SheilaT

New member
The TTA may very well be the way to go, but it irked me that a GP wouldn't even discuss any of the other surgeries...just pushed for his croney to do the TTA. He even got a little miffed when I told him I wanted to talk to some surgeons. I know I'm one of those dog moms that gets a little irritating sometimes, but dude...
 
gitchegumee

gitchegumee

New member
Oh poor Riley :(

Gitche sprained her cruciate when she was around a year old. She limped for a couple days and two surgeons recommended surgery, but by then she was walking without any trouble. It just didn't feel right so we got a referral to a Vet at the U of Minnesota and the surgeon there advised against surgery. So we have been monitoring since and Gitche has had no other issues.

Only advise is to get a few opinions and a few options and not to rush into a decision.

Please keep us posted on Riley's progress.
 
nowhavethreebears

nowhavethreebears

New member
If it is just a partial tear, you can do conservative treatment with crate rest and anti-inflammatory meds for several weeks.
Both Sophie's tears were partial and we went conservative both times. I did gentle massage and passive range of motion on her while she was healing to keep the joints from getting too tight.
She has stronger knees now and more range of motion than she ever had before the injuries.
 
jane

jane

New member
I'm so sorry Sheila! We have already spoken and like I said, I was very happy with the TTA's performed on Roger. Gave him his life back. Give Riley a hug! Sending good thoughts!
 
SheilaT

SheilaT

New member
His GP said it was a full tear. I'll confirm this with the surgeon tomorrow, and probably two more surgeons in the next few days. Poor boy can't put ANY weight on it....and he's no sissy newf (like Bishop!), so I know he's in real pain.
 
jaxson

jaxson

New member
I'm so sorry to hear about this. I love when doctors get annoyed when people challenge their wisdom. This lack of understanding of human emotions is puzzling. If I was a doctor, I would like to think that I would fully expect "Momma Bear" to come out whenever I had unfortunate news to deliver. Its natural.
 
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