Ligament and ACL Diagnosis questions....

[Anthony99]

Hi Everyone,

Avlon like a month ago was running around like a nut in the backyard. She immediately stopped and layed down. I called for her to come in and she just looked at me and was wimpering. I got a treat and she came in tip toeing on her right hind leg. She ate her treat and layed in the same spot all night wimpering. Next morning she did not want to get up. I forced her up to go potty and she cried getting up. Slight tip toeing. Next day same thing. Go to vet 3 days after she injured herself. No tip toeing. Vet does an orthopedic exam. Cranks / bends her right hind leg every which way. A couple times little cries. Vet tells me nothing is broke and doesn't seem to think a ligament is torn b/c she can bear weight on it, without tip toeing. I asked about X-rays and vet said X-rays would really only show bone's. Vet thinks slight tear or sprain. I go home with 10 days of Rimaydl and to call back if she doesn't improve. She did improve. She does not tip toe at all. When she is laying down and first gets up her right hind leg does not bend all the way. It is stiff looking. After a couple steps it seems fine. She has not been off leash to run in the yard since. My question is how did your vet find out a ligament was torn and your Newf needed surgery? Was it an X-ray, MRI or something else.

Thanks.

 

[Thule's Mom]

It's called a "drawer test". Vet manipulates the affected knee like a drawer, however, in some cases, like in my Thule's case, she held her leg so tight the vet was unable to do a proper test. She had to be sedated, and from that the vet made the diagnosis. As long as the cruciate is not completely torn, and if it's only a sprain :sunflower:, your Avalon may be just fine, but you should not allow her to 'run around like a nut' :lol:. Conservative management may just do the trick. If you're finding now, without pain meds, she's ok, just keep her from doing any further damage and with time she should heal just fine. But be careful, a partially torn ligament can become a complete rupture with very little effort. :banghead:

Good luck... keeping fingers crossed Avalon doesn't have to endure surgery and join our little "Club".

 

[Diana]

Teddy completely ruptured his and could not bear any weight on it for several days. But the definitive test IS the "drawer" test and most big dogs need to be sedated for this.

 

[Guernsey10]

I hope Avlon is doing better! It is a very hard thing to see your pet in any type of pain.

Scotia was running around yesterday and slipped a couple of times playing with some other dogs. She did not yelp or even notice it. When we got home, she laid down and wimpered a bit. She got up and she would not put any weight on her back right leg. I took her to the vet right away, and the Vet tried to do the "drawer" test. She said that it seemed like soft tissue damage, but it was hard to tell because she tensed up the muscles in her leg while the Vet was testing it. Scotia was putting most of her weight on the leg by that time, but not 100% of it. It seemed as the more she got up and used it, the stiffness in the leg subsided. The Vet said for her to get rest, and not to run around for a week to see if it got better. I was also given a weeks worth of pain meds for her. I hope that it is not too serious!