Meniscus injury... 1 year post TTA

[Liisa]

Has anyone had a dog that damaged their meniscus long after a cruciate repair? The ortho surgeon confirmed at the time of Pari's cruciate repair that the meniscus was intact at that point in time. We have a consult tomorrow with the ortho vet, but it is highly likely that she has managed to tear the meniscus within the last few weeks.

All my searching has yielded lots of results of a torn meniscus in conjunction with a torn ACL. But I am wondering what they do when the cruciate has already been repaired and x-rays show that the TTA still looks good.... No change from the x-rays taken immediately post op. What does that mean to the current state of the meniscus?

And if the repair of the meniscus is a surgical procedure, what is the recovery like? Any experiences would be welcomed. Thank you so much!

Liisa

PS. Pari is 9 1/2 years old, but in great shape. So surgery is a viable option for her. Tibetans life 12 - 14 yrs and I expect this grand dame to see every one of those years!

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

I believe a meniscus tear can happen at any time, regardless of CCL injury. The surgical solution is to remove the torn/damaged portion. The orthopedic vet said that the recovery for this was quite quick - just a couple of weeks. I will look for the specific paperwork he gave us on it. (We thought Maggie may have one too - turns out she didn't but we have all the info on it anyway).

He did tell us that the only way to definitely diagnose the injury, outside of surgery, is MRI or arthroscopy.

 

[Bojie]

Liisa- A torn meniscus can be fixed laparoscopically. Much less invasive. Bojie had a partially torn meniscus at the same time of his CCL tear, and it was fixed laparoscopically (sutured). I watched the whole thing. Very easy, and quick. The "loose ends" were suctioned out. A total tear may mean complete removal, but again can be done without a large incision, and most likely you will get to bring her home the same day.

 

[Liisa]

Brandie, that helps actually! And anything else in your files that might give us some idea would be great! I was concerned at Pari's age that a long recovery would be particularly hard on her. I imagine if he feels it is a meniscal tear, he will do the arthroscopy and then immediately do the procedure if it is warranted so he will only have to put her under once. He is usually great about that (we have a history with this ortho vet.... LOL)

 

[Liisa]

Meg, thanks! I couldn't remember what Boj's ACL entailed. This is all very encouraging.

 

[Bojie]

Meg, thanks! I couldn't remember what Boj's ACL entailed. This is all very encouraging.

The surgeon was assuming that it was totally torn, but after viewing it with a scope we saw it was only partially torn which was a great relief as that is not usually the case. Either way, it's not a huge major surgery, I am uncertain what rehab would be like for just a meniscal tear, since we had both. Of course, the likelihood of arthritis increases, but that happens with everything.

 

[Liisa]

Being that she is 9, if they can fix this, I can deal with arthritis. I was worried that if it was major, it would be particularly hard on her.

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

I found the generic post-op instructions we would have gotten had Maggie needed the surgery. Our vet was reccomending surgical since they there was a possibility of both a meniscal injury and a CCL tear, and she had too much scar tissue to really get a good exam, so these instructions reflect that, rather than the laparoscopic approach, which is even easier. If you PM me your email address I'm happy to share them with you.