Has Anybody Dealt With Acl Surgery With A Greyhound?

[Guest Rethy]

Another vote for Dr. Radcliffe. At the least, if you are able to get him the xrays, he will give you a 100% straight answer. He is the best vet I've ever met. Like onrushpam said, if he were my dog, I'd be on my way there now (and I live in WA!).

[Guest jcsperson]

Dr. John Bingham does the orthopedic surgery for dogs that recuperate at Block Sporthounds in North Carolina. Many of the dogs he's operated on have either returned to racing or live normal pet lives.

 

South Ridge Veterinary Hospital

1920 S Ridge Ave

Kannapolis, NC 28083-6152

 

(704) 933-1414

[gracegirl]

No advice, only hugs for the Rocket Man.

[Guest lizmego]

Our neighbors just had this surgery done on their 18 month old lab. They went to the Kansas State Vet School and had it done. They did an amazing job, you can't even see an incision where the surgery was done. They did have to keep Max confined in a crate for 8 weeks and after their follow-up appt last week, they have to continue confinement for 6 more weeks. They kept him occupied with big marrow bones. Their biggest difficulty was getting him to stop jumping and being excited when they removed him from the crate for his potty breaks - which were and are still done on-lead. I'd recommend looking into Vet Schools in your area.

[nyGreys]

I'll be thinking of Rocket tomorrow. Sending prayers & hugs for both of you.

Edited July 16, 2009 by nyGreys

[ozgirl2]

Another vote for Dr. Radcliffe!! A friend took her grey to him - he's amazing!

[Guest Cris_M]

I'm not certain why the "good" leg gets injured after a repair surgery....it's very common though, I've seen it happen twice personally in two knee cases. I suppose it's a compensation in movement kind of thing...favoring the "bad" leg stresses the "good" leg. Just add that question to the list for the third vet!

If putting more weight on the other leg is what happens, I would think amputation would be a bad idea. All that weight going onto the remaining leg would seem to me like it would make it more prone to being injured.

 

 

Best of luck.

 

My understanding is that the weight of the bad leg is partly to blame for the good leg becoming injured. A bad leg is a lot of weight to offset. Also, a bad leg may never be used "normally" again. When the good leg compensates for that, it gets used in some unusual ways. That puts extra stress on the good leg as well.

 

Amputation takes away a lot of those problems.

 

All the best to Rocket

[Guest LynnM]

Pam read my mind. That's exactly why I asked where you are located. Dr. Radcliffe/Town and Country AH are the best there are for athletic injuries. You're not that far away.

 

Lynn

[CaliforniaGreys]

We'll be thinking of Rocket tomorrow Shaun and thinking all good thoughts!

[Guest hvacman250]

WV, OSU, and Orlando are all 8.5 hours away.

 

We'll know more tomorrow morning,

[Guest KyGrey]

Wishing you and Rocket prayers and good thoughts.

 

If you have an ex-pen, you can use that to confine him while he is recuperating.

[gracegirl]

Please keep us updated.

[joejoesmom]

I just read this post. I know you are going to the vet today but I thought I would post anyway just in case it would help. I have a dog who is half whippet and half black lab (we are sure about the whippet but not about the black lab part). She takes after the whippet side in looks and running ability but is more the size of a small greyhound (about 50 pounds). When she was almost 8, she took a corner too fast when chasing a squirrel, wiped out, and tore her ACL and both collateral ligaments. She did not break or chip any of the bones. The vets at OSU did surgery, even though the injury was very bad. They opted to repair it with suture material as opposed to tibeal plateau. Her weight and size were on the border (a larger dog gets tibeal plateau in general and a smaller dog gets the suture).

 

She did have to stay in the crate for 8 weeks and on a leash at all times outside of the crate. From 8 to 16 weeks she was on a leash when outside with slowly increasing walks. They warned me that it might happen to her other knee. I assumed that this was due to a supposed genetic predispositon but I don't remember ever asking why. About 6 months after the surgery, due to some discomfort she was feeling, they had to go in and remove the suture material replacing the ACL. This was a relatively minor surgery. They explained that after the 6 month point, the scar tissue is built up enough to stabilize the knee without the ACL. Well it is 5 years later, she will turn 13 in a month and she is doing great amd no problem whatsoever with the other knee. She has not been able to bend her knee quite as much as before the surgery, but it doesn't seem to affect her.

 

She did not run as fast after the surgery, but she still ran and enjoyed herself. I decided to let her do what she wanted because she so loves running. Well she is now slowing down due to old age -- not due to her knee. She is starting to get some stiffness (probably arthritis) in all of her joints. The knee is slightly worse than the other joints, but doesn't diminish her quality of life.

 

So knowing what I know now, I would absolutely have made the same decision. At the time, I figured that if the surgery didn't work, we could amputate later if necessary. Thankfully, it wasn't necessary.

 

I know your situation is a bit different. I just thought a story with a positive outcome might ease some fears.

 

Jane

[Guest trevdog]

Sending lots of good thoughts....

 

re keeping him still, he'll be sore for a little while, then maybe resort to some type of medication to calm him down. Dallas was a year old when she had emer surgery for an obstruction. Towards the end of her recouperation it was tough to keep her calm. I resorted to training sessions and things that she wouldn't be moving around so much and lots of stuff to chew on. She didn't appreciate the xpen or the fact she couldn't jump on our bed either.....

[CaliforniaGreys]

Thinking about you guys this am

[Guest remarvin]

Sorry this is not greyhound specific, but our husky tore both ACLs and had them replaced. The replacements are actually metal plates, so if they do the surgery it should hold for that leg. From what I have read, once one ACL is torn, there is a 50% chance or tearing the other one as well because of the added stress to it (even after recovery). Good luck with your surgery.