kudzu Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Hope you get some good & reasonable options in you long day of referrals. You have to see what Opal does in my huge yard. There's no way I'd ever trust her leg without surgical intervention. And if the ligament isn't strong enough to stay healed chances are there will be a lot more damage the next time she does something. I'd rather her hock be fused. You have to choose based on the info you can obtain & the knowledge you have of your dog. If you ultimately choose fused hock then go with it & don't look back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatterseaBrindl Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 For what it's worth... Several years ago I had a young horse sever her superficial digital flexor tendon just below her hock. The vet could not locate the piece of ligament above the cut, but the piece below it was visible. Surgery was not an option... We kept it clean and tightly wrapped for a long time.... Seems to me it was at least 2 months. Probably more. She did end up with a nasty scar and a 'bump', but was sound. Not sure if this would be an option for your dog. Quote Nancy...Mom to Sid (Peteles Tiger), Kibo (112 Carlota Galgos) and Joshi. Missing Casey, Gomer, Mona, Penelope, BillieJean, Bandit, Nixon (Starz Sammie), Ruby (Watch Me Dash) Nigel (Nigel), and especially little Mario, waiting at the Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 MP-have you considered making the trip to OSU??- Dr Couto claims Dr Dyce has magic hands--bet it would be more reasonable too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Though surgery to repair cruciate ligaments is rather common place. Cruciate surgery doesn't really 'repair' the ligament. The extracapsular repair uses an artificial suture to provide stability in the stifle (knee) joint but it is in a different location than the torn ligament. And the TPLO is a procedure where the bone at the top of the tibia is cut and repositioned to change the angle at which the joint comes together, which reduces the stress on the joint and provides stability that way. As mentioned, ligaments don't tend to heal very well, and especially with an active dog, hock fusion is probably the best option. I do have a patient who tore a ligament in her hock after being hit by a car who has healed well with just a splint. But this is an old, blind, diabetic lab who isn't very active. Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 If this were cancer, I'd be at OSU today! But I'll contact Dr Dyce to see if he/she has an opinion. VSEC did explain the difference between the ligament surgery of the knee and the hock. Jjing has it right. Also, there is more bone to secure the sutures that help secure the knee joint, not so in the hock. Lots of small bones. And I have a medical background (Med Tech) and worked wtih a vet for a year in an attempt to get to vet school. So logically thinking. If this ligament is completely gone and the joint bends where it's not supposed to, if we just splint it for a long time, what exactly will happen to stabilize that joint? I can't think of anything that will. But since I'm not a vet...that's why I have a second opinion at another huge hospital. Right now Opal is handling the splint very well. She is struggling to come up stairs though (and there are 6 from the back yard to the house) I'm also wondering if she fell trying to do that yesterday because there is bruising on the casted leg now. I noticed it last night. It also could be from the original accident that broke her ligament. Is there anything I should look for if there is something bad happening under the cast? A sore? or too tight? The wrap goes all the way down to the foot. All I can see are two front toe pads and toe nails. That's it, So I can't see any swelling. I don't see swelling above it either, just the bruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 jjing, thanks for clarifying that for me. Makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 i've emailed Dr. Dyce. Let's see what he says. If he thinks there are other options than the two I have, and he's available next week for surgery, then I may just end up going out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joejoesmom Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Mary Pat, I am so sorry about Bwat's injury. You have certainly been through the ringer lately. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 i've emailed Dr. Dyce. Let's see what he says. If he thinks there are other options than the two I have, and he's available next week for surgery, then I may just end up going out there. Please share his reply :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 My Little STINKER! Well I was outside with the girls last night when I got home. Bwat was running around (3 legged) having a good old time chasing the two young'uns. I called a stop to play and called everyone to dinner. They all ran towards the house, I walked. Now remember, I have an acre. So being out in the middle of the back yard I'm a ways away from the house. Tanzi and Emma ran up the stairs, I saw Opal vear off towards the doggie pools but didn't think anything of it. She usually takes a drink. But then I saw her put her front paws in, then lift the boo-boo leg. I was YELLING "NO OPAL. WAIT! NO! NO! NO!" As I watched her slowly lower it. She was in the pool. I wasn't planning on going to the vets that night. But it was hammered into me not to get that cast wet. Ya think a quick dip in the pool counted? And they had a very very busy night too. Lots of emergencies. So I waited an hour and 1/2 just for a splint change. Got home at 9:30 and $60 lighter. I also heard back from Dr. Dyce: Thank you for your email regarding Opal. I would be happy to review clinical notes and radiographs for you. The surgeons that you will be visiting are very experienced and I would defer to their first hand experience with regard to diagnosis and management recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliemac Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 (edited) Oh my ... you DO have your hands full with Opal, don't you? I'm so sorry about the injury, but I'm glad that she's clearly figuring out how to live with whatever she's having to deal with ... and laughing over the pool incident, of course. Edited June 28, 2012 by juliemac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 Oh my ... you DO have your hands full with Opal, don't you? Opal's foster mom called her Devil Spawn. Her prison handlers called her a Firecracker. I call her BWAT. She has earned every name! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patsy Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I know it's KNOT funny, but this . . . . Opal's foster mom called her Devil Spawn . . . . is one of the funniest things I've ever read! Hang in there! Quote Patsy and DH with the Humane Society specials, Linus & Jazz, in North Dakota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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