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Torn/ruptured Acl


Guest 3furkids

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Guest 3furkids

Any one have any experience with a torn or ruptured ACL?? Casey will be 12 on Monday and Sunday he was running in the yard and slipped on wet grass and splayed out. Since then he has not put any weight on his foot therefore cannot get up or walk. He had x-rays on Monday and the vet 'thinks' it is his ACL but can't tell for sure unless he is put under and then if it is his ACL do surgery then. I told them I wanted to go to VT Vet school as he has been there and they knoiw his history. Any way we can't get in there until July11th. The vets thinks he should be able to bare weight within a week. Any suggestions?? Will it heal on it own? Is surgery necessary? Any help is appreciated. Thank you!!!

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If it's a complete tear I dint think it can heal on it's own. If it's a partial tear, maybe. Be careful, now that one is torn the other will be more prone to tearing because of over compensation. I hope it's an easy healing process for all.

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Tendons and ligaments take a long time to heal, but they do heal. You'd be amazed at how many things can heal without invasive procedures. The best thing you can do is keep him quiet for now and limit his mobility, which I imagine shouldn't be that hard for a 12 year old. It is possible to splint it. I'm always wary when vets jump to conclusions like surgery when they don't know for sure what the injury is.

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Actually ligaments don't heal.. I just had Opal in for surgery MOnday for a torn ligament. It was her lateral collateral (on the hock, not knee). But if you put a splint wrap on the leg, it'll secure the leg until you can get to VT. She has the splint on for all last week.

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Actually ligaments don't heal.. I just had Opal in for surgery MOnday for a torn ligament. It was her lateral collateral (on the hock, not knee). But if you put a splint wrap on the leg, it'll secure the leg until you can get to VT. She has the splint on for all last week.

Agreed-ligaments don't heal.

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My June Bug tore her achilles totally two years ago at the dog park. Our local vet did not diagnose it correctly right away and finally sent us to the Wisconsin Veterinary Referral Center in Waukesha. One look and the Dr. Evans knew exactly what it was. June had surgery and went back weekly for bandage changes. She did beautifully and doesn't even have a limp.

 

FYI. I was given no guarantee that the surgery would be a success but fortunately it was. I wouldn't worry too much about having to wait til the 11th. It took about a week before our vet sent us to Waukesha. Also, the actual surgery was $2,200 and we had small charges for bandage changes each week. I don't remember what the weekly charge was but no more than $50 each week. The xrays were sent to Waukesha by our regular vet so the xray charge was not included in the $2,200.

 

Sending good thoughts for Casey. Prayers that he'll be as good as new. Note: June was 9 1/2 when it happened.

From Wisconsin -- It's Nancy, Bob, Carla, June Bug and our newby Skorch.... along with Buffy. She's the little hound that meows.

With loving memorials to K.C., Barko and Major Turn -- all playing at the bridge.

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Guest 3furkids

Thanks for all your replys. My husband is putting a lawn cart together so we can get him outside more easily. We had ramps put in last year after his seizure. He has proprioceptic ataxia in his pelvic limbs with a valgus stance and moderate atoxia in his forlimbs (Virginia Tech diagonsis from last year) so he is not very steady or secure standing or walking anyway. I just hope the cart will not stress him even more. It has sides and both of us will be there and we'll put in his bed but my husbands back cannot take carrying him out and in several times a day. Thanks and we'll keep you posted.

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Poor baby! How about one of these?

http://www.ruffwear....2&category=1131

Yup, that or a sling using a towel.

 

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Guest 3furkids

Tried the sling but he will not move. He did when he had the hip surgery but he won't now. The cart is working great to get him in and out of the house but he just stands and won't put any weight on his hind leg.

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Is the leg wrapped. June's was before the surgery. It provides a little support.

From Wisconsin -- It's Nancy, Bob, Carla, June Bug and our newby Skorch.... along with Buffy. She's the little hound that meows.

With loving memorials to K.C., Barko and Major Turn -- all playing at the bridge.

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Guest 3furkids

He is taking gabapentin (300mg) twice and tramadol (50mg) twice a day. This is not from this injury but from all his other problems he has had in the past 3 years. The vet does not want him on any nsaids due to his advancing age. He was in early kidney failure until we changed his diet. I made a consult with our vet in town this afternoon and will ask about a wrap. Thanks for all the good info.

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Oh yes, I have about $10,000 worth of ruptured ACL experience.

 

There is a very simple manipulation that gives an instant answer to "is it ruptured." A partial tear would be more difficult I suppose.

 

I would strongly urge you to see a board certified orthopedic surgeon before you proceed.

 

My dog was a mixed breed. He suffered a total rupture just running on a flat, grassy field. I was fortunate enough to get an appointment that very night with an Ortho at Angell Memorial, and it took him all of 5 seconds to tell me the ACL was torn.

 

Kramer had a TPLO surgery, and unfortunately (and rarely!) he ended up with a bone infection which, nearly a year to the day, nearly killed him because it went undiagnosed.

 

A second surgery to remove the hardware and clean out the infection, then 2 months on heavy duty antibiotics and he was right as rain, but it was a really long, painful recovery for him.

 

He was only 5 at the time.


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Guest 3furkids

My regular vet finally got Casey in to Virginia tech and it turns out to be a fractured hock. It was splinted and they sent him home as surgery is backed up for a week. We are on a call list. I read Dr Stack's Gryhealth about broken hock and I will discuss with my regular vet to see if we should have surgery. With all his other problems I need him to have as much support as he can have to help him walk. Anyone had a fractured hock surgically repaied? Good bad?

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Guest LindsaySF

I've had a few foster dogs with hock repairs. Do you know the details of the break? If the vet is recommending surgery then I would do it. If they think it will heal on its own they usually tell you. If there are bone fragments (usually the tarsals) or the ligaments are torn, then you really need surgery. They fuse the joint when the ligament is torn, because the ligament won't heal on its own. I'd use an orthopedic vet.

 

The dogs my group did surgery on recovered great, barely a limp. Keeping them quiet (crate time, leash-walking only) during the recovery time is essential, but that might be easier with an older boy.

 

I might be wrong, but I believe ACL tears are not that common in Greyhounds. Hock injuries seem more common in this breed.

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