My dog has had her cruciate ligament replaced 4 and a half months ago we have followed all the after care procedures changed her diet to a prescription food for mobility and she is taking synoquin capsules. The problem is she is limping badly - we have been going for check ups at the vets every three weeks and at our last visit our vet thinks there may be to much movement he wants to x-ray her again and says she could possibley need the operaton doing again. What are the chances of it working should I put her through the anasthetic again is she in pain as she is I am in turmoil what to do I only want whats best for her please could you give me some advice.
Mandy
I would suspect that your dog had problems with the medial meniscus that are
still present. This will require surgery in most cases to resolve
adequately. The other thing you could try medically if you have not already
is using injections of cartrophen vet weekly for 4 weeks and then once every
2-3 months after that. This combines with the effect of synoquin to help to
repair the joint a lot more. The other possibility would be looking at
having the cruciate repaired by the use of a technique called a TPLO where a
section is cut from the top of the tibia and the tibial plateau is leveled
to reduce the strain placed on the druciate. For dogs over 30kg this seems
to give far better results but requires someone to have the specialist
equipment and skills to do the operation so may require referral.
Radiographs are unlikley to show very much other than the degree of damage
with secondary arthritis that has developed. If there is damage to the
medial meniscus the a partial meniscotomy will sometimes cure the dog
without any further work on the stability of the cruciate ligament itself.
hydrotherapy is also a big help for most dogs and would normally have
started some time ago.
P.J. Wilson
