Hello everyone! I am brand new to MyCorgi.com! What prompted me to visit was my corgi's unfortunate full CrCL tear. In early August 2011, she was out playing frisbee and came home lame on her back right leg. We took her to the vet, gave it a week, she showed almost no improvement, and went to see an orthopedic specialist.
The orthopedist gave us several options. One was conservative management, but with her activity levels, a full tear, and her younger age, we didn't feel this was completely right. Next, he discussed extrascapular repair (using material, ie fishing line in the "old" days, to hold the joint in place while scar tissue develops). He went more deeply into TPLO and TTA. Corki had a more "severe" tibial angle, and TPLO was his favored option. We did not make a decision at the office, that would have been too high pressure and uninformed. We went home and did a ton of research (ignoring the websites and postings highly favoring or highly disfavoring one form or the other) and also spoke to other people who have been through this. Mostly we found larger dogs had this problem, but the orthopedist says he does see corgis fairly regularly. I felt much better to hear a story of a hunting dog going back to work without issue following TPLO.
An interesting note, the orthopedist said that newer beliefs are that the CrCL tears are degenerative rather than traumatic. I'm pretty sure ours was set off by trauma, but cannot argue against it being primarily degenerative, especially with her tibial angle. I'm glad it happened when she was younger and very fit and healthy for a better recovery. It also was reassuring to know that we didn't cause it, that is was going to happen at some point, no matter what.
We opted for the TPLO, because of research and instinct. She had the surgery on Sep 7, about 4 weeks after her injury. She spent the night at the doggie hospital where they said she was a fantastic and sweet patient (of course! She's a corgi!). Her surgery was routine.
After we got home, her bruising astonished me. It seemed so severe, but the vet techs reassured me that it gets worse before it gets better and to ice it more frequently. Since she has no others problems (she uses the bathroom regularly, still has her appetite, no exceptional swelling, etc), the bruising is not a concern. Last night, she had very little clear seeping from her wound, and of course I called the vet's office and the vet tech said it is "dehiscing" and may be from too much activity. We have severely limited her activity, but sometimes she takes a few extra minutes to find the right potty place and position. They said slinging her isn't really necessary, but to do it if she tries to use the leg A LOT when outside for potty breaks (her only permitted activity).
She so far is doing amazing, and wants to really use her "new" leg. Controlling her activity is tough. She wants to play, so we play games like "Which Hand" (point to the hand hiding the treat), and I'm thinking of teaching her to speak. Such as "What does the BIG dog say?" "WOOF!" "What does the little dog say?" "Humph, whine, whisper noises." She clearly wants to get out and play or do SOMETHING so hopefully learning new tricks helps.
Our biggest issues:
1) keeping her quiet. She stays in her pen or snuggles with us only. But she is high activity, making this tough for her smart and busy brain.
2) pottying at night. This is only because the sprinklers suddenly turn on when we are in the middle of the grass. It's an HOA, so we can't control them. I thought I figured out what time they turn on, but nope, we got caught in them again. Last night, we resorted to driving around the block to an area she isn't used to so she would have an excited pee. It worked like a charm, but hopefully we don't get into this habit.
I have so much more to tell! I guess I'm not really looking for advice at this point, but I know other people on here have been through this too, so it makes me feel better to share and discuss.
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I did the extracapsular technique with Seanna over a year ago. She has done very, very well--and I'm happy with the decisions we made at the time. She too was a candidate for the TPLO, but the thought of cutting and breaking her bones just disturbed me too much. Plus there was quite a price difference...and I have a husband...
I'm glad your pumpkin is doing so well!
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