Injured cruciate acl....
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on
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sorry you havent gotten any responses here,i dont have any adice to give. try posting on mycorgi facebook page too.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I'm sorry too and I do have info as a pup of mine just had surgery for this. I will try to do this wkd.
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Permalink Reply by Dana C on
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All I can suggest is to look at all your option. My dog was under 30 lbs and we opted to not have surgery. We went with conservative management. That was about 3 years ago. It took a really long time to heal but her hind legs are great. Last Christmas however, she injured her front paw. Still dealing with that on and off. Whatever you decide, good luck. It's so hard to watch our fur babies in pain.
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Permalink Reply by Dave & Danielle on
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Thank you all! Jane, if you find your info please forward. We've kept her crated quite a bit the last few days and she seems to be stepping on her paw where before she would only step on the tip of her paw. Plus, she is confident enough to "rev her engine" as we call it when after they potty, they kick their legs back as if to cover it). I will also try the Facebook site.
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Hi Jane,
I'm writing today to ask if you have had any experience with any of your corgis or friends corgis tearing their ACL. Athena tore hers and after a second opinion at the U of M, she will need to have a very expensive surgery. I have read a lot of stuff on the internet comparing the different surgeries and other owners having success with the rest approach. We just want to make the best decision for her as a corgi.
Just wondering if you have any experience with this. Hope all is well in your corgi nation!1st email from somwone
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Athena had her surgery today. She had a torn ACL and torn meniscus. They did the extracapsular repair. It involves using a fish line for the repair and then over the next 8 weeks scar tissue will form making it more stable as long as we are adamant about keeping her crated to help with the recovery.
Luckily, the believe this was from an injury as opposed to early onset arthritis. She had no more arthritis than a dog her age so that is good. The sad thing is that the other leg has a 40-60% chance of tearing as well but we will cross that bridge when we come to it and it may not happen because this appears to be an injury.
The vet is confident that Athena will get back to her full "working" status once recovered. The bummer for Athena is we have to cut back her food 30% while she recovers.
Hope all is well in your corgi world!
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Athena is doing great! Still on her leash most of the time as to avoid and jumps or fast running. We are going to a livestock show this weekend and she will be coming with because I don't trust anyone watching her like we do. She will be thrilled to be on a family vacation and soaking up all our attention. She wasn't very cooperative with the physical therapy. She would either try to bite us or lay down. She seems to be walking around just fine though. I hope her muscles are strong enough to help her finish her recovery.
She has adapted to the less dog food since I started adding additional veggies. She LOVES cucumbers, green beans and broccoli. She likes her greens!Athena is a real working dog.
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Hi Dave and Danielle,
Sorry it took 3 times for my answer but I copied what Athena's owner wrote...hope this helps.
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Permalink Reply by Amy and Marlee on
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Marlee tore one acl a few years ago. After taking her to a vet who works on a lot of acls, we went with the wait and watch approach. She progressed just as our vet told us she would. We kept her quiet and restricted her outside play time. She slowly improved. Then, about 6 months after, she tore the second leg. Again we waited and watched. The vet said that we could always do the surgery later if she had trouble. It's been over a year now and you would hardly know she had any problems. The only time she shows any soreness is if she gets out and "tours the countryside" for several hours. A day or two later she will be back to normal.
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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At age 6 exactly 3 years ago, Al woke up lame on Day 6 of a backpacking trip. I think he tweaked his leg in some heavy tangled blowdown & fallen trees. I carried him out 17 miles.
We never did have him examined by an orthpedic specialist, but I came within 1 phone call of spending $4k+ that I didn't have on CCL surgery.* Note: I believe he hurt his CCL, but he was never formally diagnosed with a torn CCL. Pretty sure he did not have obvious "drawer sign". Conceivably not a CCL injury at all.
We opted for minimal intervention -- some acupuncture, cold laser treatment, other stuff that prolly did more for the vet than it did for Al. He improved slowly. A few times, I "trested" him at the playground with the soccer ball -- and he'd be limping the next morning. He climbed a rather ambitious peak the following spring, and a much more ambitious summit overnight in July or August, but he was slower than I'd hoped, and he was limping badly the day after we returned. I felt awful.
I feared he'd be lame for life. My best climbing buddy ever.
Although I've not dared to take him on the sort of rugged cross-country adventures we used to do routinely, he did some "easy" mountain summits this past year, no problem. 3 years later at age 9 we did a 3-day backpacking trip 30+ miles, all on trail, relatively tame, some in slippery snow. He was fine. Running enthusiastically late on Day 3. I did get Rimadyl for this trip; either it helped, or was unnecessary. He plays soccer again, chases tennis ball.
I am SO happy. Maybe some prayers do get answered.
Some say that a full CCL rupture will not heal well without surgery. Some dispute this.
*MMP Modified Maquet Procedure. That was the latest thing 3 years ago, the "New! Improved!" version of TTA. There is a LOT you'll find on the web. MMP did sound slightly less invasive than TPLO. All the reading I did was almost 3 years ago.
One bit of advice was: "Shop for a surgeon, not a technique; do what the surgeon is most comfortable with". Make sure the surgeon is very experienced with the technique.
They say there's a 50% chance of the other stifle getting hurt, too.
Re. body size/physique, I'd think smaller body size means less strain on the legs. Don't let them get overweight.
And be realistic: once they've ruptured a CCL, even with the best outsome, they are never going to catch the squirrel or play in the World Cup or climb K2 without oxygen. [Don't tell Al.]
patient: "After the surgery, Doc, will I be able to play the piano?"
Surgeon: "Yes, I'm almost sure of it."
patient: "Wonderful! I've always wished I could play the piano."
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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
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You carried a corgi out over 17 miles? Lordie, you must be strong as a horse. I once tried to carry Cassie (23 lbs) home and could barely make half a mile. :-o
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Permalink Reply by Carl Koch on
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I had a giant dachshund (55 pounds) with the same problem. The vet suggested holding off on surgery as he felt the tendon would heal over time. I was doubtful but lo and behold within three weeks or so Baxter was up and walking almost normally. Another two or three weeks and he was trotting. Doxies and Cardis share DNA and ancestors so the issues are similar. The downside...
We had to keep him crated for most of the day for the first three weeks. It was imperative that he minimize his movements so the tendon could heal. A diagnosis by another vet said he would never be able to walk normally again. I guess Baxter didn't read the diagnosis because he became a terror later. I am not suggesting anything here. The degree of the tear would dictate whether surgery is required. I have had several torn tendons in my 73 years. None required surgery .. yet. Bax was on rimadyl to help control inflammation during his recovery. You can also use Tramadol for pain if that is an issue. Your vet can give you the correct dosage. My current 11 year old female cardi is on 100mg of rimadyl and 100mg of Tramadol daily. She has arthritis and seems to be doing fine on these drugs. There have been no long term issues.
Hope this gives you some ideas on how to proceed. I have been lucky to have really good vets for my dogs. Almost without exception they have put surgery as a last resort. Surgery is painful and has about the same recovery time as the wait and see with plenty of bed-rest. Who knows?
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