TPLO

[Besonbully]

Hey there I was wondering if people could tell me about their experiences with TPLO. After getting one knee done, did you end up having to get another? How long was the recovery? What is the success rate?

My guy walks fine and doesn't seem to be in any pain. Occasionally he'll lift the injured leg while standing. I really just can't imagine having to pay thousands of dollars and then find out I have to do it again for the other leg.

Does anyone know of some cheaper places in Ontario? Thanks

[Misskiwi67]

Better to do one leg now than BOTH later.

Dogs are too tough for their own good, if he EVER lifts his leg up, it hurts like hell.

Statistically, if one knee goes, there is a 50% chance the other knee will blow within the year.

Here is an article that will help with some of your other questions:
http://www.VeterinaryPartner.com/Conten ... C=0&A=1975

[kaytenmags]

my dog had her right knee done, and blew her left one about 10 months later.

[sunnygirl01]

My girl Bella had her right leg done the week before Christmas. By the time we went for her 8 week check-up following the surgery, she was not putting any weight on the left leg. She had torn the other ligament while on restricted activity! We went ahead and did the left one that day. It seems like once they have injured the first one, they injure the other one compensating for the injury of the first one. That is an awful lot of money to come up with in an 8 week period!


**Edited to add:

She was recently released to be slowly introduced to normal activity. She doesnt limp and all. The surgeon warned that she may be sore if she starts running around but she did the zoomies last weekend and did not seem to get sore at all. I am very pleased with the results at this time.

[Besonbully]

Has anyone only had to do one?

[Jazzy]

Just wanted to add I'll be watching this thread.

We are trying conservative management with Veronica for another month and then will make a decision about surgery. So far she is no worse, but really no better. She walks fine; but I notice she puts more weight on her uninjured side while standing still. Since we restricted activity she only picks her leg up sometimes in the evening for a couple of steps.

If we have to do surgery I was thinking more along the lines of a traditional repair as it is less invasive, less hardware, less that can go wrong.

So to the OP - how did you decide upon TPLO as opposed to other surgical options?

[Savage Destiny]

I'm not the OP, but I would not do the traditional repair on anything larger than a Chihuahua. They seem to have a bad habit of breaking and needing to be redone. On a different forum, a Rottie got her traditional repair done a day after Riddle got her TTA (basically the same sort of thing as TPLO). When Riddle was getting released to normal activity, the Rottie's repair failed and she had to go back to get it redone- and she's not an active dog.

Everything I've read, and all the vets I talked to, told me that a traditional repair wasn't a very realistic option for larger dogs. What happened with the Rottie only reinforced that for me.

[elegy]

Luce had a traditional repair done in her first knee. She's 45 pounds and was a pretty active dog at the time. It has *not* failed and the knee was "remarkably stable" when the surgeon who did her TTA the following year manipulated it while Luce was under anesthesia to get her second knee done.

But the recovery time was SO much longer than with her TTA and she has had more chronic trouble with that knee. At the same time, though, she has good range of motion in both knees and the rehab vet I had her to in the fall just for a checking over and to get advice on how to keep her sound and strong as she gets older (she is measured the musculature in both hind legs as being the same.

I do think a lot has to do with the surgeon and the aftercare, no matter what surgery you choose.

[mtlu]

I do think a lot has to do with the surgeon and the aftercare, no matter what surgery you choose.

I think this is really important to stress. I really liked the surgeon who did both of Molly's knees. We chose TPLO's for both repairs after I spent a lot of time reading and also getting anecdotal evidence from people who have had dogs with various types of repairs.

Both orthopedic surgeons we brought Molly to were very experienced with the various repair options and have been performing the surgeries for many years and they both had different qualities that I liked. Surgeon A was amazing at doing the diagnosis: he did a whole host of manipulations; was able to get super-sharp x-rays of Molly's knees without sedation; had an amazing eye for picking out irregularities in her gait as we walked around outside. If I ever have another dog that presents with a possible orthopedic issue, the dog will be brought to this surgeon without hesitation for a consult.

Surgeon B (who performed both of Molly's TPLO's) has also been doing TPLO's for a many years and additionally, he took the time to explain the repair in detail in relation to Molly's condition. While pointing to Molly's x-rays, he pointed out how she has pretty straight bones which made her a good candidate for the TPLO repair. In some dogs, there are slight twists and/or curves in the bones which can make the surgery very complicated and affect stability and success of the repair. I felt like I could trust his explanation and also that if she had *not* been a good candidate for a TPLO, that he would have recommended against it.

Going back to this question:

Has anyone only had to do one?

I'm sure there are quite a few people whose dogs have only injured one knee but IMO, it isn't helpful to use anecdotal evidence to assess whether or not a dog will only need one or both knees repaired in the lifetime of the dog. There are various factors that go into what causes a CCL injury to begin with. There could have been a single traumatic event (like a fall/landing wrong that causes the joint to twist rather than bend); there could be gradual damage to the joint from a certain kind of exercise/activity; there could be gradual damage to the joint from the stress of poor conformation or weight condition of the dog; there could be a genetic factor which one of our surgeons mentioned but that is based on his observations of his patients and not any broad, scientific study. It could also be any combination of the above factors.

What I will say is that a specialist who is really good at what they do might be able to give you some insight as to whether or not your dog has a good chance of injuring the other knee – and will be able to point to some things that came out of the examination/diagnosis of your dog and not just point out the obvious (I have seen a statistic mentioned on a pet hospital website that 1 in 3 dogs with one CCL repair will require a second one but I don't know the source of that statistic).

[Kingsgurl]

I'm not the OP, but I would not do the traditional repair on anything larger than a Chihuahua. They seem to have a bad habit of breaking and needing to be redone.

Post operative care is crucial with any of these types of surgeries. The trad repair uses something similiar to really high test fishing line to stabalize the knee joint while scar tissue builds up to stabalize the joint on it's own. It isn't meant to hold the knee together forever, it is only meant to hold it together long enough for the body to adapt. Martin weighs 50 pounds and is an active dog. I couldn't be happier with his repair, though each dog is different and the best option for one may not be the best option for another.
Good luck

[Red]

Hey there I was wondering if people could tell me about their experiences with TPLO. After getting one knee done, did you end up having to get another? How long was the recovery? What is the success rate?

Did a TPLO on my older female 2 years ago, the same female who also a patella surgery at 1 year old (other knee). The surgery went great and I am very happy with the outcome.I have a foster female who came home from an extra capsular surgery (traditional repair) just this morning and if it I had the money I would have done a TPLO or at least TTA on her (it is around $5000 to go to a good orthopedic surgeon for that surgery here). I am hoping that this surgery will help but time will tell.