Knee brace for a partial ACL tear

Kathie11 · #1 10-22-2009, 07:48 AM

One of my boxers Louie had the TPLO done on both of his knees. The first knee is 100% but after the second surgery on the other knee, he had an infection and eventually the metal plate had to be removed. He can run, play and doesn't seem to be in any kind of pain but he still toe taps with that leg.
Anyways our other boxer Chevy started toe tapping so we took him to the vet and yes the vet did the drawer test and thinks it's a partial tear. He wants to do xrays and then send him to an orthopedic specialist. Our problem is that Chevy is extremely afraid of the vet. He is ok with our vet now but still gets nervous. He also has a fear of going into buildings. Not sure why, we had him from 8 weeks and we took his to classes, vet and pet stores from the time he was a puppy. The only time he is more relaxed is when our other boxer is with us (that's how he became ok with our vet).
Our fear is that if he gets the TPLO surgery done at a hospital, he will injure his leg even more because he will try to lunge at the staff and won't allow anyone near him. Also whle we are at work he will not be able to be crated (when he was younger he got out of 3 different crate - he hates being closed in).
So that is our history. Now for my question. I did some research on conservative method of dealing with ACL injuries. We are thinking of using a knee brace to stabilize his knee and restrict his exercise. So pretty much treat him as if he had the TPLO surgery. I'm going on maternity leave in February and I was thinking if the knee doesn't improve by that time I would take a month of prior to mat leave so I can be home with him after the surgery if it is needed. But still I am expremely worried that the 2-3 day hospital stay could cause more damage to his leg because the staff will not be able go near him. And I don't think they will let us take him home right after he starts to wake up from the surgery. Also we are a bit discouraged because Louie's second surgery didn't go as well we hoped.
Has anyone tried a consevative method for an ACL injury and it has helped? Also any experiences with knee braces?

LILYLARUE · #2 10-22-2009, 10:01 AM

Have no suggestions other that talking to the specialist before your appointment, express your concerns about the anxiety issue and see if vallium or some other drug, would help keep him in a calmer state. I know it can't be used right before the surgery, but for the visit and the extended stay after, it could be useful for him. It's worth the inquiry.

Good luck and sending healing vibes!

EAO76 · #3 10-22-2009, 02:27 PM

So sorry you are going through this. Please do LOTS of research before you agree to the surgery. We were pushed to do ACL surgery on one of ours but we decided to try a non surgical approach first. It worked and he is 100% now without any surgery. I am not saying to refuse the surgery but just keep in mind that surgeons are in the business of selling surgery and they rarely ever suggest less invasive options. Also (as you have learned) there are lots of complications that can arise and there are occasions where the surgery is unsuccessful. I don’t think many vets educate owners on the pros & cons.

The scariest thing with ligament injuries is that they cannot be seen on an x-ray. And MRIs are very expensive and not always that helpful. So until they open your dog up they really don’t know what they are dealing with. It’s truly a guessing game. Many vets diagnose a ligament injury just because that is what’s most common. Often they will open the dog up & find that the injury wasn’t that bad or possibly something else all together.

In our case all we did was give Trucker an anti-inflammatory (NSAID) / pain med (it was metacam) and then a few weeks of crate rest. His body built up scar tissue naturally and that stabilized his knee. I now supplement with fish oil & glucosamine/chondroitin.

I was not against the surgery but Trucker had just had surgery for something else & the thought of putting him through it all over again was heartbreaking. That is why I tried the alternate therapy 1st. I figured if it didn’t work we could always do the surgery a little later. I am very glad that we waited. I know this may not be the answer for every dog but there really is no risk in waiting a short time (as long as you keep him calm & don’t further the injury). Of course our vet told us if we didn’t do the surgery immediately then he would blow out the other knee too. However that did not happen.

Here is a website that may be useful. Torn Dog Ligament --Is Surgery Really Needed?

Again I am not telling you to go against your vet’s advice. I am only suggesting you do a little research & weigh all your options. You know your dog best so follow your instinct.

darwinsmom · #4 10-22-2009, 03:38 PM

Hi Kathie,

My Darwin had a TPLO earlier this summer and I found a wealth of information at the Yahoo group orthodogs : Discussion of canine orthopedic issues. There is also a group for conservative management. From what I have learned from the moderators at orthodogs, conservative management can work for partial tears although they do not believe it is successful for completely ruptured ligaments. However, for the best chance of conservative management working the dog really does have to be kept quiet, usually with crate rest. In effect, he will have to go through the same restrictions as if he had surgery. If he will not tolerate being confined, I am not sure what your options are. Darwin does not do crates either, so he was almost constantly supervised during recovery. It was tough.

Best of luck to you and Chevy.

-Karlyn

Kathie11 · #5 10-23-2009, 11:44 AM

Thank you very much for your comments. We will definitely try the conservative method first and see how he does.

Currently we also give him glucosamin sulfate but we will switch to glucosamin chondroitin. We also give him fish oil. We do have metacam but I would rather not give him that because I want him to be in a bit of pain so he doesn't try to jump or burn if he thinks he's 100%.

When you say crate rest, do you mean that Tucker was in a crate all day with only pee breaks? Or was he able to go on 5-10 min walks?

EAO76 · #6 10-23-2009, 11:13 PM

Well Metacam is also an anti-inflammatory so it does more then just relieve pain. When you reduce the inflammation more & faster healing can take place. Also I don’t think I would have gone conservative if I didn’t have the metacam to make him comfortable. We kept him in a crate when we couldn’t watch him; he was not allowed to play with the other dogs, & no jumping on / off furniture. And no long walks. Basically he was a couch potato.