11 year old lab tore his 2nd acl- different lef

[mcdale]

2 years ago he tore his back left. We decided against surgery. It took months but he eventually healed beautifully. He’s in great shape and health for an 11 year old. We’ve kept his weight down and him on anti inflammatories.

This past weekend he was trying to get on my bed and he severely tore his right. (His strong leg.) Hes having a really hard time getting around. We have him comfortable and set up in the basement and we’re trying to limit his activity. His left (previously torn acl) is struggling to keep all of his weight since his right has 0 stability now.

We are hopeful but want to be realistic but would appreciate any and all advice on how to deal with this.

 

[salayskes]

@mcdale the first incident was most likely a partial tear. coming from an orthopedic specialty practice, tplo surgery is fast and solid. They'll be walking again in days and if done by someone who does this alot, usually outlasts the dog. And in my experience, a full tear needs surgery.

 

[gdssldier]

@mcdale This may be a better question for r/askvet.

 

[maxi00]

@gdssldier You know I have noticed they’d just tell them to take the dog to the vet. I don’t think I have seen them give any advice really. It seems like they’re not even allowed.

 

[legend28]

@maxi00 Typically if you're concerned enough to ask on the internet, you should be asking a vet.

 

[legend28]

@mcdale TPLO surgery is a great option for most dogs. Pardon my being blunt, but if you feel you don't want to spend that much (expect around $3k, plus another $1k for followups and rehab) considering his age, you could look at knee braces. They won't help him nearly as much but if you feel his time may be up soon I understand not wanting to spend the money on TPLO. That's valid, and you won't get judgement from me for making that decision. Finances are unfortunately something we have to consider when looking at options.

That said, TPLO is a very effective surgery. You do rehab exercises as the bone heals, usually by 8 weeks they can start going for longer and longer walks and you start doing that instead of the rehab exercises (or in addition to; and I also recommend skipping the hydrotherapy- just walk and walk and walk and walk to rebuild muscle). My 9 year old Siberian had TPLO+Lateral Suture and had half of her meniscus removed. 5 months post-op her muscle mass was even again and we got back in agility classes. A month later she was back in competitions and got her agility championship title not long after at 10 years old, and she also got back to bikejoring and other sports.