Possible torn ACL - surgery needed????

It hasn't been confirmed, but I'm fairly certain Cosmo has a torn ACL. I'm not overly thrilled with putting him through surgery. He's got hip problems, a thyroid condition and overall not in great health and I'm unsure that he'd even make it through the procedure.

I've been reading up saying it is possible to rehab them without surgery. It definitely takes much longer but Im willing to put in the work.

Has anyone heard of this or done it????

Re: Possible torn ACL - surgery needed????

It depends how severe the tear is. My pup(as you know) had one repaired because it was injured once and then completely tore later on. The second time she injured the other leg and we milked it like a baby. The vet made us crate her, keep her on antiflammatories and glucosamine and she healed up. It took several weeks and is tough when you go from having a dog that roams the house freely to crating her most of the day. It made me feel horrible but it worked No stairs or jumping on anything in the house. We lifted her fat azz everywhere

Re: Possible torn ACL - surgery needed????

Yeah, I moved his food and bed downstairs and I even slept down here last night. When I came home before and he got all excited I ignored him and told him to lay down.

I'll take him for the x-ray next week. I'll keep him on all his 100 different meds and see how it goes. He's walking a bit better today and if I have to sleep downstairs for the next month I will. He follows me everywhere so its hard.

I spoke with the vet today but got the one guy I absolutely cannot stand....such a condescending azz. I'm waiting for the doc I like to come back next week and I'll make sure that she is the one to see Cosmo as I trust her opinion. If its completely torn then yes, surgery will be most likely needed but I'm really hoping to avoid it as I just don't think he's healthy enough to go through it.

G, this really suckkkksssssssss........

Re: Possible torn ACL - surgery needed????

Lori, I'm so sorry to hear about this! How old is he now? I'm going to FM you a link to a place that may have more info.

Re: Possible torn ACL - surgery needed????

My Rottie had a complete ACL tear - surgery was a must, it cannot be repaired with therapy.

Also, and ACL tear is not going to show on an Xray, it's a ligament.

I would recommend the orthopedist at Atlantic Coast Veterinary in Bohemia on Vets HIghway to make the diagnosis. Also, Long Island Veterinary Specilists in Plainview is very good as well.

My Rottie had the surgery 2 years ago, the first 6 months was tough on her but if you saw her running around now, you would never know it!

Good luck!

Re: Possible torn ACL - surgery needed????

Wer're about to go through our second surgery with out Porter. he tore one ACL last May. Now his other ACL is torn which they say is very common (but doesn't always happen) that once they tear one the other goes within 6 months. It really depends on the severity of the case. His was pretty severe!