[herwitsend]

Our 4 year old male has torn the ccl in both hind knees.  We have met with the surgeon and he recommends that we have TPLO done on both knees.  It seems that for a 4 year old dog that it is pretty much the only good option.  
The bottom line for us, though, is that we cannot afford it.  We will have to take out a second mortgage on our house to even afford one knee ($3,200), my current job is ending in June and we are going to be just barely scraping by even without the extra payments.  
Has anyone chosen to not do the surgery?  The surgeon said that he will not have any use of his hind legs within 2 years if we don't do it.  Is this true?

 

[msdiamonddawg]

My Rottweiler tore his.  The vet recommended that we DON'T do the surgery though because he was a big boy and weighed a lot (not fat, just a freak of nature!).  Vet said that his weight would not support the surgery and the dog would end up favoring his other leg in which the same thing could then happen.  He told us that eventually it would tear completely off, which it did.

A couple of years later his back-end gave out on him, as the vet told us it would, and we did have to put him down (that and a combination of really bad arthritis)....he was 6.

 

[herwitsend]

So, as I feared, it is a choice between serious financial difficulty or our dear friend...  

I am sick...

 

[msdiamonddawg]

I understand how you feel.  I went through the same feelings, even though for us the vet said it wouldn't do him any good in the end. The cost was tooo much for us to even think about.


We decided against it and hoped for the best.  I'm so sorry you have to make this decision.  

If I can say anything though, if there is any way you can afford do it, I would suggest it, only because what I had to watch my Charlie go through in the end was unbearable.  

 

[sharonL]

the other option may be to contact a place like care credit to see if you could go a pet insurance/credit card/....ask your vet if they accept it first though....It is tough because of it being both legs...but as said before yes eventually they will go out....

 

[sizzam]

What causes a CCL to tear?   Is it just one of those things that happens from time to time, or are there types of activities to avoid to lower the risk?

 

[owenowlsnest]

I don't know if any of the veterinary schools have programs that help.  You might try calling.

 

[sharonL]

[quote="owenowlsnest\";p=\"105365":38op9y3o]I don't know if any of the veterinary schools have programs that help.

 

[rocky2006]

Hey guys!!

New to the forum, our 2 yr old Boxer Rocky was just diagnosed with a ACL. . What needs to be done on ROCKY is a TPLO to correct the problem. (Oops sorry for the confusion).  

 

[AzSun2006]

what exactly is TPLO?..what causes it?..Is there a way to make sure that our babies don't have this happen to them or is it just something they are predisposed too?..thanks for any information on this as it concerns me how it can hurt them so badly.

 

[AzSun2006]

I also wanted to say how sorry i was to hear of this for your baby..I hope and pray you find an answer for help and it can be fixed and your baby can lead a long and productive life.

 

[zulu]

Mac did his CCL and also had to have a knee replaced, vet said something about the socket was too shallow and the knee kept poping out. We were covered on our insurance so went ahead and did it the next day after he was diagnosed. I thought yay i got away with just paying my 80.00 excess, but then It failed, so we re did it, but caus it was second time we had to pay, the vet was really good though he billed us the drugs and things charge only, so the first one was about 1800.00 and the second of the same thing he only billed us 700.00, im sure he knocked more off then he was supposed to. The vet said if it did not work that time he would have to have his leg amputated because his bone was so weak and wouldnt stand another op, so far so good, touching wood, he is fine now, still has a bit of a bowing out leg and def favours the other one.

Id say if you can do it but just remember its not 100%, but im sure he is worth every penny of what it will cost, maybe check out Sharon idea, that sounds like a solution.

get well soon poor boy

 

[chud89]

They do make braces for dogs. Are Sasha has a torn partially torn ACL she would limp all the time. All the vets wanted to do surgrey asap. Its been about 2 yrs and we still have not had the surgrey. We instead bought a brace from Woundwear. Total cost was about 500. This could be an option for you. Sasha had a hard time getting used to the brace but after the first day she has no problems with it. She now walks without a limp and only wears the brace when going outside to play. Even the vet couldnt believe the results. So I would check woundwear maybe they have something to help in your situation.

 

[rocky2006]

check this website out for more info

http://www.slocumenterprises.com/Articl ... gament.htm



Stay Pawsitive
Gerardo & Rocky

 

[nano]

I have had a TPLO done and also a surgery done the "old fashioned" way using a synthetic to replace the torn cartilage.