Hello and welcome.

My dog had TPLO about 18 months ago, he was 11 years old (8 kilo terrier cross). He had the surgery and was on strict crate rest for several weeks, where he was carried out to the garden to toilet and back in. Stairs etc were strictly not allowed, even although he was hopping around on three legs. We did a lot of brain training to occupy him, food was from puzzles etc.

After about 4 weeks, he ought to have been starting to touch the foot to the ground, but he was about a week behind what was expected. His vet wasn't concerned, small dogs do so well on three legs that the incentive to re-use the fourth is less imperative. Gradually he would put a little more weight on it.

After the stitches were out, he had hydrotherapy weekly for 12 weeks.

He recovered pre-injury fitness within about three months and now, you wouldn't know it had ever happened.

It was a bit stressful but I have absolutely no regrets about having done it. Some dogs recover with very strict rest, his injury wouldn't have been suitable for that though.

If there is anything specific I can answer, I'm happy to try to help.

 

Hi Joanne,

I just came across this forum and I was wondering if you might be able to shed some light on how you were able to get your pup to relieve themselves without them being able to walk. My little male yorkie (11 lbs) just had TPLO surgery today and I’m not sure how to get him to urinate or defecate without use of his back left leg. I have a sling but I know that’s more for leading him outside, after that, I’m not sure how he is supposed to squat.

I was just curious if you had any insight on this.

Best,
Resa

 

The TPLO surgery, and the rehab, has come a long way.
And like @JoanneF said, you can't even tell it's been done. I know several people who opted for this expensive surgery and were extremely happy with the results... once they got through the long recovery process.

The less expensive, but still pricey these days, suture surgery has also come a long ways. Now there is self-tightening sutures and the figure eight holding the dog's knee joint intact no longer loosens like it once did. Less recovery time, oftentimes can be done by someone local who has been taught rather than an orthopedic surgeon, and from what I've been told by people I know, you also can't tell the dog ever had a problem.

The TPLO used to only be recommended for youngish dogs and large breed dogs. The suture surgery (I'm sure there's a proper name for it) on less active or smaller dogs.

Years ago I opted for the suture method and my 100lb girl lived to be exactly 13 years old and probably could have kept on going. She had the surgery around six years of age. But I reduced her hard activities like Frisbee and all out running.
Even today I think I would still get the suture. Mostly because I know my own vet can do it and I wouldn't have to take my dog to a specialist.

But if you are OK with the longer rehab time, the TPLO is the more bulletproof operation in the long run.
I know a guy who runs his Lab HARD and she had the TPLO done.

 

Hello guys @pacanis, and @JoanneF, thank you so much for sharing your experience!!! Have been reading a lot of blogs for the preparations for the surgery and if ever I'd need more answers, will send you a question! would that be fine?? thanks again!

 

Of course ask any questions, if we can help, we will.

 

Hey, Sending positive vibes and well wishes for your furry friend's recovery! Your love and care are incredibly important, and I'm sure your pup will feel all the comfort and support they need. Cheers!

 

I'm adding this for a possible alternative. I have two Maremma livestock guard dogs; the older one is a 120 lb. male. He is a working dog living outside protecting poultry from coyotes and bears. He completely tore a cruciate ligament at age 4. I thoroughly researched as many actual vet journal studies as I could find, on every sort of surgery being done. None of them had good outcomes for large active dogs like this. The cost was prohibitive (over a fifth of my annual income without any physical therapy included). These dogs will also not tolerate being locked in a crate for extended periods; they won't even tolerate being shut up in a house. With the help of a vet getting the measurements and a bunch of photos sent to the company to be sure of the correct sizing, I got a Balto leg brace harness. As soon as I put the brace on him, he was able to walk without any sign of pain, it was like a miracle, and it was hard to slow him down. I have photographs and video. He tolerated wearing it with no problems, and the fit was such that there was no issue with rubbing or chafing (it helps that these are long hair fluffy dogs). The only problem I had was the younger dog wanting to chew on it, and some hot sauce painted on helped with that. The vet had me give him carprofen and gabapentin in combination for relief of inflammation and pain. The gabapentin also made him somewhat sleepy which helped reduce his activity level. He was on the drugs for 3 months. He continued living outside patrolling his territory. He wore the brace for 6 months and the vet had me take it off gradually for slowly increasing amounts of time. She warned that it was almost certain he would tear the other side from putting more weight on that uninjured hind leg, so I had already gotten the brace for the other leg. Sure enough, the next year he tore the ligament on the "good" leg. On the vet's advice, he wore both stifle braces while the second injury healed. He is now 9 years old and shows no sign at all of ever having been injured, and I do mean it is undetectable; not the slightest limp or irregular gait. Well, the only thing he does not do is jump over things or up onto things, but he was never much of a jumper to begin with at his weight. He still runs the fence line like a racehorse and pulls like a freight train when on a leash. So, this is a viable alternative if surgery is not an option for a dog with this injury. Be warned though, that there are a lot of "braces" being advertised on places like Amazon for this purpose and most of them are worthless. The one I used was chosen and sized with the help of a vet, and it is NOT cheap. I also did not buy it from a retailer like Chewy, but from someone connected with the company who spent a lot of time corresponding with me and having me send a lot of information and a series of photos of my dog showing various angles with a tape measure wrapped around parts of his legs and body. I hope this may be of use to someone with an injured dog.

You can see below the range of motion he was comfortable with, after the brace was on.

 

Are you able to share how one might be able to connect with that person as well?

 

Don't know if I'm allowed to post somebody's email here? But the company was Alpha Mobility and the brand is Balto. There's a lot of information on their webpage. The braces are made in Italy and are of human medical quality in materials and workmanship. Besides getting the right fit, you have to have a dog that will tolerate wearing it and not chew it. There are also a couple of breeds that can't be fitted (these aren't custom made); English bulldogs were mentioned, something about the shortness of the leg combined with the large circumference around the stifle joint.

It seemed to be very comfortable for my dog and he didn't mess with it. There is a stabilizing strap that fastens between the band that goes over the back and fastens to a collar or harness but I ended up not needing to use that; the brace stayed in position fine without it and I'm sure the long hair helped as I did clip a path over the back so the strap settled down in there. I got two sets and switched between them because my dogs are outside working in rain/snow/mud. So I could be cleaning one while he was wearing the other. A pet dog probably wouldn't need that. But anyway you figure it, it was much cheaper than the surgery and from everything I've read I think it was more effective. The research papers I read on the various surgeries showed me that none of them actually "repair" the damaged ligament, they just stabilize the joint internally until the dog can grow supporting scar tissue. The brace does the same thing externally.

 

Ah I misunderstood. I thought you meant that someone was customizing the braces but it seems like you meant that the person was helping you pick the right size. That's good coz a wrong sized brace might do more harm.

 

That is correct. I did check out the custom made braces before deciding on the Balto, but the experience of people who got them for their dogs was very mixed. Fit is very important, yes. I don't know if you can see in the photo, but the part that fits around the stifle joint has 3 infinitely adjustable velcro straps just on that part. No buckles anywhere. Plus there's a cutout right over the joint so there's no pressure there at all. It was a real eye-opener--the dog was limping badly, holding that leg up and not putting the foot down, and as soon as he had the brace on he started walking almost normally. Those pictures were taken right after it was put on. I think the key thing is to be able to keep it on the dog comfortably all the time, long term, and it takes about 6 months. Every time you take it off there's a good chance of motion damaging the healing scar tissue. The vet checked him periodically during that time. After everything I learned about these injuries, if I do this to my own knee I'm getting myself a human brace instead of having surgery.

 

hello guys, would anyone recommend using a wearable sleeve during their pup's recovery? Is it really necessary?

 

The recovery suits work really well for some dogs, or depending on size a baby/toddler babygro would work. Or, depending on the location of the wound, even a t-shirt (maybe cut to tie on, with a knot in it).

 

Oh yes ...

I won't lie, the first couple of days were stressful. He would urinate without a problem by standing on his good leg, but he couldn't find a comfortable position to defecate and I was getting a little concerned. We also tried the sling under his tummy but that seemed to put him off even more. I used oily fish in his diet to help prevent constipation and eventually he just did it. We had a little poo party that day!

And, later in his recovery, when he eventually stood on his bad leg to raise his good leg to urinate, we had another celebration lol!

Another tip - I don't know whether you have been told to do passive physiotherapy by getting your dog to move his leg in a sort of cycling motion? If you have, I found the easiest way for my dog was for me to scratch his flank, and he cycled the leg himself as though HE was doing the scratching.

And I used a buggy to take him out and about, I think we both would have got cabin fever if we had been confined to home for all that time.