Cranial cruciate ligament disease can affect dogs of all sizes breeds and ages but rarely cats.
Ccl repair in dogs.
A small dog may do better with some acl injuries without surgery while a larger dog is most likely going to need surgical repair.
This ligament connects the back of the femur the bone above the knee with the front of the tibia the bone below the knee.
And ccl tears can result from long term chronic degeneration.
There are generally two ways a dog s cranial cruciate ligament can rupture.
Dog acl surgical options.
Tibial plateau leveling osteotomy tplo tibial osteotomy tto.
Partial tearing of the crcl is common in dogs and progresses to a full tear over time.
Dogs are also more prone to ccl tears if they ve had a previous ccl injury on the opposite leg.
Tibial plateau leveling osteotomy tplo and 3.
Once a licensed veterinarian diagnoses your dog with a ccl tear and it is decided that surgery is the best option for your dog there are three main orthopedic procedures to repair an acl tear.
A tear can result from an athletic injury in a healthy dog this could even mean landing wrong when running or jumping.
This type of procedure is used to repair a torn cranial cruciate ligament in your dog s knee.
The ccl is responsible for keeping the tibia in place beneath the femur and stabilizing the knee joint.
A lateral suture technique aka extracapsular repair 2.
Ccl surgery is the most common orthopedic surgery performed in dogs and is said to make up 85 of all dog orthopedic surgeries performed every year.
There are a few common surgical techniques used to repair the cruciate ligament in dogs.
What is a dog acl surgery.
A ruptured ccl is the most common orthopedic injury in dogs and results in a painful and unstable joint.
If left untreated a ruptured ccl will lead to progressive and irreversible degenerative joint disease arthritis.
A body slam during rough play can leave a dog sitting on the sidelines howling.
A dog cruciate ligament tear is typically treated with surgery followed by medication rehab and weight management.
I find most dogs thirty pounds or over require surgery.
If the acl is completely torn even tiny dogs most likely need surgery particularly if they re active.
Cruciate ligament surgery in dogs.
If your dog goes lame in one of their hind legs they may have torn or ruptured their cranial cruciate ligament or ccl similar to the acl in humans.
40 60 of dogs that have crcld in one knee will at some future time develop a similar problem in the other knee.
Why did my dog rupture this ligament.
We don t know yet if there is a genetic component to ccl ruptures.
Dog acl surgery or otherwise known as canine cruciate surgery is a very stressful and expensive endeavor for dog owners.