Hi,my 18 months old golden retriever was hit by a car 2 weeks ago, x rays where clear of any broken bones but the vet told me that there's more movement on the right knee that on the left,he send the x rays to an specialist to decide if is a problem with his crucial ligament and if so he may needs surgery.
He is not limping badly in fact he only limps a bit after he's been resting but the limp stops 5 minutes later,and place his weight on both legs.
I have been looking on the net and I do no like the sound of the operation and seen some people had success with conservative management
Has any one of you ever had this problem and if so what is your opinion on surgery and conservative management.
He's insured so paying for the operation is no the problem.
Thanks.
Paco

Best thing to do would be to figure out what the exact cause of the problem is first, then discuss your options with a specialist (and possibly go for a second opinion). You need to figure out if it's ACL, CCL or something else (ie. muscular) and whether it's a complete or partial tear.

Every case is different, and it's difficult to voice an opinion on whether or not surgery is the best option without having a full diagnosis.

Thanks for your reply,I should be geting the results within the next couple of days,this is the first time that any of my dogs have this problem so I'm trying to gather as much information as possible to have a better idea of what to do if the worst scenario is confirm

The biggest problem I find with looking up things like this on the internet is that many of the websites from vets recommending the surgery source information from their personal experiences, and many of those recommending alternative treatment either provide very few sources or do not cite their sources. Makes it difficult to figure out exactly how valid the information is.

I've known a couple of Goldens who have undergone the surgery successfully, though they were all +7 years old when it was done so can't speak from experience when it comes to a much younger dog. We opted for alternative treatment on one of my bitches, but she as 5 when it happened (the ligament just gave out while on a walk) and has strong enough supporting muscle that we only see the occasional hop. Her quality of life hasn't been reduced at all, but she could certainly never do agility or go back in the show ring.

The first thing you're going to want to do is get the swelling down in the knee and start gradually building muscle in the leg. This is important whether you do surgery or not, as recovery depends on strengthening surrounding muscles to support the joint. Unfortunately, there's really no way to tell what the long-term effects are of not doing surgery. Some dogs might be fine and live out healthy, normal lives. However without the Cruciate ligaments, the joint is less stable. After years of slipping slightly when the dog moves, it is possible for the joint to become quite damaged. The joint might look good now, and for the next few years, but what happens when your dog reaches 12 or 13?

Regardless of the treatment you choose, I would strongly recommend looking at hydrotherapy. It's a great way to build supporting muscle around the joint without the damaging effects of impact.

Thanks again,hydrotherapy its definitely something I want to try

Isn't movement of the knee usually down to patella luxation? or will the knee move with a damaged cruiciate?

As far as I understand the job of the crucial ligaments is to stop the knee from sliding backwards and forward

> As far as I understand the job of the crucial ligaments is to stop the knee from sliding backwards and forward

The cruciate ligaments are in the same area as the patella (stifle). They are called the Cruciate as they are in a cross shape, and their role is to hold the leg bones in place and allow them to act as a hinge (rather than the patella).

"Their job is to prevent forward and backwards movement in the tibia in the direction of the arrows. This means as the stifle flexes and extends the surfaces glide over each other and a healthy stifle will flex and extend millions of times in a lifetime, without wearing out. It is the cranial or anterior cruciate which is the most commonly injured and whose job is to stop the tibia sliding forward in relation to the femur."

Taken from:http://www.oaktreevet.co.uk/Pages/Cruciate%20Ligament%20Repair.htm

Hi Francis

Sorry to hear about Souso. My old girl is being checked out for cruciate ligament on Wednesday as she has become very lame on her back leg. I don't have experience of this condition prior to this but would say that if he is not lame ALL the time I would think that he should be lame to some degree most of the time if it was cruciate, however as I say I have not had this happen before. I think hydrotherapy is a good idea andf also I wouild supplement with Glucosamine and Chondroitin as as he has had an injury to his knee then as he gets older arthritis could set in so protect it sooner rather than later. Let me know how he is.

Hi Alison.
That's the thing he's not limping,he struggle a bit geting up when is been resting but he was hit by a car so I can imagine  he's got to be sore.But the vet must have seen something rong so will have to wait for the results,for now i just following his instructions and only walking him on the leash for 5 minutes and we are trying to keep him as calm as we can at home,if that is possible,
Hope your girl recover soon.

In that case I would think it seems to be heavy bruising as cruciate is usually lameness. Certainly hope he improves soon.

Lets hope so.
Thanks again

Actually, the lack of the Cruciate itself won't necessarily cause the dog to be lame. It doesn't affect the movement of the joint so much acts as a preventative to keep different parts of the joint from crashing into each other. The lameness is generally due to swelling, which is also why he would be stiff to get up. If there wasn't much swelling in the area to begin with, he could very easily get by with not being lame on the leg. This is why alternative treatments can be effective, as you don't technically need the ligament to be able to move. However, not having it will damage the joint over time. My bitch generally only hops when she does something that really puts too much stress on the joint or there's a bit of swelling present.

(This is actually the case in humans as well... once the swelling in the knee is down, a person could theoretically run a marathon without the ligament. It would destroy the joint over time, but the only thing you can't do without your ACL is sharp turns and pivoting because there's nothing stopping the parts of the joint crashing into each other.)

Again though, fingers crossed for a better diagnosis than a full cruciate tear!!

Hello everyone, I've not posted on here before but read with interest. My ten year old jack Russell went intermittently lame end of last year and each time it was after running hard, gradually it got where less would flare it up vet referred to orthapeadic vet as she had previously had a femoral head and neck excision on the opposite side so they wanted to check if it was now the other hip. It turned out to be the cruciate ligament and vet told me its quite common for it to be intermittent lameness with a cruciate and with her she just had one strand left when they operated. I was very surprised as would have expected constant lameness!

Lynne

You may be able to find some help and advice through one of our therapists
http://www.k9-massageguild.com/content-8.asp