Hi there I need some advice deperately!! My 10 year old arthritic Akita x has ruptered his cruciate ligament. Not sure whether full or partial. Im really stuck whether to go for surgery or not as he has arthritis in both hips.
I work at a vets and they have advised me that they would do the op with the suture instead of TPLO as its less invasive. We cancelled his surgery on Thursday as he seemed to improve slightly and we see the surgery as a last option.
He is very bright and wanting to move around as normal and trying to get the cat! He is limping but getting from A to B.
Do u think i should put him thru surgery with the risk that it might not work? Do I have any other options?? I dont think that he would cope very well after surgery as he is already very reluctant to accept help. He is currently on Metacam and just started Seraquin.
  HELP!

Gosh Kylie, I really don't know what I would do in this circumstance. If the dog is well and bright I think I would risk the surgery. After all he can't continue as he is for too long so I think I would go ahead. If the worse happened, well so be it, but there is every chance that the operation will give him a chance of living a few more years able to do the things he loves to do.

Hi,

i have had a cruciate repair done on two seperate legs! Both times the suture method was done and i have been very happy with the result, they need alot of very strict rest for about 12 weeks with a slow and gradual increase in excercise, my own personal experience has been good, it took on both occasions about 6 months before the lameness had completely resolved. sometimes they can have occasional sore days but on the whole i would go for surgery as long as the surgeon has lots of experience in the procedure as not all do!

I wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide, if he is a large dog which i am assuming he would be (akita x) then it could be difficult to heal without surgery due to his large size.

Hope he is feeling better very soon x

> He is very bright and wanting to move around as normal and trying to get the cat! He is limping but getting from A to B

my boy had his done despite acting like this...when they looked it was nearly torn through and the surgery was definately needed. thats the thing with dogs, their so blooming stoic its hard to tell sometimes if they are ok or not.

i would say that our boy came through the surgery really well, worst bit was trying to make him rest it. he was at the mad 1 yr old stage and just wanted to bounce so he ended up sedated for a spells :(

the legs great now though!

take your time about the decision, its a big choice to make. hope everything goes ok.