Acl Tear In Dogs

It s a common condition but that doesn t make it less scary when it s your dog who is limping.

Acl tear in dogs. In this ultimate guide integrative veterinarian dr. Dogs under 30 pounds sometimes recover from mild acl injuries without surgery. 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 torn anterior cruciate ligament acl is a common injury in dogs which may cause hind leg lameness.

Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament acl also known as the cranial cruciate ligament ccl is all too common. Although a torn acl is painful for your dog it can recover with rest and medication. If i had to do it all over again i would still try the conservative approach first since on his first injury as my dog s first acl tear was partial. The acl is meant to stabilize the leg and provide support during weight bearing activities.

By chronicling the story of bailey a labrador retriever with a torn acl you ll learn the facts from diagnosis. Tibial plateau leveling osteotomy tplo and 3. An acl tear in dogs is a knee injury that occurs when a dog fully or partially tears their cruciate ligament. Knee injuries can be complicated to diagnose and to fix.

Julie buzby shares tips information x rays and even a video on diagnosing an acl tear. A lateral suture technique aka extracapsular repair 2. Dog acl surgical options. A torn acl in dogs.

Living with an acl tear. The ccl is responsible for keeping the tibia in place beneath the femur and stabilizing the knee joint. Heal your dog s torn acl ligament by reducing its body weight. In fact some dogs are more prone to acl injury than others.

Larger dogs are far more likely to require surgery. In fact cruciate damage is the second most common orthopedic condition found in dogs after hip dysplasia and is the most frequently operated orthopedic condition in our canine friends. Surgery is not always necessary for a torn acl especially on smaller dogs when reconstructing the acl is more challenging. There is controversy about when a dog needs surgery and which surgical procedure is the best.

However if the acl is completely torn even tiny dogs will most likely need surgery. 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. High body weight is a risk factor and a leading cause of acl injury because of the extra stress placed on the ligament by an overweight body. Football hockey and soccer players are not the only ones to get sidelined due to knee problems.

Before we go any further it s important to note that dog acl tear is a term commonly used for this type of injury although your veterinarian will likely refer to it as cranial cruciate rupture. Just like athletes dogs can end up with a cruciate ligament injury.