In early Spring 2010, we noticed a change in our 2 year old dog Penny. It was subtle at first- after sedentary periods, she would move stiffly. It seemed to be affecting her left leg, but it was hard to pinpoint. Was it hip? Knee? Foot? We couldn’t tell. There was no specific onset following an acute injury- it just developed gradually over time. After strenuous activity such as a game of fetch, or running at the beach, her limp was more pronounced. Typically it would lessen after she got moving again, and it never kept her from walking or playing.
Things like this would result in 3 days of resting on the couch:
We took her to our primary vet, who ordered a series of x-rays. Nothing was found, and the recommendation was rest, to see if the problem resolved on its own. It didn’t, and within a few months, we were referred to the amazing Dr Alex Aguila at the Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle to help determine what the problem was. The diagnosis: suspected partial tear of the Cranial Cruciate Ligament in her left knee.
We took her to our primary vet, who ordered a series of x-rays. Nothing was found, and the recommendation was rest, to see if the problem resolved on its own. It didn’t, and within a few months, we were referred to the amazing Dr Alex Aguila at the Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle to help determine what the problem was. The diagnosis: suspected partial tear of the Cranial Cruciate Ligament in her left knee. Little did we know that we had just limped our way into an extended canine family, home to one of the most common orthopedic injuries.
In humans, the knee has a similar ligament, but the anatomy is a bit different. It was described to me as this: whereas a human’s upper leg bone (femur) is stacked directly on top of the lower leg bones (tibia & fibula), a dog’s leg is constantly in a bent position, much akin to a skier, with perpetual tension on the ligaments of the knee to keep it in place. This, combined with what veterinary research is thinking is possibly a genetic factor, makes some pups more predisposed to tearing the ligament. Because of the tendency for artificial ligament replacements to stretch over time in larger dogs, repairing it isn’t always the best option. In these cases, as was true with Penny, TPLO surgery is the recommended course of action. By realigning the top of the tibia bone, the anatomy is changed in such a way that the ligament is no longer under tension. You can read about the fine points of TPLO surgery here.
On July 1st 2010, we took our sweet baby girl in for surgery. Yes, we took her in, so that they could SAW THROUGH her tibia, scootch it around a little bit to reduce the degree of her “tibial plateau angle”, and stick it all back together with metal plates and screws.
After all, it wasn’t just us that wanted her to be back in action:
What happened next? You’ll just have to wait and see!
Yours truly- Tigerlily
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