GSP ACL surgery - which type?

[VOLhunter]

My 3.5yr old GSP tore her ACL(CCL). Doing some research, I’m strongly considering the Tightrope procedure over the more common TPLO. The Tightrope seems to maintain natural range of motion and is strong enough for a young and active dog. Does anyone has experience with the Tightrope procedure for canine ACL repair? I would like to avoid restructuring the knee as TPLO and TTA surgeries do. Thank you.

 

[Nutrioso]

Had our active Border Collie in for CCL tear several years ago. The very experienced specialist at that time said TPLO is the way to go for an active dog. At least then, the tightrope was not the best alternative. Maybe things have changed.

Biggest drawback of TPLO is the rehab time. Essentially total rest for weeks then very slowly progress with short walks. It is a long haul. I was told that TPLOs fail due to the difficulty in handling the rehab. I would say if you can’t support that long of a recovery, go with an alternative.

Whatever you do, get ready to do it twice. Chances are good the other one will tear as well. Ours did.

 

[Rzrbck918]

Thankfully I havent had to do any knee work on my current GSP. However, having previously done one with a lab, I would absolutely go with the tight rope. Its much less invasive and the recovery is weeks and not months. I think with the activity level of the GSP, that would make a huge difference.

 

[VOLhunter]

Thanks guys. I have a consult with a surgeon in 2wks. She’s an active dog for being a great house pet. She plays for hours with the kids and might do a mile run every now and then. We don’t hunt for miles and miles or do daily marathons like some GSPs do.

 

[SO7mm]

I'm not sure if it's different with different breeds but I had a tightrope CCL done on my then 4 year old chocolate lab in 2011. She was a very active hunting and family dog and never had a problem after the surgery. We just put her down last year so she was right at 10 years with the tightrope. I had the same concerns you do about the restructuring and the impact it would have on her body so I found someone who specialized in tightrope. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Nutrioso]

Take a listen to the Eukanuba Fueled podcast with Dr. joe Spoo. Episodes 13and 14 have a very in-depth discussion of all things CCL.

 

[TheTone]

Did tightrope with my older lab when she was 4. I kinda wish we had done tplo but at that time money was tight for my wife and I. She ended up breaking a post or a piece of the mono a couple months into recovery. Our vet was very apologetic and said it’s very rare to happen. She gets around fairly well but we babied her for hunts and in the woods afterwards. She has some limp and probably scar tissue and arthritis issues but she’s also 12 now. I’d do as much research and get talks as possible before deciding

 

[Rob96]

Had two Rotties that both tore ACL's. Unfortunately Rottie #1 did when he was 10. While waiting for the knee inflammation to go down a little he tore the other ACL. We decided to skip the surgery and put him to rest. When Rottie #2 did it, he was 3. Did the TPLO and rehabbed hum at home. Vet told us the risk of the surgery was the other ACL going due to the weight bearing on the opposite leg. He lived a good life to the age of 10. One thing with the surgery is they develop arthritis in the knee and calcium build up.

 

[T Bone]

Our first GSP had the TPLO done at age 1. It didn't go well due to multiple infections and inflammation.

She was never 100%.

I wish you luck.

 

[Rob96]

There was also a medication I had to give our Rottie by injection during the recovery process. Don't remember if it was some anti-inflammatory or to prevent arthritis, or both. Dosing was by weight and of course with a Rottie I was paying a good bit. May have been Adequan.

 

[VOLhunter]

I've spoken with 3 different vets and have been given similar outlooks. TPLO is "supposed" to provide better long-term stability of the knee at the cost of changing it's orientation, thereby placing greater stress on the opposing knee. This often leads to failure of the ACL of the other knee down the road and you end up with 2 surgeries.

Tightrope is newer and therefore lacks the case history of TPLO. I've been told that the Tightrope procedure provides substantial stability and uses improved materials over beginning models. My GSP is 48lbs and these vets believe that it will be better for her as it will maintain her normal knee position.

I take my little girl in on Feb 8th for a full consult and assessment to see if there is any meniscus damage. If so, that may change things and my only option may be TPLO (or TTA which would be an even worse outlook).

She just wants to chase bunnies and birds and sleep on the couch with the Mrs.

Thank you all for the input, I'll let you know what the vet says.

 

[Deleted member 38069]

My 95 lbs. lab had his first knee go, then his second. We caught it very early so the TPLO was successful. A year removed from his last surgery and he’s doing well enough to train twice a day. I reached out like you when the first one went.

Thread 'Torn CCL?'
https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/torn-ccl.289160/

 

[Arcola]

There's no denying the high likelihood of having to do the other leg, regardless of which procedure you choose. Been there. I had a band/ rope style fail in the first 6 months, repaired with tplo, then tplo on the other leg a few years later. Knowing what I do now, I'd have skipped the tightrope. 50lb, fairly active dog.

 

[mtnkid85]

Sounds like you've been doing your research. I don't have any ACL specific advice for you but just some general advice. We had a bad accident with my 1yr old GSP that completely severed her Achilles. Use the BEST vet you can find, don't risk it on anyone else. Our first vet we used botched it big time and made it harder for the next guy.
Next follow through with the rehab. Find a rehab center with a underwater treadmill and use that, its the best way to wear her out without over stressing the repair. Our vet had a rebab facility and we where in there just about every day for a year. She wore a brace for another year after that and now six years later she still goes strong as ever, she just doesn't backcountry ski any more.

 

[Deleted member 38069]

The situation sucks but you’ll get through it! Keep us posted.

 

[VOLhunter]

Well on Tuesday the 8th we ended up having surgery, not just a consult and exam. Turns out my little girl had a nasty medial meniscus tear along with a full CCL tear. The vet we saw only performs either Tightrope or TTA. He would only recommend the Tightrope if I could keep her leg completely immobile for a month. I spent over an hour with him discussing all the options of TTA vs TPLO vs Tightrope. He has performed thousands of TTA surgeries and after our discussion, I was more comfortable with this option. He was able to operate on her that afternoon as they had a cancellation. The 2 other vets which perform TPLO or tightrope could not get Ruby in until May.
Surgery went great and she is recovering well. We go back in 2 weeks to get the staples removed. It will be a 3 month long recovery until she’s able to get back to chasing bunnies and my boys. So far she’s enjoying lots of sleep and being completely spoiled.

 

[hossblur]

The rehab/recovery imo is the most important. Had TPLO on my first "real"(purebred, papered) chocolate years ago.

I was younger, with no kids, so I had the time to really do recovery work. Blew it early in water fowl season, so by the time ice came off in the spring, it was time to put in the work. I laid off hard field work, but I swam him daily with the idea of building back strength without stress.

He was 3.

I was nervous that next hunting season about the other knee.

Like I said young(and dumb), and that dog was extremely motivated hunter. I ran him into the ground for years.

At 12, mostly deaf, partially blind, and suffering "dimentia" I put him down.

Knee held fine. Both did, never had issues.

 

[Jmnhunter]

hope she recovers well.
these type of stories scare me, I'm thinking of getting pet insurance for our pudelpointer

 

[4ohSick]

hope she recovers well.
these type of stories scare me, I'm thinking of getting pet insurance for our pudelpointer

I can't recommend pet insurance enough. My rescue dog tore his CCL at 2 and as a ~90lb, very active dog, the vet recommended TPLO surgery. Surgery + Rehab came out to around $4800 and I paid under $1000. The injuries are common enough and seem to be unrelated to overuse/abuse that I think it's crazy not to have insurance to cover it or whatever else comes up.

 

[T Bone]

How is the recovery going?