Rory has ruptured ACL

[Rory's Dad]

Looking for any experiences...i will look for prior posts, but Rory has been diagnosed with a torn ACL. Prior vet visits called it a knee sprain and a cartiledge chip, but he went in for xrays last week and they listed loose knee due to MCL inflamation, and possibly some arthritis. We consulted with an ortho specialist who identified an ACL tear, which is what we figured in the 1st place (hoping against hope). He jumped of the couch a year ago and landed on the hardwood floors when his rear leg just busted out behind him with no traction.

It doesnt seem to bother him a ton...mostly when he gets up after lying about for a while, he will 3 leg it for a while and them start using the leg again. He runs fine and never complains or indicates he is in pain, but we know it will not heal itself.

Specialist recommendation is surgery with a nylon link to repair it. She knows Rory shows, and mentioned that it will require a shave on the rear leg, ankle to hip, so we are concerned about fur regrowth as well.

[Cam Atis]

Sorry to hear that and be of no help but I want to convey that I am sad to hear him have that.
Sure it won't bother Rory for now, but as he ages it will worsen. Surgery will cure it for a while.

[Cocoa]

So sorry to hear about Rory. Hopefully the surgery will be able to correct it and I'm sure his hair will grow back just fine.

[Hugo]

That's not good. Hugo supposidly tore his ACL but I just restricted excercise for about 10 wks and twice he came good. I had 2 different vets diagnose the ACl tear also. I hope Rory will recover soon. Hugs x

[wokman]

Sorry to hear about Rory's diagnosis and the threat to his show career. As of Monday night I now have two jumping injuries in my house. Abby, my new Adult Chow Rescue decided to leave the grooming table, her landing on the carpet was not perfect and she got up limping. The X-ray showed no fractures or joint damage, but did show some bone spurs and the fuzziness of arthritis in the affected knee. The Veterinarian said it was soft tissue damage, this is what was said about my late Kamie's knee which affected her the last few years of her life. My Male Leo has an old cartilage injury in his front leg at the joint above the knee from jumping off the examination table ten years ago, he has never walked the same since. Leo now drags his front paw nails "knuckling" the Vet calls it. I put boots on Leo so his nails do not bleed from being worn down.

[Fozzbear]

Oh dear - get well soon Rory. I'm sure his fur will grow back in time but Fozz's fur has been REALLY slow to come back since her knee op some months ago (but she has skin problems so isnt a great example). Keep us posted x

[Clovers_Mom]

That is awful news!! I'm sorry to hear... I cannot be of any help with the surgery aspect BUT if it does help... There is 1 other chow that goes to 'clovers daycamp' (same color but male) and they gave him the 'lions shave' ... (God only knows why in the winter..but not the point..) point being that I was chatting with 1 of the girls abt them shaving him and the cons/pros I have heard abt the hair regrowing. They said his hair is regrowing nicely, looking like the same coarseness etc....
Hugs to Rory .....

[Sirchow]

I am so sorry to hear about Rory's problems. We have been through this with Bramble and there are alternatives to surgery. There is a yahoo group set up for going the non surgery rout and some extremely knowledgable people there. My daughter found when she practiced in Australia that concervative management is the norm over there so it is not some weird idea for cranks lol.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Cons ... anagement/
You have to join but you will find a wealth of experience there. I used the group and got Bramble fit and healthy from two acl tears and she went on to take reserve in her class at crufts but then she reinjured herself in a freak accident and had to have two tplo's There are a number of different surgeries to consider...TPLO, TTA, MMP and some more besides. Over here you have to notify the kennel club if your dog that you show has an operation. Dont know if you have that with you.
If you want to ask me any questions I am happy to try and help. PM me if I can help.

[Rory's Dad]

Thanks for the info Sirchow. I too have concerns about rushing to surgery. On the one hand, i dont want to delay and create additional trauma to the knee as i understand that arthritis of the knee joint can be a side effect of a torn acl.

But we see Rory everyday, and maybe he has a good pain threshold, but it doesnt seem to effect him all that often. Yes, he does occasionally get up from lying down and walk on 3 legs, but within a few minutes he will start using the leg almost normally. He definitely 'shorts' the left rear most of the time, he doesn't fully plant that leg, seems about a 1/4 inch or so as compared to the right. I can pull, tug, and twist on that leg and not get so much as a whimper.

This is a tough one. We dont want to ignore vet advice and put him at risk for any future problems, but surgery of any kind is traumatic, so we want to explore all possible options 1st. Also, as you may know, we just got a female pup. She is 10 weeks old and very bold, it will be tough to keep Rory immobile after the surgery to allow proper healing.

Our initial thoughts are that he would be lame to a much greater degree if it were a major injury, but are concerned that it may be wishful thinking...thus our dilemna.

If it were a genetic issue, we could not ethically continue to show him. This is definitely an injury, and we can pinpoint the event (try not to though because the guilt would decimate my daughter).

[Sirchow]

Well this is just my opinion from a fair amount of experience. The one thing you should not do is just leave it and half heartedly rest him but allow walks and normal play. If it were me I would read all the info on the website I gave you and if you want to follow conservative management it is not for the faint hearted. You need to stop him running, jumping, playing and only let him walk to potty on a leash for eight weeks minimum. This eight weeks allows the scar tissue to build round the joint which is basically the same as what happens when they put in a nylon line to replace the torn acl. So without the nylon to stabilise the joint you have to keep him as still as possible with crate rest. Then after that it takes up to a year for the scar tissue to completely harden and create a reliable joint again. He may be sound before that but the whole process takes time. You start off walking a few houses at a time and over months build it up. Many people can't commit this amount of care and time so go for surgery. The vet will tell you he will get arthritis if he doesn't have surgery....this is missinformation he will get arthritis what ever method you follow. After much questioning and trying to get my vet to say Bramble wouldn't get arthritis if she had the ops he finally told me that any injury to the joint will produce arthritis! You will need some good joint supplements with glucosame and hyaluronic acid, fish oil, and anything else you can find that helps. I hope that this helps in some way. Good luck and keep us posted on Rory's progress what ever you decide.

Btw what ever method of healing you go for you will have to keep Rory imobile unfortunately

[bionicsimba]

My 5 year old male chow, Simba is scheduled for TPLO surgery this morning. ACL on both of his knees are ruptured. Please keep him in your prayers

[Sirchow]

I am so sorry to hear about Simba's op. I have been through it twice with Bramble and it has worked out well in the end for her but I would say err on the side of caution with everything and take great care of him. I hope it has gone well. Please post and let us know how Simba is.

[BusterBoo]

Rest is key, no matter which route you choose. And be warned: once one cruciate ligament goes, the other one will usually go later due to the increased load from compensating for the damaged ligament.

[Rory's Dad]

Thanks for the post Busterboo. We opted to not have the surgery, and Rory has no signs of a limp or favoring that leg at all. He has perfect gait and took a point today in an AKC confirmation show. He is officially over the 1/2 way mark to getting his CH designation.

Resting him and limiting any sort of jumping was key for him and seems to have worked.