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Anyone's dog ever had surgery on it's knee(s)?

angie76angie76 Posts: 646
edited December 2008 in All Encompassing Trip
My dog just had surgery on her knee. She had to have it replaced because somehow she blew it. I have no idea how she did it and the doctors said it was happening for a while. She started limping and favoring the leg more and more.

So anyway I bought her back for a followup visit and the doctor said something about how dogs who had the surgery have a 60% chance of blowing the other knee in 2 years. Something like that.

So my question is has anyone here had to have their dog have this type of surgery and what was the long term outcome?

Thanks.
Dig a ditch deep enough
To keep you clear of the sun
You've been burned more than once
You don't think much of trust
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • gobrowns19gobrowns19 Posts: 1,447
    Wow, hope your dog is ok. My dog had to have surgery on his ear, his ear ended up with all the hair shaved off and protective plastic on both sides sewed through his year. Topped off with bandages holding his year in place over his head so he looked like he was injured in a war. He made us feel really bad for him really easily.

    Hope someone can give you some good news and actually contribute to this thread.
    Happiness is only real when shared
  • angie76angie76 Posts: 646
    gobrowns19 wrote:
    Wow, hope your dog is ok. My dog had to have surgery on his ear, his ear ended up with all the hair shaved off and protective plastic on both sides sewed through his year. Topped off with bandages holding his year in place over his head so he looked like he was injured in a war. He made us feel really bad for him really easily.

    Hope someone can give you some good news and actually contribute to this thread.

    She's actually doing well, thanks. Just a pain keeping her from jumping on the couches and bed.

    Aww, Im sorry about your dog, What happened to his ear?
    Dig a ditch deep enough
    To keep you clear of the sun
    You've been burned more than once
    You don't think much of trust
  • gobrowns19gobrowns19 Posts: 1,447
    angie76 wrote:
    She's actually doing well, thanks. Just a pain keeping her from jumping on the couches and bed.

    Aww, Im sorry about your dog, What happened to his ear?

    Too many days in his younger years swimming in the pond, haha.
    Happiness is only real when shared
  • FifthelementFifthelement Lotusland Posts: 6,963
    angie76 wrote:
    My dog just had surgery on her knee. She had to have it replaced because somehow she blew it. I have no idea how she did it and the doctors said it was happening for a while. She started limping and favoring the leg more and more.

    So anyway I bought her back for a followup visit and the doctor said something about how dogs who had the surgery have a 60% chance of blowing the other knee in 2 years. Something like that.

    So my question is has anyone here had to have their dog have this type of surgery and what was the long term outcome?

    Thanks.

    I'm glad your doggie is doing well. I love how they don't tell you about the potential for the other knee to go until after the surgery. Not sure if this is what you are describibg, but this is what happened to our dog. She blew out her left cruciate ligament running into a signpost :rolleyes: She ran into a pack of barking dogs and they parted like the Red Sea - Blam! . . . and $1800 later. The vet said that the force of it was like she had been hit by a car. About 3/2-4 years later, she blew out the other knee by jumping over the gate from our backyard - and another $1800 (the vet gave me a special rate) - this one was five days before my NZ and Oz trip - Nice!

    Anywho . . . to your question, she is great although she can get stiff if she isn't regularly exercised. Even though she's not supposed to, she runs around like crazy. She is a twelve year old border collie/husky cross and is very active. Her last (knee) surgery was in Aug 2005. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

    Cheers!
    "What the CANUCK happened?!? - Esquimalt Barber Shop
  • WhizbangWhizbang Posts: 1,314
    My oldest dog tore her ACL about 18 months ago...playing Frisbee. My vet did advise that the chances of the other knee going is great BUT can be greatly reduced by following orders. She was on a leash for 6 months...to go outside, walks on the beach....everything. There was no running or playing for her. I had to do more obedience tricks to keep her occupied. It was tough since I have another dog that is very active too but well worth it (even walking her to do her business in the pouring rain). I also had to cut her food a little so she wouldn't gain weight (putting further stress on the good knee). Ask your medical doctor what they'd tell you to do to recover from knee surgery and it would be very similar to what your vet is telling you to do for your dog. Your dog doesn't know he can't play right now so it's up to you to keep him on a short leash. My oldest favors her repaired knee ever so slightly but her other knee is still very healthy.

    Good luck.
    believe it or not, we don't "need" anything. that is only the spoiled brat in us trying to fill some temporary solution to an emptyness that does not exist.

    I have eaten so much gold I crapped excellence - drtyfrnk29

    Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all!
  • the wolfthe wolf Posts: 7,027
    hope your doggie is doing well angie. one of my dogs has bad hips, but ive pretty much been told he is too old to do anything for him. :(

    but when he gets excited , he moves like a puppy !!!!!

    just give him lots of love and kisses !

    good luck.
    Peace, Love.

    "To question your government is not unpatriotic --
    to not question your government is unpatriotic."
    -- Sen. Chuck Hagel
  • Motown322Motown322 Posts: 465
    My 10-year old Rottweiler has had both knees replaced in the past 2.5 years... April '06 for her left knee and then the right knee was replaced in May of this year. The first one was really bad because the ligament completely snapped as she was running laps around the kitchen/living room, and it was a week and a half before she could get in for surgery (so 10 days of trying to get her outside a couple times a day when she couldn't walk)... we knew that both knees were bad and the vet told us were were going to be doing both eventually. The last one was OK because we started to notice the signs of it getting pretty bad before it completely snapped, so the pre-surgery and recovery was much better for her this time.

    Keeping the dog calm before and after was the hardest part. I mean, she's an old broad and she pretty much sleeps all day, but sleeping in the bed and on the couch is her favorite thing in the world, and keeping her off of both of those things for 3 months was really tough. She's very bowlegged now and she's got arthritis, so she's always going to be a bit sore in the winter and overall kinda slow, but otherwise she's completely back to normal. She'll get riled up for some reason every few days and run around, but we try to curtail that as much as possible... but she's a dog, and if she's riled up she's having fun and I gotta let her be a dog sometimes, you know??

    PM me if you have any specific questions. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's worth it. :D
  • angie76angie76 Posts: 646
    Motown322 wrote:
    My 10-year old Rottweiler has had both knees replaced in the past 2.5 years... April '06 for her left knee and then the right knee was replaced in May of this year. The first one was really bad because the ligament completely snapped as she was running laps around the kitchen/living room, and it was a week and a half before she could get in for surgery (so 10 days of trying to get her outside a couple times a day when she couldn't walk)... we knew that both knees were bad and the vet told us were were going to be doing both eventually. The last one was OK because we started to notice the signs of it getting pretty bad before it completely snapped, so the pre-surgery and recovery was much better for her this time.

    Keeping the dog calm before and after was the hardest part. I mean, she's an old broad and she pretty much sleeps all day, but sleeping in the bed and on the couch is her favorite thing in the world, and keeping her off of both of those things for 3 months was really tough. She's very bowlegged now and she's got arthritis, so she's always going to be a bit sore in the winter and overall kinda slow, but otherwise she's completely back to normal. She'll get riled up for some reason every few days and run around, but we try to curtail that as much as possible... but she's a dog, and if she's riled up she's having fun and I gotta let her be a dog sometimes, you know??

    PM me if you have any specific questions. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's worth it. :D


    Oh yeah the worst part now is keeping her settled down. She's fairly young so she wants to runaround and jump. The other day she saw a squirrel and was ready to run across the kitchen to the patio door..that scared the shit out of me.

    Yeah I think she probably did it running. She would do all this crazy running after squirrels. The operation was pretty steep, $4,000 so Im hoping her other knee will be alright :(.

    Whizbang, yeah the vet told us basically that she needs to be a couch potato till she goes back for xrays next month. So yes, I have been diligent about bringing her outside on a leash as the vet instructed. No more opening the door for her to do as she wishes.
    Fifthelement wrote:
    I'm glad your doggie is doing well. I love how they don't tell you about the potential for the other knee to go until after the surgery.

    Yep...I guess they don't want to scare the hell out of you before the first surgery, but it would have been good to know.

    Thank you very much everyone for sharing, this helps a lot. I don't know many people who had this type of surgery on their dog. I will be pming if i have any specific question.
    Dig a ditch deep enough
    To keep you clear of the sun
    You've been burned more than once
    You don't think much of trust
  • angie76angie76 Posts: 646
    the wolf wrote:
    hope your doggie is doing well angie. one of my dogs has bad hips, but ive pretty much been told he is too old to do anything for him. :(

    but when he gets excited , he moves like a puppy !!!!!

    just give him lots of love and kisses !

    good luck.

    Thanks wolf, she's doing better then I though which makes me happy. Yeah it's sad when they get older. I had a lab who lived to 14 and at the end she had a lot of troubling walking. I still miss her :(
    Dig a ditch deep enough
    To keep you clear of the sun
    You've been burned more than once
    You don't think much of trust
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