Brutus is not having an easy time this week.  He has completely torn is Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) and will need surgery.  Yes, this sucks and yes, I am an emotional wreck, but when all is said and done, we must do what we can to help make him better.

After the initial OMG moment, we set about learning what we could about CCL surgery and the options.  There are 2 main options.  One that is invasive and one that is less invasive but difficult for a dog as large as Brutus.

The first option is a  Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) surgery which involves cutting the top of the tibia and then rotating the bones so that is in a more stable orientation.  They then put a metal plate and screws to hold the bones in place and allow for everything to heal.  That is the basic description but at first all I could here was that they were cutting into his bone. Are you kidding me?  Panic set in about all the horrible things that could go wrong.  Infection, implant rejection and I immediately thought to myself “I can not do this to my poor pup”.

The less invasive option is a suture based technique that uses heavy gauge suture material to mimic the ligament while scar tissue forms.  Now at first, I was like “Sign me up”, because this seemed like the perfect option. NO bone cutting, quicker healing and best of all, it is a less costly procedure.  But in a large active dog of 104 pounds how realistic is it that he will not tear the suture material and we would have to start all over.

Can I keep him calm enough and restricted enough that he can make it 4-5 weeks without breaking  the suture material?  After these last few days trying to keep in contained and out of trouble, I am really not sure.   On the other hand, can we keep him from infection long enough for his bone to heal if we use the TPLO technique? He is slow to heal on his allergy meds and prone to infection so we have to really weigh these options carefully.  So many things to think about and we just want to do what is best for him.

We scheduled a consultation with a surgeon who specializes in CCL repair so that we can find out all the pluses and minuses of each procedure and make a good decision for Brutus.  The consultation went great and we formulated a plan to work with his Apoquel and closely monitor his care to prevent infection.  In the end, we think the TPLO surgery is the best option not only for his size but also the fact that we have 2 other dogs in the house which can effect Brutus’ activity and keeping him calm during his recuperation.

The plan is for him to have the TPLO surgery on December 4th. We will stop Apoquel the day before the surgery and then keep him off of it for 6 days until his next allergy shot.  The decision to not stop apoquel all together is because if he gets itchy and begins licky, scratching, etc, he could get an infection that will postpone the surgery further or it could jeopardize his recovery process.

Once surgery has been done, he will be following a strict recovery plan.  Starting with greatly restricted activity, pain medication, and physical therapy.  The whole process should take 2-3 months. I will post information on the recovery plan and updates during physical therapy.

Since CCL is a degenerative condition, the chance that Brutus can tear his other CCL is about 50% in the year following his first surgery.  Our goal is to use physical therapy and joint supplements to keep this from happening as long as possible.

All of this is overwhelming, but when you choose to bring a furry friend into your home, they are part of your family.  As such, it is your job to ensure they have the best care possible.  Anything less is unacceptable.

We will keep everyone posted.  If you have any experiences with CCL Surgery and recovery, Brutus and I would love to hear from you.

Til next time!

Brutus and L