I assume the surgery you will be having done is TPLO. Make sure the vet performing the surgery is a board certified orthopedic surgeon with additional certification in TPLO. You want to make sure the vet is qualified and experienced with this specific surgery. You should also ask the surgeon about his success rate with this surgery and what sorts of problems or complications have arisen in dogs on whom he has personally performed TPLO. Also, ask him how he handles the medial miniscus, which can cause secondary lameness problems in dogs with cruciate tears.

Laurie

When our dog tore his ACL, we opted not to have surgery. We limited his mobility and it healed okay on its own. Though he wasn't a working dog or agilty dog - he was just a good pet.

Whether or not a dog can heal from a cruciate tear without surgical intervention depends on the degree of the tear and how able and willing you are to keep the dog as immobile as possible for a couple of months ... and of course how willing the dog is to be sedentary.

A complete tear will not heal on its own. A minor, partial tear may heal on its own, but the repair will be particularly susceptible to tearing again in the future.

Laurie

If left alone, it will appear to improve over the course of weeks but the knee will be notably swollen and arthritis
will set in quickly.
This is also very painful for dogs.
My rotti has the ACL surgery done on both knees.
I am glad i have it done so he can be pain free.
Taking care of pets come with ownership.
I am sure you can work out a payment plan with your vet.

Christine

This issue has been talked about a lot. Do a search for ACL on this forum.

My dog had the cheapest version of this surgery and she is just fine. She's a medium-sized and not an overweight dog so she is in the safer category.

vicky

I suggest you have an orthopedic surgeon do the work, they specialize in it and can avoid complications

My bichon had her 2 knees done, in a year's interval; from what I understand, they replaced the ligament with nylon thread , since the torn ligament cannot be sewn, it's too thin. Recovery was a pain, since she had to be immobilized and restrained. It's been a few years and she's fine.

Thanks for all of the comments and ideas. Our vet doesn't do the surgery, so we would be going to the U of Minnesota for it. We've started Lady on some Cosequin to help with the arthritis that appears to be setting in. I've been doing more research about non-surgical options and have another meeting scheduled with our vet this week to discuss the issue. Lady doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain, but will favor the leg slightly after a longer walk. Paying for the surgery isn't the problem, it's that I want to do what's best for Lady. (After she had her teeth cleaned 2 weeks ago, she had some nasty gastro side effects from being sedated.)

I definitely would look into non-surgical options, if they are available. If you dog is small, older or not very active, there may be other alternatives than surgery.

We opted not to have surgery, not for financial reasons, but because we thought that was what was best for the dog at the time. And based upon some good advice from our vet, I think we made the right decision.

I have another dog that had two knee surgeries for luxating patella.

I myself have had my ACL replaced. And am currently undergoing Physical Therapy right now.

Make sure that your surgeon has plenty of recent experience doing whichever surgery you choose. For my dog's first ACL surgery, we chose the "fishing line" technique - the cheaper option described above, and it went perfectly. For the next time, we chose the same option because of the success with the first, but our (different) surgeon was used to doing the TPLO technique. He didn't do a good job the other way and my dog was in a lot of pain for weeks, and still can't sit very well, or jump as well as he used to.

Also, the dog's size counts - it is harder to do the TPLO on a small dog with small bones.

Our Rottie tore her cruciate when she was 10 yrs old.We consulted with a number of orthopedic specialists before deciding to try the non-surgical route. There were a number of factors which shaped our decision but her age and activity level were at the top of the list.
We did acupuncture with a holistic Vet for 6 months, twice a week. We also used some herbal supplements and confined her to a crate and leash walking. No stairs for the first few months. We were very pleased with the results. She never was 100%, but she was not in pain. She seemed to pace herself (we had 3 other Rotts)and knew her limitations. She could climb stairs, hills and had a good, pain-free quality of life.

Cancer took her when she was 12. I think our decision was a good one. The acupuncture was very effective.

Jane

July 6th. was D-day for our dog. TPLO, no nylon option with him (young, active, and big). It's a "haul", 4 wks. of outdoors only for the requisite bathroom functions, LEASHED, of course, and the 3X daily PT of flexing the leg. We're now into the 1/4 mile daily walks and all aspects of it are ON LEASH. Next month we will gradually increase the length of the walks and begin allowing more off-leash liberty.

It's expensive ($2K), incredibly inconvenient, and you HAVE to be willing to follow the prescribed program to "guarantee" success. You have to do it even when you don't really "feel like it", like when it's pouring and it would be easier to simply let the dog out by himself...

(one more reason I hate dogs).

Our husky mix had the TPLO surgery over 2 years ago at the age of 6. His knee was getting progressively worse over several years and something finally had to be done. It was expensive (2K), but I don't regret a penny of the money spent. The recovery took longer than expected and he had to spend 12 weeks in a wire crate and leash walked. It really was worth the effort. He is running around like a puppy now!

Our dog Gus needed knee surgery at age 13. We debated whether or not to do it because of his age. We chose to do the 'fishing line' option, and our vet did it himself. Gus had a cast on his leg for a few weeks, and recovered 100%. He lived to 18, and did get arthritis in all his limbs in his later years. But he enjoyed a great quality of life up until the last year.

Our 9 year old Cockapoo just had the fishing line surgery last week. He had leaped off of the 6 inch high deck to protect us from a passing bicyclist on the road, far away from the chain link fence and landed the wrong way!!

He seems to be healing quite well and is more active than he should be. Can't wait to get that collar and the staples off!!

My dog have two TPLOs and he has done great, he does have a bit of stiffness, but otherwise is good. Make certain your vet is very familar with the surgery - we had an ortho do our dogs work and we have not been sorry, a regular vet tried to do ne of his knees before the TPLO's and totally screwed up one leg - my dog has trouble with that one leg 7 years later...good luck, and get some rescue remedy to keep your dog immobile for the time it takes for your dog to heal