Ruptured Anterior (Cranial) Cruciate Ligament (aka torn ACL)

Tuesday night Lulu went on a tear in the backyard, what we call her "crazies," running from gate to gate at brake neck speed after dinner. And then she just stopped and sat down. When I got up from the table she got up and I noticed that she was limping, favoring her left hind leg. This of course was a great concern for me. I sat down and she limped over, I ran my hand over her leg but she didn't pull it away or whimper with pain. Oh boy, was I going to have to go to the pet emergency room?

I gave James a call (he was out to dinner with a friend) and we decided that perhaps it was a pulled muscle or cramp and that we would wait and see. While I couldn't take her to the vet yesterday because of previous work conflicts I did make an appointment for this morning just in case. She continued to favor her leg and would hold it up and not put any weight on it at all. She was drinking water and eating as usual, but she was certainly "off."

We just got back from the vet where the x-rays revealed that she has ruptured her anterior (cranial) cruciate ligament in her left rear knee. If she were a human she has torn her ACL. This is apparently the most common knee injury for dogs and if left untreated can quickly cause arthritis.

X-ray of Lulu's left hind leg. Can you spot the rupture?

There are two options to treat the torn ACL: an extracapsular repair (basically a heavy duty fishing line to takes the place of the ACL) or a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) (where the tibia is cut and rotated in such a way that the natural weight bearing of the dog actually stabilizes the knee joint using a plate). Our vet's office only does the extracapsular repair and we will have to go to a vet surgeon for the TPLO. I have already made an appointment for a consult with the vet surgeon to find out more about the TPLO.

Because Lulu is so young our vet is suggesting that the TPLO is the more appropriate treatment option. But of course (as in all things in life) that is the more expensive option. Frankly, neither option is cheap! However, no more agility for Lulu, no more getting up on the couch or the bed, and no more walks until the after surgery and recovery (six to eight weeks!).

The injury isn't keeping her down, but Lulu's new nickname is Gimpy. We'll keep you updated on her progress.