Cruciate ligament repair

My 9 year old English springer spaniel ruptured her cruciate ligament in her back left leg about 3 weeks ago, last Thursday she had THIS operation to repair it but I'm seriously starting to question if I did the right thing now.

I'm well aware that it was always going to be a long slow recovery but when she first came home she was toe touching and had been up until last night, now all of a sudden for seemingly no reason shes holding it right up all of the time and won't let you (me) get near it cause it's hurting so much. She went to the vets on Monday so they could check the wound and that was fine, she goes back next thursday for another check up. The thing is though shes so scared of the vets she never shows any pain when we are there and looks like shes making a good recovery, get her home and shes back to hopping around.

Shes so depressed at not being able to do all the things shes used to doing and seeing her like this is very upsetting. The advise I got from my vets was to do physio on the leg (bicycle movements) 3 times a day and ice it but, the info on that site I linked to says to keep it as immobile as possible for the first two weeks so I'm worried I'm doing more harm than good.

The other worry is what if the surgery is a failure, where would that leave us?

I'm afraid I can't be of much help, I know when they do operations on a luxating patella they tell you to cage rest for at least two weeks

Maybe if you're really worried, try and get in contact with a specialist rather than just your vet. Even some advise over the phone might put your mind at rest.

My xbreed had an op on her cruciate ligament when she was 7yrs old. This was two years ago and touch wood she is as good as she has ever been. Of course she will probably get arthritis in that leg sooner but to me it is quality of life, she runs round lots now, swims and loves life again! It really was not even that long a recovery in the grand scheme of things.
I know when it happened i was in tears thinking her life was over....but it honestly isnt like that!

eta the first couple of weeks after op you may question it...but she will soon start to realise she can put weight on it again and will be happier in herself...promise!

Thanks for the replies.

I took her to my normal vets but when it was first suspected that it was her cruciate ligament we then saw a different vet at the same practice, he explained everything in great detail, gave demonstrations with models he had, and also said he had performed many of these operations in the past with great success. He came across as very knowledgeable and really seemed to care, getting on the floor with her and making a fuss of her and so on. I trusted him.

After the op he called me and said he had to take out more debris and make it tighter than he had expected, I'm guessing the debris was parts of her meniscus, he didn't clarify at the time as I was in the middle of a shop and couldn't hear that well when he rang. The follow up on Monday was with a different vet who was just assessing the wound, we're due to see the surgeon again next Thursday.

When I picked her up I did come away with three pages of instructions for me regarding her recovery, they include the physio, message of the calf, icing the knee, no running/jumping/playing and then further instructions on when it's advisable to start short walks and other strengthening exercises.

I guess it's just because since the op she has been toe touching a lot of the time but then all of a sudden she starts holding it right up and not letting me easily do her physio.

It has only been 6 days since the op though, I know that but still I can't stop worrying about her and wondering if I've done the right thing.

Charlie my oldest (she's eleven now) has had both hers done now and although she's not as active as she once was (probably more to do with her being 11) her life is far from over. She's still just as daft as she always was nad will chase her younger 'brother' for toys (and chase the chickens round the garden given half the chance) so please don't worry on that count.

All I remember from her ops is the permanent worry but believe me she will get better. We were told total rest, but then when we did give her complete total rest her leg swelled massively so they told us to keep her active - but not walk her I think the key was don't let her slouch round the house all day (because she will want to).

Wishing you both well - and try not to worry i'm sure you've done the right thing by her.
Emma x

A horribly worrying time for you I know, and we went through it with our last dog; believe me, it really was well worth all the worry and heartache.

When she had her op, the vet said definitely no pain killers of any type because he wanted her to "feel" her leg and not do anything daft, and yes she was depressed and sore. Those few months were not pleasant, but at the end of it our girl had many more years of active and happy life.

Stick with it, and keep your eyes firmly on the future. It WILL be worth it

Thanks for all the replies, they have been very helpful, especially from those whose dogs have had the same operation.

I was quite happy with the way things were going to be honest it's just her sudden urge to start holding the leg right up after 4/5 days of toe touching. It's making me wonder if shes hurt it in some way, although how she could of is a mystery to me seeing as shes spending most of her time on her bed either asleep or depressed. What have been your experiences after your dog has had the op, have they been toe touching straight after, holding it up or a mix of both?

Everyone I've spoken to has said I've done the right thing and to just stay positive because things will get better but I'm still not sure that this short/medium term pain and discomfort shes in is really the best thing for her. When I look at her I just feel guilty, it was me that through her ball for her when she initially got injured and me that made her have the surgery. It's all my fault.

Of course it's all your fault... you're a dad, and when things aren't fun, tasty or comfortable it's always your fault

I can't help you about the operation and recovery, but just a thought... if you're worried about her not showing what you mean when you're at the vet's because she's so scared; how about filming it so you can show it to him at your next check? Or maybe you can even email it to him?

As I said; just a thought....

Hi there, try not to panic too much.

I've been through this twice with my rescue border collie Hoki, and believe me there are so many ups and downs during the recovery process, its untrue.

the first one she seemed to be doing quite well and then her and our old dog (now at the bridge) had a set-to and although it wasn't much at all, Hoki had fallen over and when she got back up she was holding her leg high again. Well I was in tears thinking that she'd undone the op.

Just like your girl, Hoki is very difficult to diagnose exactly how much pain she is in (but for a different reason, she's not frightened of the vet, but her right cruciate had been ruptured for some time before we go her and her left one torn, so she had become very protective of her back legs, tail and bum and would growl wherever she was touched!)

The vet manipulated her knee and said it seemed to still be tight, so it didn't look like she'd done any damage. She went on to make a good recovery.

With the left knee, done the following year, there wasn't anything noticeable that had caused it, but again she started carrying the leg high. Back to the vet who explained that he puts an extra sutre in which is designed to snap after a couple of weeks and it could just be that.

I think the best thing that you can do for her at the moment is try to take her mind off her leg. I know that she is limited in what she can do, but there are ways to entertain her without letting her over-do it. If you havne't already found them, I'll try and find links to the threads I put up about keeping Hoki entertained.

The worst time of all is when you finally risk letting them run free. Even now I hold my breath if she turns too sharply or takes a tumble, but fingers crossed the artificial ligaments seem to be holding up well. The only thing with Hoki is that because her previous owners didn't do anything about her cruciates, she has arthritis in both knees - though that doesn't stop her!

I don't know whether it will help or not, but when I used to panic that the op hadn't worked or that she had undone the surgery, I used to think, well its not the end of the world, if the worst comes to the worst, she'll just have to go back and have it done again. Although that thought didn't fill me with joy, the fact is that they can re-do the op, its not like its an 'all or nothing' op so even if something has happened this time (which I think unlikely, but I'm no expert) it doesn't mean that she has to spend the rest of her life on 3 legs.

No no no! Please don't think like that. It definitely not your fault. Some dogs just have weak ligaments and others don't. It's just the luck of the draw and anything could have set it off. I went through exactly the same feelings of guilt. I took Charlie out to play in the fields in the snow, that's when she did hers first. Then with the other one I let her off in the filed (the same field!) when she went of chasing a fox. I felt the guilt but believe me, deep down somewhere you know it's not your fault and one day those thoughts will start to win the mind-battle.

Charlie started out quite well like your girl. But soon her leg swelled, got painful for her. We then had to start moving her around to disperse the fluids and get her leg moving, which she obviously hated me for (yet more guillty feelings). I couldn't look at her without crying. And yes she tried to move around by hopping or just using the tip of her toe. It does take a while. After a few weeks/months we started her exercising and taking her to an aqua-therapy session and her recovery was slow but steady. From memory it took 3-4 months to get her back. I don't mean to make it sound bad, she wasn't suffering for all that time, it just takes a while to persuade them to start using the leg again. I know right now it's hard to watch her feeling so sorry for herself, but sometimes she might just want to lie still and sleep. Please stay positove for her (and for yourself).
Take care
Em x