Knee surgery

Hello everyone,
My dog called Tango (11yr old x german shephard/border collie) damaged her right knee in April. At first the vet said it was cartilidge damage so operated to remove some of it. 4 days later she yelped when stood still and held the same leg really high. 2nd vet visit determined that the fluid build up following the 1st op had pushed the knee cap out. 2nd op corrected this BUT a few weeks laer she was still struggling to walk so a 3rd operation determined that the cruciate ligament was nearly all torn. This was replaced with nylon but now following an appointment with a specialist and xrays poor Tango needs a 4th op to reair a luxating patella. She is a strong healthy dog who wants to be very active but we have religiously stuck to the vets instructions and been VER careful about any exercise. We have to give her the best shot of an active life for her remaining years as she still has a lot of time ahead of her.
Has anyone elses dog been through so many operations and particularly this type and if so what is the success rate??

Oof, you poor things. Is it the front or back leg? My pointer ruptured her cranial cruciate ligament in one of her back legs, and we opted for a TPLO, where they reshape the top of the tibia so that the knee is stabilised again. We were told that rebuilding the actual ligament was only advisable in small dog's...in bigger dog's it was unlikely to be strong enough. Evidently your vet thinks differently.

What do they have to do to fix the luxating patella?

The specialist recommended that our vet alter the ligament position rather than altering the bone then use pins to keep things in place. Vet is a bit difficult to understand sometimes. The other issue we have is our insurance policy is now at the top of the claim so we have no more help from them. Parents are going to help out as i know this will be expensive but nothings too much for Tango. Just hope she pulls through and this 4th op works. Really want her to be able to walk about so we can take her out again.

Sorry forgot to add its her back leg. At the moment she's wanting to play with her football! she's such a hardy dog, never complains just gets fed Up with being unable to go for a nice walk

Well good luck for the next op...you'll get plenty of good advice about her recuperation and keeping her occupied from this forum. They certainly have kept me sane in the last three months!

Got Tango home after her op. It went well
vet deepened the groove so her knee will sit in it properly now. The ligament he made from nylon last time has already started to knit together which is good so the operation wasn't as dramatic as originally thought.she's fast asleep on her bed now with teddy right next to her! also got a lovely purple spotted bandage on!

Great news...hopefully that's fixed it for good.

What have you been told to do for her post-op recovery?