rehab for lab-post op knee surgery?

[flatcoat]

Ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments are the bane of hard-charging retrievers. I've been there with a lab and two flat-coats. I had to put the lab down after the other knee went. This was in 1979 when knee surgeries were generally a failure.

In the early 90's Dr.Barclay Slocum (now deceased) of Eugene created and patented the plateau leveling osteotomy procedure that basicly reconstructed the knee joint so that it didn't need an anterior cruciate ligament. He performed the procedure on my 6 year old flat-coat and she did fine after an extended recovery period of about 6 months. Barclay's surgical protege, Richard Howard of the Raleigh Hills Vet Clinic performed the same operation on my 5 year old flatcoat with excellent results. Dr. Howard is a SUPERB surgeon and gives you the straight scoop on the prognosis. I can recommend him very highly.

Several vets are certified to perform the procedure in the Portland area these days. The procedure is less invasive than it was 10 years ago and most dogs 7-8 years old that are in good health should do fine if the post op regimen is followed to a "t". :smile:

Good luck - "flatcoat"

[Wet_Willy]

I know a lot of you have labs and love 'em. My male hurt his knee last night and preliminary diagnosis is that he ruptured his cruciate ligament on his hind leg. I'll know more after today's vet appt. My question is this, he is only 7 years old and has a lot of life left in him, I would like to be sure his rehab gives him the best shot at getting out and doing what he loves again. Does anybody out there have any referrals or suggestions? Maybe somebody has been in this situation and can offer some advice. I'm a little scared for him, he is my best bud and I want to see him up and running again.
Thanks,
Bill

[Fishaholic2]

Just had the same injury to my daughters lab. Actually it was the 2nd time this happened in the last year. Other leg this time.

She had the surgery done over at WSU and saved about $800 over her local vet. I think she is into around $3,800 for the 2 surgeries now.

The rehab went great on the first leg, it was hard to keep the dog down and not playing for 3-4 months, but it all worked out. The 2nd surgery was caused I guess by the dog putting so much presure on that leg.

Anyway, they see no problems in the future since there is no longer anything there to tear anymore.

She hopes to have her friend for at least another 6-7 years as it is also 7 years old.

BY the way, I have a 7 yr ch lab and I have over $2,000 into him for vet repairs. He is just like one of my kids and I would do anything for him.

Good luck.

[Labsforme]

WW Dr Howard in Raleigh Hills is excellent.He did my labs hips 8 years ago and she's still going strong.He is an Orthopaedic vet and was highly recommended.

[Wet_Willy]

Thanks so much for the input. I will call Dr Howard. I am learning a lot in a short amount of time. Your input helps a lot.
Bill

[goforchrome]

We had the same diagnosis on our (then) 4 yr old female.
The vet explained the two procedures available, and we chose the older of the two. It involves wrapping a synthetic ligament around the knee to stabilize it rather than the 'levelling' of the bone.
She came home with her entire leg stapled on the inner side from groin to ankle.
She is a VERY active dog and we really had to make sure she didn't get much activity for 6 weeks and that was the real challenge.
The results are better than we could ask for.
Complete recovery and still goes 100mph non-stop.
I hope your results are as good as ours.
PS>$20/mo for pet health insurance has saved us tons of $$$....reimbursed about 70% of the $1200 bill.

[Wet_Willy]

I've got my boy scheduled to see Dr Howard, Thanks all for the responses as they really helped me make the decision. If the past week are any indication, the 6-8 weeks of inactivity are going to be a real challenge, but critical. I wouldn't have known to call Dr. Howard without you guys, thanks again from me and Bear!
Bill

[T-Bone]

I'd look into both types of surgery. Our 9 yr old chocolate ruptured his ligament in January and we opted for the older surgery. With the leveling surgery you're pretty much done if it fails. I know this for a fact because I had a similar procedure done on my own knee and a failed result is life altering. We had a hard time keeping our dog down because he's a maniac but we all managed and he's doing great. Has a slight limp but is bailing off the boat and swimming like he was before the surgery.