Dog care, symptoms, health issues, and dog health advocacy from an owner's perspective. In loving memory of Jasmine.
Cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) damage is one of the most common causes of hind leg lameness in dogs. If your dog suddenly starts limping on their hind leg, particularly a large breed dog, the chances are they suffered a CCL injury. The essential thing to note, that without treatment, your dog’s knee will only become worse over time, developing arthritis…
The tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) was one of the first modern surgical options to address cranial cruciate ligament tears in dogs. The TTA neutralizes the abnormal forces in the joint that result from a CCL rupture differently. Even though it also involves cutting a bone, it uses the strength of the patellar tendon to stabilize the knee. This technique underwent…
Are surgery or conservative management the only options for the treatment of CCL tears in dogs? Your dog has injured their cruciate ligament; now what? Invasive surgery is scary and conservative management can be daunting and has a questionable chance of success. Are there any other treatment possibilities? Could regenerative medicine work? Maybe. What is veterinary regenerative medicine? Regenerative medicine…
Is there a way to treat your dog’s torn cruciate ligament without surgery? The best treatment option for your dog’s CCL injury depends on several factors such as: size/weight age/activity level overall health/other medical conditions degree of damage I always give serious consideration to non-invasive options before making any treatment decision for my dog. Why put your dog through surgery…
The TightRope fixation technique is an update on the traditional suture repair. The modifications were to address concerns about safety, effectiveness, and availability of the surgical CCL repairs available at the time. The TightRope fixation differs from the traditional suture stabilization in the following ways: stronger material bone anchors TightRope versus extracapsular repair Extracapsular repair The traditional suture repair achieves…