Cranial Cruciate Ligament Rupture

[janydiazr]

last sunday my friend's chichuhua t-cup jumped from my shoulder to the floor.. she has a torn ligament and the vet wants her to have surgery next week (1 week after the accident)...I have been reading a lot about this and it is not recommended for small dogs, the articles recommend to wait aprox 6 weeks to see how the dog develops, actually she is walking a little better right now...can anybody help me??..I need opinions..please any help will be greatly appreciated!.. I feel awful :(

[Daveyo]

First you need to determine if the dog has a sprain or a ligament tear. Make sure you have a MRI and an X-ray done on the leg of the dog. Secondly then have the VET put the dog to happy land for about say 15 minutes worth and then the VET can check the leg that has the possible problem to see if it moves out of socket etc (very carefully since there might be a sprain involved which can aggravate the condition and possibly tear that ligament). If the leg remains in its socket without it popping out of its position, then it is a sprain.

Must do these steps before opting for surgery and you need that MRI and X-ray to confirm the condition as well. Also if not sure you can have the VET do a preliminary scope surgery of which the VET can insert a scope to the affected area and see inside via a camera to see if there is a bonifide tear for certain.

The scope method is the least intrusive method to confirm or not confirm such tears.

Once this is done, then write back and let us know the prognosis and findings.

Daveyo