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cruciate ligament knee brace advice


Boronia
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On Thursday Henry was limping (left back leg) so off to the vet; he has torn his cruciate ligament, he is on steroids to relieve the pain and he has put his paw on the ground on Friday and today is walking on his leg ok, so it may not require surgery. I will phone his vet this morning to ask but I feel that some leg/knee support would be helpful so that the ligament can be taken care of.

Has anyone tried the Balto dog knee brace? the price is not too bad and it may help.

https://alphamobility.com.au/shop/balto-dog-knee-brace-bt-jump/

Edited by Boronia
edited to fix the really crook spelling :-D
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B dunno - I'm not sure - on a quick search I can't find any reviews or studies. and I'm having difficulty seeing how it might help - but that might be me.  I've flipped it over to a human physio dog lover friend of mine to see what she thinks and will come back if I hear back from her.

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THat's bad luck with your boy.      Went through a possible partial cruciate ligament tear scare with my BC back in October.   Actually scheduled surgery, which was delayed for 3 weeks because my vet was going to be away, so three weeks of conservative management .. anti inflam/pain relief (carprofen) and only short on leash outings to toilet.   TTO was my vet's well thought out preference for surgery  but when he had the dog anaesthetized, he could no longer feel the indicators of a tear which both he and a rehab vet had felt immediately after the injury, so after discussion, he went ahead ad x rayed the knees, and the hips at my request (for comparison with ones done 6 years earlier.    Although x rays are not conclusively diagnostic, he could seen no signs that there was or had been a tear .. the knees were "beautiful",and there were no signs of arthritic changes, which was good for me to hear in my 8 year old agility boy.

 

In the course of all that, I was referred to a couple of really helpful Facebook groups .. Orthodogs,  and TPLO Treatment for Canines.   Both cover a range of orthopaedic topics, and have some really good advice, and are very supportive as well.    The TPLO group covers a whole range of options for cruciate ligament damage repair, including the use of braces.

 

If you have the chance to consult an orthopaedic specialist it would be worth doing I'd think.    It would also be worthwhile shooting Jumabaar a PM/

 

ETF spelling

 

Edited by Tassie
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Thanks WM and Tassie.

I had previously phoned the vet and asked the reception to tell Henry's vet that he was walking much better but I'm unsure if the message got to her as when I phoned (on the next day)to ask about the knee support the call-taker asked the vet and the vet said it wouldn't help. I am wondering if the first message didn't get through and that Henry's vet was still under the impression that Henry was still  not using his leg; therefore a support would not be useful.

I hope that the above paragraph makes sense.

Henry is booked in for surgery on Friday but I phoned yesterday and made an appointment first so that the vet has more time and can really check him out rather than the short er pre-surgery appointment.

I am having trouble keeping him from running around, the cortisone (Previcox 57mg) is obviously doing its job and he is acting like a five-year-old, he is a different dog, poor little bugger must have been in some pain for quite some time.

I know the vet said that if he doesn't need surgery she would treat him long-term (I don't know what with yet; maybe low dosage cortisone?)

Henry has also been getting monthly injections of Synovan since December

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Boronia, this is obviously subject to what your vet says, but I would be seriously restricting Henry's activities before he sees the vet.   If there is cruciate damage, by being active, he is risking further damage, including meniscus tearing, which complicates the issue and wets the dog up for arthritis.  My instructions while Rory was on carprofen pre surgery, was stricltly conservative management.    (Think in terms of human sprain or torn ligament.)  If he does have surgery, then whatever type he has, he will need a significant time of very limited activity to ensure a good rehab. outcome, so it's good to get him used to it sooner rather than later.   Hoping for a good outcome either way.    How old is Henry, and what weight is he?

 

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20 minutes ago, Jumabaar said:

Braces can be useful, however they are contraindicated in many stifle injuries. They can exacerbate meniscal pain and increase the speed of muscle wastage. 

 

What type of surgery are they going to do?

 

 

I will get some more info on Friday Jumabaar, after I have talked to Henry's vet.

It's hard to keep him calm as he is full of beans and I'm worried in case he causes further damage

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I think little dogs recover better than big dogs from this surgery - my Shih Tzu x ruptured her cruciate on Xmas Day, she was booked in for surgery in early Jan but had anesthetic complications and then had the actual surgery on 13 January (including fixing a luxating patella) and is now back to hooning around and jumping of the bed (although I cringe everytime, vet said this is ok)  - while she didn't go for walks she wasn't crated or contained in recovery either at the vet's recommendation which I was surprised about. 

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Yes, the little dogs must handle it better Vehs, my Penny (Westie) was 16 when she had a repair done and apart from a couple of days when she was feeling very very sore she was as getting round ok after the supporting bandage (I can't quite remember; it may have been a very light plaster) and stitches were removed. Penny's surgery was the simple procedure which costs approximately $1000

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I am sure I took a photo of Penny's bandaged leg but now can't find the photo, I could only find a couple of her after the bandage was removed.

She is cross in the first photo; if I remember correctly I turned the light on and woke her up :laugh:

 

58b6959a4adc1_Screenshotfrom2017-03-0119-31-22.png.ca0a0c0cbc1c25cf2821750f59ee9da1.png

 

58b695aa52fff_Screenshotfrom2017-03-0119-32-01.thumb.png.f2c8c421f9041eb16e5866ce97336df3.png

 

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  • 2 years later...

Hi,

It is an old tread but I though I would share my experience with the Balto Dog Brace for knee.

https://australia.alpha-mobility.com/shop/balto-dog-knee-brace-bt-jump/

 

Our 5 yrs old Border Collie Molly snapped her left Cruciate 6 months ago. Given the price and possible complications surgery was not an option for us.

Our vet suggested we try the Balto brace.

The brace gave her great support as there are aluminium splints inserted in the sides of the brace.

It took her a few hours to get used to it but she could put weight on the leg.

We used the brace for nearly 2 months just for peace of mind. She is good now.

I can't speak highly enough of it.

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