5 Knee Surgery Options for Dogs

Knee Injury in Dogs

For the sake of your dog’s overall health and lifestyle, maintaining its knee health is essential. From quality diet to healthy pet care practices, minimizing knee injury in your dog should be a priority. Lifestyle activities like high level jumping exercises, climbing and throwing should be avoided as much as possible. Dog orthopedic surgery isn’t exactly cheap so it’s important to keep your dog safe and healthy.

Knee injury often involves damage to the cranial cruciate ligament or the anterior crucial ligament. Both ligaments connect the shin bone to the bone of the thigh, enhancing knee mobility. The most likely cause of injury to either ligament is strenuous exercise which explains how quickly the injury can come on. If your dog is often involved in lively, engaged activities, even a healed cranial cruciate ligament injury can come on again. Keep your dog away if there’s vigorous running, playing around and jumping during exercise and play time especially when unnecessary.

Signs of Knee Injuries in Dogs

Detecting knee injuries in dogs is fairly straight-forward. It is important to find out early so your dog’s vet can diagnose early if it needs canine knee surgery or not. Any observant pet parent can tell when their dog is having mobility problems especially those affecting the knees. The following signs & symptoms listed below are likely to be observed when a dog has knee injuries affecting the cruciate ligament.

1. Rear legs limping

   If a dog is limping or dragging its rear legs while walking, it’s a sign of a limb injury which could very well be caused by a damaged cruciate ligament. Investigate and contact your vet specialist immediately if noticed.

2. Difficulty in getting up

   Affected dogs will find getting up challenging. A previously-active dog finding it difficult standing is a sign of limb issues, possibly knee injuries. Always take a good look at your pet if you observe any abnormality in A rigid, stiff movement when moving around can be a symptom of knee injuries. Contact the vet to take a professional look at your dog. Knee surgery on dogs can resolve most conditions if done on time.

   its mobility. Dogs like other animals can hide their injuries in order not to look weak, out of self–preservation.

3. Stiff movement

   A rigid, stiff movement when moving around can be a symptom of knee injuries. Contact the vet to take a professional look at your dog. Knee surgery on dogs can resolve most conditions if done on time.

5 Knee Surgery Options for Dogs

If a dog is active, sooner or later, there’s bound to be a case of injured knees which require canine knee surgery to fix. Knee surgery in dogs is often needed in active or older dogs with mobility challenges. In this section, we have discussed dog knee surgery types for dogs. Knowing the ideal option to choose can improve your dog’s health while saving you money too.

1. Extracapsular Repair

   This dog knee surgery option is also called lateral suture technique which involves placing a solid suture on the outer part of the knee joint to mirror how the ligament works. This placement stabilizes the knee and stops the shin bone from shifting forward. In time, the scar tissue grows around the joint giving it more balance. If your dog has a cranial cruciate ligament injury, an extracapsular repair is effective in resolving it. Small to average-sized dogs are well suited for this type of surgery. It is low risk, has less time of recovery, and costs lower than other options. The only disadvantage of extracapsular repair is the fact that it’s not recommended for large breeds of dogs.

2. Tibial Tuberosity Advancement (TTA)

   Consider the Tibial Tuberosity Advancement option if your dog has cranial cruciate ligament injuries. It concerns moving the tibial bone forward to enhance the mobility of the knee joint. This canine knee surgery is effective at helping the affected ligaments heal and recover. It’s better-suited for large dogs living an active lifestyle. Healing is quite fast when this particular surgery is carried out. However, recovery takes a minimum of 10 weeks and costs are not exactly friendly.

3. Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO)

   Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy remains one of the most effective dog orthopedic surgeries for dogs. Designed for large, active dogs with severe cruciate ligament tears, this procedure involves removing and repositioning the top portion of the shin bone, or tibial plateau, at a different angle. After stabilizing the bone with screws and plates, recovery and healing is possible over a minimum of 8 weeks. TPLO is known to have a high success percentage and works superbly well on large dogs. On the other hand, this procedure isn’t cheap and requires specialized training to carry out.

4. Tightrope Surgery

   Tightrope surgery is a simplistic knee surgery for dogs designed to stabilize the knee ligament using a suture material. It’s perfectly suited for small and average-size dogs, and requires a short time to implement. Tightrope surgery is affordable, not as invasive as other options and provides a faster recovery time for affected dogs. Recovery time is often pegged at 6 weeks on average.

5. Patellar Luxation Surgery

   This canine knee surgery option is ideally-suited for small dogs experiencing dislocation of the kneecap. It is common in small breeds of dogs and can lead to loss of mobility. Patellar luxation surgery will fix dislocated knee caps by resetting the patella and its tendons. This procedure fixes knee cap weakness, pain and improves stability. Typically, recovery takes up to 8 weeks with minimal activity for the affected dog.

Frequently Asked Questions

Safarivet offers treatment options for dogs experiencing knee problems. Visit our animal clinic today to consult a vet doc, get professional diagnosis for your dog and commence treatment.