My dog has been diagnosed with a torn ACL. Surgery has been recommended. Does anyone have experience with local veternarians that do this type of surgery and the cost? Does pet insurance cover it?' I currently do not have insurance.
COMMENT 304589P
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2012-08-03 11:13 PM |
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Get your dog on pain meds and crate her while you do research.
(I can see how this thread may get rather contentious.)
I have no info on pet insurance, but -- Discuss the problem and surgery with Dr. Dalo, La Concepcion Animal Hospital. He has a great surgery reputation.
http://www.laconcepcionanimalhospital.com/blog/ And I've heard great things about Ventura's Veterinary Medical & Surgery Group. I know several dogs & owners who went there with great results. http://www.vmsg.com/ Email K9 Pals and ask them (I know they've often used Dalo.). Ask DAWG & SB Humane Society, and CARE4PAWS (http://care4paws.org/). Ask your friends & neighbors -- this is a very common injury. Ask your current vet! What DID your vet say? Take some time and don't rush the surgery, as long as pup is taken care of. Is the dog on a pain med already? All this is BIG money. I've also read about dog families who skipped surgery and did rehab. Much depends on the personality of the dog. And of course the extent of the injury. Rehab is hard, whether or not surgery is done. There will be a LOT of rest and crating either way. Good luck & please keep us posted!
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ZENYATTA19
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2012-08-03 11:56 PM |
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There are so many factors that play into proper treatment for this painful injury. There are several surgical options for treatment. As a veterinary technician who has been through two surgeries with my own dog I highly recommend Dr Ian Holsworth at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group in Ventura or locally Dr Eric Wright. I would definitely get two opinions if your vet didnt recommend a surgeon. Surgery is very expensive and following post op instructions is vital to recovery. I agree with the previous poster about confinement and pain meds asap. Pet insurance will not cover any cost since you do not currently have a policy. It would be considered a pre existing condition. Even though surgery is costly and recovery is time consuming it is well worth it to have your dog happy and healthy.
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ANIMALLISTNER
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2012-08-04 12:59 AM |
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Locally, Dr. Eric Wright of CARE Animal Hospital. Good luck with your pooch!
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COMMENT 304601P
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2012-08-04 01:37 AM |
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Dr. Dalo definitely! He is kind and caring and will arrange for payment options if necessary. He is a terrific surgeon. Have no idea what the cost would be. You cannot get insurance now to cover this. It is the same as health insurance for humans. This would be a previously existing condition. Yes, it is expensive. Any surgery is expensive. Until you can figure all of this out, do keep your dog on pain meds and restrict his/her activity. Dr. Dalo is at La Conception Animal Hospital.
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COMMENT 304607P
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2012-08-04 06:14 AM |
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We used VMSG in Ventura. (We probably would have used Dr. Wright from CARE, but he wasn't practicing here at the time.) Depending on the age, weight, and level of activity of your dog, there are various types of reconstructive surgery. The options were explained to us, and we used what is called the "tightrope" surgery.
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COMMENT 304611P
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2012-08-04 06:19 AM |
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My dog had the same thing. Dr. Eric Wright at CARE advised me to keep her activity lower and to see whether it would heal on its own. It did, thank God. She had to have 2 other surgeries (elbow and hip) and now she's raring to go with a full life ahead of her. 100% thanks to Dr. Wright.
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COMMENT 304624
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2012-08-04 07:15 AM |
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Keep your dog leashed to limit activity on outings. Pick it up to enter car. NO jumping or playing. Our dog healed slowly, but he runs and plays now. If the dog cannot use the leg at all and continues to limp after a few weeks, surgery is the way. As long as the dog can walk normally, I would not recommend surgery. This is stressful for dog and owner alike.
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COMMENT 304626
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2012-08-04 07:18 AM |
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Yes, Dr Dalo or VMSG are excellent. Costly anywhere you go but they will take good care of your pet like they did for our lab. My boss' dog had 2 knee surgeries--left knee at VMSG and right knee at La Concepcion. She and both her knees did great. Hope your dog heals.
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COMMENT 304628P
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2012-08-04 07:19 AM |
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We had long discussions with our vet in Carpinteria over the options of local Santa Barbara vets and going out of town. It came down to us asking him who he would take his dog to see for this type of surgery. He recommended Dr. Bruecker at Ventura Medical & Surgical Group in Ventura. Our rescue dog was 12 at the time but in good health otherwise. Dr. Bruecker did the surgery and she was almost as good as new following the long recovery. Today she is 14 and is a happy dog who thinks she is a puppy. We are so glad we spent the money and thankful for the years it has added to her life. You can read about his credentials at http://bit.ly/OAgvxY
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COMMENT 304634
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2012-08-04 07:31 AM |
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Awful, awful, awful experience at Ventura VMSG. Never, Never NEVER. Awful. The dog is now dead. For this acl Dr. Wright is known all over for this. My (other) dog healed an acl injury without surgery as others have noted.
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SPARKEY
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2012-08-04 08:29 AM |
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My pit mix tore her ACL when she was 8 and I opted out of surgery. She was very active and managed her injury as she saw fit. In less than one year she was completely back to normal. I would not go for surgery mostly due to the recovery. Keeping a dog who is used to 1 mile + runs every day sedate for two months or more is torture.
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CORKY
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2012-08-04 09:36 AM |
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We had a lovely white German Shepherd who injured her acl on her rear leg just rolling over playing. I don't remember the options, but she lived many years w/o surgery, although walked with some slight stiffness as I recall.
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COMMENT 304685
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2012-08-04 09:46 AM |
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We just went through this with one of our dogs. The ACL (in dogs its called the cranial cruciate ligament) is the main cable in the knee that basically holds the upper and lower leg together. If it is indeed torn badly enough it will never heal and will cause great pain and irreversible arthritis. I would not waste time in meeting with potential surgeons to determine the severity of the tear and to pursue treatment. We highly recommend Dr. Eric Wright of CARE. As the other posters have said, it is extremely important to keep your dog confined and manage your pooches pain right now.
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COMMENT 304698
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2012-08-04 10:07 AM |
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My dog tore her CCl in 2002. We took her to CARE and they recommended TPLO (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy) which was a major surgery and cost > $3K. After a few weeks of recovery, the wound scar became angry looking and some of the "dissolving" stitches started to poke through. We took her back in and it turned out that she had a bone infection and all the expensive titanium screws had to come out, for a cost of over $900. We were told that the canine surgical procedure was "not sterile" so this was not unprecedented. We were not happy, to say the least. Good luck with your dog.
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COMMENT 304712
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2012-08-04 10:31 AM |
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Dr Dalo is the best vet I have found locally. He isn't afraid to refer you to a specialist either
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COMMENT 304728
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2012-08-04 10:49 AM |
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I am very sorry for you today, but remember, this is not an emergency. Take your time making a decision. Either way that dog is out of commission for 4-6 months. Elimination walks only, and always on leash. No jumping, running, pulling, anything. You will injure the site and make it worse. We had a TPLO on our 2 yr old golden,(VMSG Dr.Bruckner), when she injured the other side at 7 or so, we opted not to do surgery. They were both fine, she never even limped later. But ....recovery is the same with or with out surgery. Long, slow, and boring! Good Luck!
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SMILODON
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2012-08-04 12:36 PM |
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My Samoyed husky had a torn ACL, and surgery, which was expensive. then a cast on his leg for six weeks or so. He could go for shortened walks successfully after a couple of weeks, with the cast, which he wore as a red badge of courage to his buddies. Eventually, when he got it off, he was frisky again, with no residuals problems.
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COMMENT 304776
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2012-08-04 01:31 PM |
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My dog broke a small bone in his leg, which was repaired by Dr. Wright at CARE, and has recovered 100%. My insurance, PetsBest, covered $2500 of the approximately $4K bill. I recommend Dr. Wright. He did a great job. I do also recommend insurance and like PetsBest. They paperwork was easy, on-line and they paid quickly with direct deposit into my bank account. They offer a $2500 per incident plan and a $7500 per incident plan. At the time I purchased it, I didn't think anything for a pet would cost much more than $2500!
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COMMENT 304793
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2012-08-04 02:35 PM |
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Dr. OTTO, Carp Vet Hospital.
He is the best vet for complicated things.
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COMMENT 304794
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2012-08-04 02:36 PM |
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My dog had a similar injury years ago. Had a leg wrap for many months. Had to limit her activity and carry her at times. It was stressfull, but she did have a quality of life after the rehab. She lived several more years, but then had the same injury on the other leg. There is hope. The surgery, meds, and limiting activity was the key. Best of luck to you and your pet.
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COMMENT 304800
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2012-08-04 03:19 PM |
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TPLO done to both legs of my dog 2 years ago. Fantastic job, she is now running and playing like a champ. Dr. Eric Wright. He also did same for neighbors dog. He is still not walking as great. No post op infections for either dog.
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COMMENT 304805P
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2012-08-04 03:22 PM |
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This is a hard decision, and identical to the human decision (for those of us without health insurance). My left knee torn ACL had 2 surgeries decades ago to repair it. The "repair" was far different back then than the repair options are now. When I blew out my right knee ACL a few years ago and asked about having the same thing done, I was told that *if* I didn't do running, jumping, twisting sports, I could do without repairing it. "Your body will adapt." So, the decision is based on the age and activity of the dog, and your ability to pay. As others have said, you don't have to decide right away, but can see how the rehab goes before deciding.
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COMMENT 304918
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2012-08-05 08:48 AM |
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The knee injuries are a pain! Our Lab has had her both knees injured and also operated at VMSG Ventura with excellent results. We chose the TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) ; I'd chosen that for my first Lab over 10 years ago when it was a new style of surgery. So I knew what kind of deal I'll be getting... Recovery will be long and will change also YOUR daily routine for 5+ mos. Well worth it ! Very detailed recovery program but you'll get your furry friend up and running in the end. About insurance: I took insurance for my Lab from TRUPANION and they covered 90% of the surgery cost ($4500+) based on the plan I got. The second knee got operated the next year (very common to have the other knee giving up within a year...) and TRUPANION was there for us.Once you pay the bill in full, submit the claim (we preauthorized the surgery before for faster refund) No cap how much you claim. Seriously, look more info from their webpage! And GOOD LUCK!
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COMMENT 304993
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2012-08-05 02:09 PM |
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We used Ventura for our 10-yr old Aussie's first knee surgery while CARE's surgeon wasn't up and running. Then our dog blew out his other knee, and we went to CARE. We found CARE (1) less expensive, and (2) the recovery was easier, faster and better. Those were our experiences. The TPLO procedure makes our dog sit funny as the knees don't bend, but he's happy and has a fairly active life. We're told arthritis is a common problem thereafter.
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COMMENT 305100
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2012-08-06 08:44 AM |
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With my dog's knee problem, I saw Wright and Dalo. Wright charged me $130 and spent about 5 mins manipulating his knee joint, recommended surgery. Dalo charged me $85 plus another $50 to look at the xrays I had, but spent about 1/2 hr diagnosing the dog and discussing the options with me. Both do TPLO with stainless steel plates. Stainless steel is not tolerated as well by the body and can have infections. A foster dog I had, needed to have the plate removed due to infection. If stainless is in the body for a long time (on a young dog) there have been reports of bone cancer and/or brittle bones fracturing later in life.
Another option is the TTA procedure, VMSG will do it but they charge a ton, it uses titanium inserts that are tolerated by the body better than stainless. My dog has had this on both knees by an out of county vet and is doing fine.
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COMMENT 305202
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2012-08-06 01:12 PM |
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I use Dr. Michael Kelly from Four Paws in Santa Paula. I love that guy. He loves my pets as much as I do. It's also a plus that he accepts a discount program I get through work called Pet Assure, so I save 25% every time I go there .. lol
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COMMENT 305381
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2012-08-07 10:26 AM |
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We went to a Dr. in Arroyo Grande. Don't remember his name, but he was awesome! It's very common in big dog, and highly recommended. Our dog came out of the surgery with flying colors and is back to her flying self. Catching balls in mid flight! It is a bit costly. There is a Dr. in Ventura who was taught by our Dr., but he charges $2000 more. Good luck!
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COMMENT 327990
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2012-10-05 06:35 AM |
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My dog Bailey had a complete ACL tear earlier this year, so I took her to the vet and she told me it would cost $3500 to fix it. We didn’t listen to her and we are glad we didn’t. I did some research on conservative management options, and I decided to purchase Dr. Spatt's A-Trac Dynamic brace from WoundWear for $300. When it arrived Bailey was hardly walking and if she did she would hold the leg up. Once in the brace she started to bear weight again. She had it on 24/7 for a few months for walks and the doggy park. Bailey is now 100% healed from using this brace. This product saved me thousands of dollars and greatly improved the quality of Bailey's life. My vet has also been extremely impressed and said she would feel comfortable recommending this brace after seeing the huge improvement. I highly suggest this brace to everyone looking for a conservative management option! -Elise M.
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