My German shepherd has an old cruciate ligament injury, with arthritis apparent on the x-rays. I must decide whether to have it operated on or not. He is only two and one-half years old, but I hesitate to put him through the surgery if pain and restricted activity are likely to result. Will surgery make a significant improvement in his quality of life? What should we do?

Yes, the progression of disabling arthritis may be slowed or halted.

Your dog will do better in the long run if you have the surgery performed. The arthritis that is present is irreversible; but with surgery, the progression can be slowed or halted. Additionally, substantial cartilage damage will continue to occur until the knee is properly stabilized. This damage could result in marked worsening of your dog's lameness.

Many veterinarians have witnessed substantial recovery and improved function in dogs after surgery, especially when significant arthritis is present. There are several surgical approaches to treating a damaged cruciate ligament; in many veterinarians' opinions, the TPLOG procedure is more likely to afford the best result.

Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy® (TPLO) is a technique that utilizes a different approach to treating cranial cruciate ligament injury than other procedures. Rather than trying to oppose the forces acting on the cranial cruciate ligament in the normal knee joint, a TPLO® eliminates these forces -- and thus the need for a cranial cruciate ligament -- by changing the anatomy of the knee joint. This procedure requires that a bone cut be made in the tibia that is then stabilized with a specialized bone plate. Only veterinarians that have been trained and licensed by the developer of the technique are permitted to perform this surgery. In general, dogs weighing less than 40 pounds are too small for this procedure.

Should you decide not to pursue surgery, then you must realize that your dog may not be able to function beyond a relatively sedentary lifestyle. Good luck with your decision.

For additional information, there is an excellent article in our VetCentric Encyclopedia regarding cruciate ligament disease.

09/09/03