{"id":14400,"date":"2022-07-22T07:45:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/outwardhound.com\/furtropolis\/?p=14400"},"modified":"2022-10-13T06:39:11","modified_gmt":"2022-10-13T12:39:11","slug":"tplo-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outwardhound.com\/furtropolis\/health-wellness\/tplo-surgery","title":{"rendered":"TPLO Surgery & Recovery Tips for Dog Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If you’ve been to the vet recently because your dog was showing lameness in one of their hind legs, your vet might have told you they blew their CCL, or cranial cruciate ligament. A CCL tear<\/a> in dogs is the equivalent of an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear in humans. While some knee injuries can be dealt with by conservative management, most dog parents opt to move forward with TPLO surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TPLO stands for tibial plateau leveling osteotomy<\/strong>. During a TPLO procedure, veterinary surgeons reposition the top of the tibia (shin bone). By re-positioning the tibial plateau (the upper portion of the shin bone), the knee joint is stabilized. This essentially eliminates the need for the CCL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this all sounds pretty scary, it helps to educate yourself as much as you can about the injury, surgical procedure, and recovery process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some pet owners psych themselves out by doing too<\/em> much digging (ahem — this writer). Just remember that it’s always OK to ask your vet questions and that this kind of surgery is done all the time. At the end of the day, you need to do what’s best for your dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Serious Is a CCL Tear?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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According to the Veterinary Health Center at the University of Missouri, CCL tears<\/a> or CCL ruptures are the most common injury affecting the knees of dogs. Here’s what happens when a dog tears its CCL:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Normally, the CCL stabilizes the knee when the dog places weight on the leg. When the ligament either completely or partially torn, the knee becomes destabilized. Inflammation and osteoarthritis follow and the knee becomes a chronic source of pain and disability for the dog.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dogs, especially large breeds like labradors or rottweilers, can do this kind of damage to their knees in a number of ways. Particularly active dogs who frequently put force on the ligament whether playing fetch, jumping around, or running will injure themselves this way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(My dog likely did his knee in by chasing a ball on my wood floors, slipping and sliding like a cartoon dog on an ice rink.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What About TTA?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is another surgical technique for torn CCLs called tibial tuberosity advancement, or TTA. In TTA, surgeons adjust the angle of the tendon to neutralize tibial thrust, which is what happens when a dog puts weight on the knee joint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to academics at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, TPLO is superior to TAA because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“An up to 50% incidence of meniscal tears within one year post surgery<\/a>, as well as the inability to return the dog to normal weight bearing … resulted to have the TTA be removed from the pool of possible surgeries to treat CCLR in various private practices and academic veterinary surgical centers…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bear in mind that TPLO has a very high success rate. About 95% of dogs<\/a> return to normal limb function and can resume activity they did pre-tear without complications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is TPLO Recovery Like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A post shared by D e s m o n d \ud83d\udda4 L u n a (@desmondandluna)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>