Our Golden Lab needs TPLO surgery
- Thread starter State43
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This is probably no help to you now, but I do believe that they have insurance you can buy for pets that is fairly cheap. I would assume it covers stuff like this. Just a thought for future reference
Pretty reasonable price, but I would get a second opinion from a non-related vet. I don't feel that they are necessary in most cases, especially if they only did a physical exam and did not do an MRI on your lab. My black lab girl had a ligament injury and was recommended surgery at about the same age as your golden. 2 years later, she shows no ill effects and seems to be just as if not more mobile than her chocolate litter mate brother. I'm not an expert, just had lots of dogs in my life.
We kept her kenneled and walked her when she needed to go out(we are lucky my wife doesn't work and can do that). We restricted all of her movement that we could and kept her on prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs for 8 weeks. I figured that she could always get surgery, but once done, it could not be undone.
At the end of the day, it is a personal decision, but we did not want to risk having surgery without it being the absolute last option.
We kept her kenneled and walked her when she needed to go out(we are lucky my wife doesn't work and can do that). We restricted all of her movement that we could and kept her on prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs for 8 weeks. I figured that she could always get surgery, but once done, it could not be undone.
At the end of the day, it is a personal decision, but we did not want to risk having surgery without it being the absolute last option.
I have significantly reduced her movement for close to 3 weeks and she treats it the same. The surgeon that looked at her knew what was wrong in the first 10 seconds looking at her. I hate to pull the trigger so easily as I do plan on shopping around a bit included KSU & ISU. No idea how she did it either 
I'm not entirely sure it is the same thing, but my parents have a lab who was limping and when they took her to the vet, she was quoted surgery costing around $3000. There was no way they could pay $3000 for surgery and a few weeks later she was better. She seems fine now.
is this a golden retriever lab mix or a yellow lab? With pure breds it is more frequent. With labs you really have to watch the genetics. My first yellow had this happen. If the hips are bad you need to inform the breeder so those two dogs are never bred again.
Had this happen with our 5 year old lab, pit, chow about a year ago. Our cost was 2500. The dog recovers very quickly and was walking in a few weeks. while it is expensive we can hardly tell that he ever had surgery. take plenty of time to do your physical therapy for the month after surgery
I have significantly reduced her movement for close to 3 weeks and she treats it the same. The surgeon that looked at her knew what was wrong in the first 10 seconds looking at her. I hate to pull the trigger so easily as I do plan on shopping around a bit included KSU & ISU. No idea how she did it either
I can't comment on this procedure but I will recommend seeing what isu says. We took one of our st Bernards to the emergency/surgery dog place in west des Moines and they wanted to do hip surgery (something like$5k) right away. Went to isu for a second opinion and they essentially said it was silly for a 2 year old dog and we could treat it ourselves.2 years later he is still doing good. The private places might recommend something cause they need to pay their bills.
I thought I would get some opinions. I was playing catch with my dog and n yard today and I noticed she wasn't sprinting as crazy as usual. Once we came inside, I noticed a limp in the opposite leg. As the day went on, the last mp got worse so I gave her a little ibprophen and put her in the kennel to restrict movement. Any chance this is a sprain or something less serious or am in for a world of hurt again? The first acl tear she had, she couldn't even put her leg down, this seems less serious. Thoughts?
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Dog's that tear their ACL in one leg are very likely to tear it in the other leg. Not to say that is what happened but it is fairly likely. Also don't give ibuprofen to dogs it is very toxic, especially to their kidneys. Best thing would be to let her rest the weekend and if she's still sore tomorrow, get her into see your vet.
Jacktronic
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Some dogs may do well with cage rest only and return to normal or close to normal function, but that is the exception and not the rule. This is especially true for larger breed or working/highly active dogs. Many do not do well, will limp, and develop worsening osteoarthritis and DJD. Smaller dogs (less weight) have a significantly better chance of doing well without surgery. It is important to note that surgery will not prevent osteoarthritis from developing, that is unfortunately going to happen no matter what. However, chance for return to normal function is greatly increased and degree ofosteoarthritis is diminished. Also, dogs that tear one cruciate have a much higher rate of tearing the other. I would do surgery on my own dog, but it is certainly a lot of money.
Edit: I read the OP and replied without reading the whole thread. Didn't realize it was from years ago. Oops. I agree with everything that isudoc03 said. Any chance you know your dog's weight and how much ibuprofen was given?
Edit: I read the OP and replied without reading the whole thread. Didn't realize it was from years ago. Oops. I agree with everything that isudoc03 said. Any chance you know your dog's weight and how much ibuprofen was given?
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I just gave her one 200mg pill with a little food. Won't do it again.
She is slightly over weight at just over 60lbs, I am working on getting her around 55 and under.
Jacktronic
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No worries, certainly not trying to chastise you. Just wanted to calculate her ibuprofen dose for you. At 60lbs she is ~27kg. One 200mg tablet ibuprofen is a 7.5 mg/kg dose. Gastrointestinal toxic effects generally start around 25 mg/kg and renal effects can be seen around 175 mg/kg. Her dose is obviously much lower than that. I would not anticipate any problems with the single pill you gave her, but to be safe watch for any vomiting, diarrhea, or anorexia (as side effects can occur even with low doses). She should be fine! (Concerning the ibuprofen)
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