Has anyone gone through this? My lab will be five in March. He is very tall and very long. He is lean, but weighs 85-90 lbs.

He partially tore it at some point but we don't know when and didn't notice it. Then, in November, we were camping and he started limping a little but was ok the next day. He stayed with a buddy for Thanksgiving and developed some sort of infection in between his pads so we took him to the vet for both issues because he was a little lethargic and slow to get up. Antibiotics took care of the infection, but the vet said he probably partially tore his CCL. Gave him anti-inflammatory pills and said to rest him. We did and he was acting normally. Then, he was running around the yard about a week later, helped and laid down. He wouldn't put any pressure on it and the vet confirmed he had completely torn it this time.

The vet said our only option is TPLO because he is young and active and it is the gold standard.

I'm nervous about it for a few reasons, the big one being they are going to change the natural position of the leg and also drill into perfectly good bone. The other concern is the extremely long recovery time and physical therapy.

Has anyone gone through this or another procedure? I've heard the swivel lock procedure is less intrusive and has a shorter recovery time. My dog hunts a few times a year, but mostly camps, hikes and swims and the majority of his exercise is retrieving ball in the backyard. No hun test or field trials or anything.

Where are you located? If you're in N Texas I would personally only look into two places - Dr. Dean in Ft. Worth or get a referral from your vet to DVSC.

TightRope and Swivel Lock are less invasive, but you're relying on a material to hold and stabilize the joint - it can fail. Especially with a big active lab.

I personally know several vets that will not perform nor recommend tightrope or swivel lock due to the failure rate.

TPLO is much more invasive but IMO a much better long term prognosis.

Thanks, Cochise. I'm in Fort Worth. I will look into Dr. Dean.

The most important part after picking a good surgeon, is following the crate, and rest after surgery.
It's pain, but something you have to be willing to do.

Dr Radash at the dsvc is one of the best. Dr houston down close to Houston is the only other one I would use.

Robby

X2 for Dr. Radash.

100% follow the rules!!!

My lab had the surgery, he is good to go now.

Barry

My Retriever had a double FHO surgery at DVSC and she came out of it great . Fantastic doctors .She had it done at Grapevine .

Everything went well yesterday and now it's on to recovery. Thanks for the PMs and replies.