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The acute onset of Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) rupture usually affects dogs under four-years-old and is triggered by a sudden, twisting motion of the ligament causing it to tear or completely snap in half. The chronic onset is attributed to among other things, age, usually between five- to seven-years-old and the normal degeneration of fibers in the knee which may include partial tears. Other factors include obesity, being a giant or large breed, a spayed female, having poor muscle condition around the ligament or a structural abnormality such as being bow-legged or straight-legged which puts extra strain on the ligaments. Another contributing factor to having the opposite ACL rupture is that surgery does not fix the knee joint but merely stabilizes it. The knee is not at good as new, although normal function may return, and it therefore puts an added burden on the other healthy knee. Diagnosis and Surgery How can you tell if your dog's ACL is failing? With a sudden tear or rupture a dog will usually yelp and then hold its leg up very high and not be able to put any weight on it. Dogs with this injury can't bear weight on the knee without collapsing. There will be obvious signs of pain. Diagnosis can be done by your vet. To understand how these injuries happen, it is important to understand just how unstable the knee joint is. There are no interlocking bones to keep this joint together such as the hip. The two main bones at the knee (or stifle joint) is the femur (or thigh bone) and tibia (or shin bone) and they are joined by ligaments and a crescent-shaped piece of fibrous cartilage called a meniscus. Once the ACL is torn or ruptured, arthritis begins to set in within a few days as the knee joint is no longer able to function and bones start rubbing together. Surgery is the best treatment to stabilize the joint. In surgery, a specialist will most likely use artificial ligaments (sometimes heavy gauge nylon or fishing line) versus grafts, to replace the ACL. For photos and further explanation of the surgery go to www.thepetcenter.com/sur/knee.htm. The biggest threat to ruptured ACL patients is the early onset of arthritis. Surgeons report they find arthritic changes in dogs which have waited several weeks between injury and surgery. The surgery is expensive (approximately $1,000) but the pain and accelerated rate of arthritis to your dog is inevitable without surgery. Most dogs recover with normal function within six to eight weeks especially with carefully controlled exercise, physical therapy and supplements. I
recommend you take your dog to the vet as soon as possible to get a
diagnosis and schedule surgery. With this type of condition the longer
you wait the less successful the surgery is and the ability for your
dog to return to normal function. ©2003 Lisa Peterson |
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Dear
Lisa: My seven-year-old yellow lab is beginning to limp on his right
rear leg. He doesn't want to put any weight on it. Several years ago,
he had surgery on his left knee to fix a ruptured cruciate ligament.
Is it possible that the other knee is starting to go as well? -—Needing
a New Knee 
