| WHY TPLO? |
| One of the first questions people ask is why TPLO. TPLO is a very invasive surgery. The bone is actually cut in 2, the angle changed and then put back together with a plate and screws. Since I've been on the orthodogs list, which is about 2 months now, there have been 3 dogs that have had major complications following TPLO surgery, one of them has been put down. So why go with something so invasive? If you read Magnum's story, then you know that he is BIG, an active breed, and young. Those are the 3 things that they usually use as criteria for TPLO surgery. You don't have to have all 3 things but each thing is a reason to go with TPLO. TPLO surgery is supposed to be a permanent fix. Magnum had already blown out his repaired knee. This was to be his second surgery. I did NOT want to make him suffer through a third surgery if this one didn't work. The permanence of the procedure was important. Magnum is very young. He is only 3 1/2. He should have a lot of good years left. I wanted them to be *good* years and as painfree as I could make them. He already had significant arthritis in his knees, especially the left one, which is the one he blew out twice. TPLO is *supposed* to stop the progression of the arthritis. Another important reason. Magnum is an active breed dog. Labs are active dogs. They like to run, fetch and swim. Magnum was very sad when he couldn't go with us on our walks because of his knee. We wanted him to be able to walk with us, swim with the kids and play out in the yard with the kids. There was no way he would be able to do that without some kind of surgery. TPLO also takes away the need for a cruciate ligament. Magnum's tibial slope was 23 degrees. That is considered very steep and problematic. They have found that dogs with a steep tibial slope will, most likely, rupture their cruciate at some point in time. Magnum's other knee is also very steep, so I'm holding my breath a bit on that one. So, because of all of the above reasons and more, we opted for TPLO surgery for Magnum. If you read through the diary of our experience with it, you will be able to follow our progress through this ordeal. Before surgery, Magnum was not using the left hind leg at all. The muscle is pretty much gone, the leg was concave when you look at it and he hopped around on 3 legs for several weeks prior to surgery. Today he is walking on the leg pretty consistently. He still has no muscle and he still has a lot of arthritis, which can not be taken away, but, he is walking on all 4 legs again! Go to the links section and read the links about TPLO surgery. Read other's experiences. Then you can make an informed decision. |