Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I hope I am posting in the right place!
Hi Dr. Pam,
I have a beautiful tripawd named Juju who is missing her rear left leg. Her rear right leg now has a cruciate tear. We are planning to do surgery because I think maybe that will be better for her long term?
Juju is almost 6 years old and 26 pounds.
Our vet says that a dog her size would normally get extracapsular repair, but we are wondering if she needs something more "stable" like TPLO or TTA.
So my questions are:
Would surgery give her a better outcome over conservative non-surgical management?
How do we know which surgery to do?
Thanks for your time!
Clara Yori
You do have the option of a conservative "rest and rehab" plan for a smaller dog but there would be more arthritis in the remaining limb. I think that extracapsular repair is a reasonable option for repair in a dog this size. TTA and TPLO can be considered but do come with a higher chance of post-op complications (mainly infection) due to the metal implant.
Pam
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