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Tripawd Frankie now has torn cruciate, seeking guidance
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Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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6 December 2017 - 10:56 am
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Hopefully Ive cleared my head enough to give you the specifics you need to help me help Frankie.

**Going back and forth to Bets with Frankie's worsening gait

**Rehab appt scheduled, only to show up and find she quit day before.  Long drive to get there so they said an Ortho can check him over.  They took Frankie to back for about thirty minutes.  Said they needed ro do xray cause he showed pain (DUH).  With NO WARNING or discussions, they came back with an $800 bill and told me the xray said he had arthritis.  Never saw xray.   I was so FURIOUS I couldn't even talk...literally!  Just wanted to get him out of there!

**My regular Vet says cruciate ligame t?) is scarred over and has healed over an old injury.  He's usi t leg at this poi t...just holding it out at angle...sort of straight.  Rimadyl.

***Last Friday night came home Frankie basically couldn't put any weight on that rear leg...his one front leg was collapsingas he was trying to stand on basically one "good" back leg.  He still did his darned best to walk!!  BROKE MY HEART.  Gave him tramadol. 

*****Refular Vet that Saturday morning said DEFINITELY torn ligament now.  Two weeks before the "range of motion " test mad her think knee was "healed over with scar tissue".   That morning it was CLEAR it was torn.

*** She did xray of legs and hip area because he should pain in upper socket areat when moving.

***Said xray showed osteo where ball socket and hip bone (?) Was almost certain but would send it to radilogist Monday.

****Looooong weekend of hell and pain for Frankie (and hysterics for me)  because of all the manipulations.  NOTE!!  Even though he had ro be in severe pain,...especially since Friday night....this dog NEVER whined...never stopped being Frankie for one second!

****Call Monday...NO OSTEO from looki g at xrays

****He does have some hip dysplasia, arthritis.  I think they said the front leg had "issues" related to arthritis and ligament issues....can't remember exzctly.

WHAT ARE THE BEST OPTIONS FOR A TRIPAWD WITH THESE ISSUES?

Frankie is a spit fire of a dog!  Even on basically 1 1/2 legs he moves chairs to the blocked off stairs and sneaks up.  He counter surfs.

He is STONG AND DETERMINED AND AS TOUGH AS THEY COME.

He's approximately 4 - 5 yrs ...rescue...no idea of why amputation.

My Vet says because of "who he is", TPLO is best way.  

She, herself, does ECR (not sure of right name) but she has concerns that as a very actice tripawd it won't hold.

BOTH options are out of my fiancial ability, but she would "work with me".  She doesnw do TPLO.   So far I haven't found an Ortho Surgeon for the TPLO who woukd "work with me"

IF TPLO is out of the question.....

Would it be almost "useless" to try the ECR knowr that according to her, it will most likelw fail because of the type of dog he is??

Is it even POSSIBLE that the torn ligament would scar over and "heal"...or is that a ridiculous thought?

Economic euthanasia is inconceivable to me. 

With love and appreciation

Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!

Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!

On The Road


Member Since:
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6 December 2017 - 11:42 am
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Sally, I'll let Dr. Pam answer. Just wanted to say that I have no doubt that crazy boy of yours has what it takes to make a comeback from the injury, no matter which path you take. We are here for you my friend. Keep us posted.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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6 December 2017 - 11:59 am
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Thank you Jerry. Your kind ess and love has me blubbering again.

And I am soooo sorry my short, factual post to Dr Pam was anything but!!! I just got carried away with unloading to much emotional information! But thanks to everyone for being such a great sounding board! 🙂 Merry Myrtle just isn't a very good listener! She just cocks her head waiting to hear the work COOKIE 🙂

Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!

Member Since:
27 August 2014
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6 December 2017 - 12:08 pm
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Oh, Sally. I'm so sorry - like many, this is one of my big fears. 

You have the acronym right - ECR stands for extra capsular repairs. My only advice for the type of surgery comes from an observation unit of 1, my brother's very active golden who is about the same age. He tore both of his cruciates and it took my brother a while to figure out what was going on, so the wounds were old. He had both repaired 6 months ago via TPLO and he's doing great. For what that's worth, there's that. 

And don't forget about Helping Hands - Lori Pasternak does treat torn cruciates and is a magician. We were super happy with our experience there during Jack's amputation. 

On The Road


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6 December 2017 - 1:52 pm
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dcjack said
And don't forget about Helping Hands - Lori Pasternak does treat torn cruciates and is a magician. We were super happy with our experience there during Jack's amputation.   

Oh my DOG. Totally forgot about Dr. Pasternak, THANK YOU for reminding us. She's just an hour or so from you Sally. She has loads of experience with Tripawds and is a fantastic vet, just not a board-certified surgeon. There are plenty of skilled vets who do this procedure who aren't though. Here is her pricing for cruciate repairs.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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6 December 2017 - 5:22 pm
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Oaky Sally.... B R E A T H E.....B R EA T H E.....INHALE SLOOOOOWLY.....EXHALE SLOOOOOWLY!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH SARA!!! heart  Funny, you kept popping in my head today as I was trying ro  develop a plan!  Now I know why!!  heartAnd your story about your vrother's situation  is soooooo  encouraging!!!!    Especially knowing , just like Frankie, he probably had these issues for awhile!  

And great links Jerry!!!   And like you said, she knows TRIPAWDS!!  I'm gonna call first thing tomorrow!!  

Everything I've read, and even from the links you gave me from her, TPLO is pretty much a necessity for a dog like Frankie.  She really explained things so well in the link and why the likelihood of the ERC or lateral suture thing (are they the same?) failing could be pretty high in a dog like Frankie.   And maybe....just maybe...she has connections with someone who does it at a discounted price.   If you're gonna hold onto HOPE...MIGHT AS WELL HOPE BIG!!! 🙂

Thank you sooooo much!!!  Your help keeps me motivated!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!

Durham, NC
Member Since:
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6 December 2017 - 5:41 pm
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Hi Sally! Love you!  Sent some info your way - call me!

Momma to the world's most beautiful American Bulldog, Izzy!! Lost her front leg to OSA 9/18/15. Diagnosed w MCT in June 2016. Celebrated her 1 year ampuversary with knee surgery on 9/18/16! MCT recurrence in Dec 2016. Happy & hungry til nearly 14, earning her wings on 7/31/17.

Member Since:
1 October 2017
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6 December 2017 - 6:16 pm
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Omg Sally I had no idea you were going through all of this. So Frankie may have had his amputation due to an injury, right? BREATHE...nice deep breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth. I don't normally post on here but I can't read this knowing how upset you are and not be there. You are there for so many people. You got chocolate handy?? I'm sorry, the abbreviations you are all using I am not familiar with. I have seen a bunch of cruciate ligament surgeries done by the surgeon that used to come to the hospital I worked at. The only one I ever saw go wrong was with my Mitchell here in Kentucky. The surgery that I am familiar with consists of them going in and repairing the tear. If I remember this correctly they had to smooth out the bone spurs also. sorry for simple stupid layman's terms, I have lost some of my terminology. Anyhow, it does take some time to heal, and if you know a good surgeon like the woman from helping hands, he might have a great shot. He will probably raise hell and worry the ever loving sanity out of you but he's young, small, yes? And in good shape. Maybe she can think up a way to support that leg through the healing process. Still breathing?? Nice and easy, I'm sending you the most ginormous hug that I canheart under normal circumstances this is a very successful surgery. We weren't that lucky. Mitch has had a slight limp ever since and by now I'm sure he has arthritis. He has never had great hips and he is 70 pounds. I'm so sorry your baby is having troubles. I'm here anytime you need, if I can help I am all in, ok? 

heartheart Jackie

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

Member Since:
1 October 2017
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6 December 2017 - 6:21 pm
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Argh..it took me an hour to get that post through, then it went and procreatedoh-myway-confused

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog


Member Since:
22 August 2008
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6 December 2017 - 7:43 pm
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I think it depends on the surgeon and the individual dog and if you are able to do rehab.  My Pittie Athena is super active (6 yrs and 70 pounds) and recently tore her ACL.  I elected the extracapsular repair.  That was 3 weeks ago and she is bearing almost full weight on it.  I started physical rehab with passive range of motion right away and also used an Assisi Loop for 10 days.  I used Nocita (the long acting local anesthesia) so she did not need a Fentanyl patch and she had almost no post-op pain.  Today was her last day of Rimadyl. She is also on Dasuquin and now gets Adequan injections.

Before determining if a dog needs  a TPLO our surgeon checks the angle of the stifle joint.  If a dog is really huge or has a very straight leg then a TPLO is better.  However my first dog Tazzie was 190 pounds pre-amp and had both her knees repaired by ECR and she did fine even as a tripawd.

If a TPLO goes wrong there can be serious side effects to the dog including broken metal implants, infection in the bone or at the screw site or even OSA at the site of the implant.  If an ECR goes wrong you may just have a loose knee.

Some surgeons have very strong opinions on this matter and many would say that a TPLO is always best.  I do not agree with this for all dogs and money is certainly a concern because a TPLO is twice the cost of a lateral suture (ECR).

If your regular vet who knows your dog feels that a TPLO is better for Frankie then I would take that into account.

Pam.



Member Since:
27 July 2014
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6 December 2017 - 8:30 pm
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Sally, I'm sorry to hear about our dear Frankie with his wacky painful leg. I hope you get the help you need.

In my opinion, you should not pay the $800 vet bill for the xray that you did not agree to. Where I live you don't pay a bill until they discuss what they need to do, then they present the written costs all itemized and you have to agree it before they do the work. They do not take blood, urine, or give a pill without provided costs first.

Sending love and hugs your way, and a virtual cookie for Merry Myrtle of course.

Kerren

Member Since:
1 October 2017
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6 December 2017 - 8:58 pm
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I ditto that Kerren. Never seen anything like that. It's all good right now, take care of your little guy. Deal with the poopicon_pngpoopicon_png heads after.heartheart

Hugs,

Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry

Huckleberry's Blog

Michigan


Member Since:
11 July 2016
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7 December 2017 - 6:46 am
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Sally I'm so sorry Frankie is having this issue, he is a tough dog and you guys will get thru this!

You can always start a go fund me for Franky to help with this bill and the next one just a thought ! I know a lot of people do that and you know a lot of people who use Facebooger;) who can get the word out further !

We are also thinking of you and sending healing, pawsitive thoughts & for a crystal clear path going forward !

Sending you lots of love and hugs and of course 🍫🍫🍫

heartheartheart

Germany
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7 December 2017 - 7:44 am
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Sally,

we're here for you. And we will always be here for you. And for crazy Frankie, too. 

We will figure something out. This is all of our worst nightmare, we understand. We got your back.

Hugs (the biggest possible)

Tina

& Manni

Guardian of Manni the Wonderdog. -Or was it the other way around?
Osteo and amputation in Dec 2015. Second, inoperable, primary osteosarcoma found in June 2017.
The end of our adventures came Dec 10, 2017. 2 years to the day.

Manni's blog -dogblog-

Schofield, WI
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7 December 2017 - 9:17 am
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Ditto Sally we've got your back!  Try not to worry you're not alone!  Can you feel the love coming your way?  Love you my friend!

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