NDR -- Remy is super lame! What to do?

[cherysh]

Welllllll just an update -- the initial lameness went away completely after the week of meds and rest. He was doing great for a couple of months!

But this past weekend it came back, and spread to his front leg on the same side after I tried to wait it out. Went back to the vet and his hind knee is definitely quite swollen, plus she said the front elbow is "a bit crunchy." We're going for a surgical consult & X-rays tomorrow morning

Does anyone have experience with the different types of CCL/ACL repair surgeries? My Google research is showing that there's several types...TPLO, TTA, Tightrope, Suture something?

I want him to have the procedure that's going to give the best outcome...he's very young and active, and big (70 lbs...big for a non-Dane I suppose ) so I think it's crucial to get this right so that his quality of life isn't suffering for the next 10-15 years. :/

[DextersMomma]

It's best to let a board certified surgeon decide on the best method for your pet after performing an exam and seeing X-rays. I would not recommend tightrope or lateral suture in a giant breed.
Good luck!

[saharadane]

I had a successful TTA done on my Dane female. Almost 4 yrs post surgery it is still stable with no limp, full function.

[cherysh]

Thanks guys -- after an exam, the surgeon felt that he didn't have a CCL tear after all, but rather has panosteitis. I wasn't very confident in that diagnosis because Remy hasn't grown at all in ~6 months, and we did have two separate vets at our regular practice confirm the CCL tear through exams. So we did XRays of both his right legs. They weren't very definitive (the surgeon had to send them out to a radiologist to confirm pano, actually) but the consensus now is that it is most likely pano and not anything else. The XRays were clear for elbow dysplasia, thank goodness, and didn't show any swelling in his stifle joint on the rear leg, which might have been an indicator of the CCL tear. It's partially my fault things aren't clearer, because I gave him a dose of Rimadyl before we went to the surgeon yesterday morning, so the swelling and pain was definitely reduced :/ So I guess we're at the wait and see and cross our fingers that we can avoid surgery phase -- much better than where I expected we'd be!