Dog Cruciate Ligament Operations

[BecsJones]

Hi all, a wise friend of mine suggested I ask for some advice on here. I have a 13 year old West Highland Terrier, he is the love of my life and has torn his cruciate ligament.

He desperately needs an operation to repair this so that he can walk and move properly again.

I live in Oxfordshire at the moment and the cheapest I can find is
£3,600 and Arthur is no longer insured as they stop paying out for older dogs.

I'm in an unexpected position of having to find a new job and place to live, so I just don't have this money, at the moment I am not claiming benefits, so I would not qualify for help with his treatment.

Does anyone know of any cheaper options for this operation or vets that may consider payment plans or been through this themselves?

I would be happy to travel to a different area for this treatment.

Really, really appreciate any advice you can provide.

Sorry cant help but you have my sympathy. Our dog did her cruciate in last Autumn. Its not just the cost of the operation but the Physio and follow up xrays and care as well. We spent nearly £7k in total and the op was only £4250 of that. She was treated at Hamilton Specialist referrals in High Wycombe.

My understanding is that because our dog is young and the injury was the result of a catastrophic collision with a much larger dog at high speed, it is unlikely she will suffer the same injury on the other hind leg. At the age of 13 your dog is 10 years older and if it is the result of wear and tear then the op will put pressure on the other legs and they may have the same problem in the future.

You may have better info if you get this transferred to the Doghouse section onMN.

Mum's Westie had this and it cost £1500, my lab has had it done 3 times at a cost of £2500 each time. We went to Leahurst Small Animal Teaching Op in Neston on the Wirral if it helps

Thanks so much for your advice, new to this. I've just tried to post on Doghouse and it keeps asking me to login, even when I am, I'll get the hang of it!

Thanks @FuckyouCovid21 I will make some inquiries up north, it might even be better for me to travel and stay there cost wise!

My elderly lab did her cruciate ligament when she was 9. Our vet advised ;after X-ray) to rest her and let it heal naturally. He said that it would cost a lot, she already had arthritis in both legs, and it was likely that the other one would go too. He said to treat her like we might an elderly lane horse and retire her. So we did. We just let her potter in our garden (initially on a lead) for a few months, then in our fields. She built up in how much she moved around. Most days she happily pottered about, but other days she charged about with the younger dogs. Over six months she built up and was able to do short walks (1/2 - 1 mile). She did a couple of longer walks, but we tended to keep them short. If I remember rightly she stayed on metacam and Youmove supplements until she died two years later. She always had a slight wobble to her hock action (the knee type bit of the back leg) but was perfectly happy using the leg.

My lab did this 18 months ago and I was just about to get her operated on but having spoken to the breeder I changed my mind and went for resting her, lots of glucosamine and chondroitin, and gradually building her up again. She is as good as new now, although when she goes on a mad gallop I still worry she is going to do herself an injury. My breeders vet said he never does this operation on small dogs as due to their weight they can get about fine without it. If I were you I’d try joint supplements first and rest your dog for a month, then start gentle pottering walks and move on from there. If there is no sign of improvement you can think about an op but bear in mind that older dogs are at higher risk.

Thanks @honeyroar it's so difficult as two vets have now said they think he needs the TPLO or CCWO op to have any chance of functioning again, I just can't bear seeing him fall over when he tries to go the the loo :-(

Thanks @weemadarthur I have him on YuMove, but will look at the others, he has completely detached his, I just worry he will never be able to move as well again, he's a very young and healthy 13 year old other than having done this.... advice really appreciated.

We too had an elderly lab that this happened to. We went for the conservative approach of crate rest (it wasn't fun carrying a 35kg lab out to the garden for a wee and back) for 6 to 8 weeks and then lead walks around the garden. She slowly but surely recovered, and walked well even if with a slight limp. Her other cruciate then went around 18 months later which is very common apparently, so we took the same approach. She lived for another 3 years after, on high dose Yumove and cartrophen injections.

I wasn't prepared to put her through major surgery at her age.

My understanding was a tear may heal with a more conservative approach but a complete rupture does require surgery. Do you have no insurance at all? Unfortunately once one has gone the other might go too.

We are awaiting surgery, we are insured thankfully because there's actually 3 procedures he's having plus all the rehab, hydrotherapy is £30 a session 3 x a week!