The knee of a dog and a human's knee are very similar. To keep the knee of a dog stable, the cranial cruciate ligament is inside of the joint to the job. The cranial cruciate ligament prevents the femur from sliding forward and backward on the tibia. If the dog tears the cranial cruciate ligament a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy - TPLO will need to be done. The TPLO costs $1,500 to $5000 and most veterinarians want 80% down before the surgery is done.
When your dog has had the surgery, the recovery will take some time. A dog's recovery from TPLO surgery is speedy and complete. A dog with a partial tear will recover faster that a dog with a complete tibial plateau leveling osteotomy repairs.
Your dog will start walking 24 hours after the TPLO surgery. Just five days after the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy surgery your dog should be bearing full weight on the limb that had surgery. If a total surgery has been done, it may be 2 weeks after the surgery before full weight bearing can be expected.
The veterinarian will want an X-ray of the dog's knee will be done in 6 to 8 weeks after the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy surgery. There should be little or no sign of lameness in the dog. All signs of Lameness should be gone 10weeks after TPLO surgery.
2 months after the surgery, walks on the leash should be increased regularly each week. If you walk your dog more times per day after the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy surgery, this is a lot better than increasing the length of the walk.
4 months after the surgery, most of the dog's restrictions of exercise should be finished. Hunting, agility exercising, etc. should begin 6 months after the TPLO surgery. Any unrestricted activity prior to 6 months following the TPLO procedure, can cause spraining of the soft tissues of the patellar ligament, resulting in a sprain and longer recovery.
The veterinarian will require yearly x-rays done after the TPLO surgery of the stifle, soft tissues of the patellar ligament, while examining the stifle to evaluate for arthritis. The dog's chance of getting degenerative joint disease is lessened with the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy surgery. Most dogs return back to full working function after a TPLO procedure.
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