This is Lola, a 4 year old French Bulldog. She is very sweet and similar to other dogs of the same breed. She loves to skateboard.
Name:Lola Sex: Female Age: 4 years old Pathology: Torn anterior cruciate ligament in the knee
A few months ago her left hind leg started to limp. After running a few tests the vet gave her a diagnosis: torn anterior cruciate ligament in the knee. This injury causes the tibia to move forward each time the limb is stretched. Besides pain, this leads to osteoarthritis problems that worsen over time.
In order to try and avoid all of these problems, in February of 2014 they decided to operate. In addition, she was prescribed a long-term treatment with chondroprotectors.
There are two types of surgeries for a torn cruciate: in small dogs the ligament is usually substituted with special synthetic sutures. In bigger dogs, a technique called TPLO is often used, which is based on restructuring the tibia, enabling it to return to the correct angle and as a result joint movement goes back to normal.
November 2014: Lola’s surgery had great results. It seems like she isn’t in too much pain and has stopped limping… but now something has happened to Lola that happens to many dogs (and people): with the arrival of the cold, her knee has suffered. She has started to limp again, especially after returning from a walk when the joint cools down.
What should be done in these cases? Lola has been given anti-inflammatory treatment to try and control this occasional pain and enable her to support her limb normally. Furthermore, she has visited us at Ortocanisto try aknee brace… and she feels great! With the brace, the cold will no longer be such a big problem and her knee will be more stable. Her adaptation was almost immediate and she did not need a custom brace, the XXS size fits her perfectly.
Sometimes when there are serious injuries in trauma, surgery is the best treatment option. Nevertheless, we should never stop there, especially when dealing with joint problems. We cannot forget the importance of medication (chondroprotectors and analgesia), physiotherapy (which will allow us to recover joint functionality) and orthotics (which will protect and reduce pain).
Badalona, November 7, 2014
A few months ago her left hind leg started to limp. After running a few tests the vet gave her a diagnosis: torn anterior cruciate ligament in the knee. This injury causes the tibia to move forward each time the limb is stretched. Besides pain, this leads to osteoarthritis problems that worsen over time.
