Nixie is our Great Dane. We adopted her from the Cheyenne Animal Shelter in December 2001. She was about three months old, and had been at the shelter for four weeks. She was too large to kennel in with the puppies, so she was in a kennel with two adult dogs. She was very underweight when we adopted her. She also didn't know how to run. She fell in love with Levi, but it took longer for the Queen Dog, Jasmine, to warm up to her.
Nixie, the day we adopted her and brought
her home. She was about three months old.
December 28, 2001
Nixie tore her CCL in her right knee sometime during the Spring of 2003. She would be intermittently lame, mostly after laying down a long time. She would stretch it and walk it off and be fine within a few minutes. We took her to our local vet for her nail trim in early March, and mentioned to him about the limp. He tested for drawer sign, found none, and told us to watch her. We let her play normally, which is full out running and body slamming with our brindled German Shepherd mix Levi. She seemed fine, except for the intermittent lameness after resting. I did notice, however, that she was beginning to walk with her feet turned out and her knees turned in for some reason.
In early May, Nixie broke a nail beyond the quick, so we took her to our regular vet for a nail trim again. We mentioned to him that she still limps on occasion. While she was down on the floor for her nail trim, he tested for drawer sign, and found some. Gulp. He then took out a model of a dog knee, explained what he thinks is going on, and told us our options. He only does "traditional" repairs, in which small holes are drilled in the femur and tibia, and monofilament line is sewn through to stabilize the joint. He mentioned that he was not comfortable doing that on a dog as large as Nixie, and proceded to tell us about the TPLO. The TPLO (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy) is where they do a circular cut on the tibial head, readjust the angle of the bone, and then screw a plate in to hold the knee all together until the bone heals. It has to do with fixing the biomechanics of the knee so it is more stable. He referred us to the VCA Veterinary Specialists of Northern Colorado, in Loveland.
I set up the appointment for the following week. In the meantime, we tried to keep Nixie from playing with Levi. The orthovet we saw is Slocum-certified, which makes me feel better about going there. Nixie is not as active as she was a few months ago, and I think we took that to mean that she is finally maturing and mellowing out. However, Levi still acts like a puppy most of the time, so maybe Nixie is in more pain than we realize. She loves to lay on the couch, but when she gets up, she won't put weight on that leg, and she won't stretch it.
We spent a good part of the day in Loveland, CO, Thursday, May 15th. Nixie does have a torn CCL in her right knee, and there are other problems with that joint that the orthovet will try to fix during surgery. Her patella goes off to the outside, and everything seems to be misaligned. There are also some bone abnormalities in that joint--the fibular head is too thick, there are weird bone spurs in and around the joint, and maybe a floating bone chip. Perhaps that is the onset of osteoarthritis in that joint. He said that since she is such a big dog, that he will have to use two plates.
Scott took this picture of her, looking very regal.
He had just caught her digging to China (see, dirt
all over her nose). Spring 2002.
The good news is that her left knee looks normal, and her hips, too, which he was concerned about. Her feet turn out when she walks--that is something new in the last couple of months. He says that there is a 50% chance that her left cruciate ligament will tear sometime in her lifetime, and will need a TPLO to fix.
During her exam, we took her outside to so the orthovet can see her gait while walking, and up and down stairs. He then proceded to exam her hips and knee joints, which she didn't mind too much (it was sunny and warm at the time). She then got fed up and bounded straight up a 4 foot retaining wall. He was amazed. He said that she looked like a cat. I've seen her do it before, vaulting over the back of the couch. She uses her front legs to pull herself up, and didn't seem too much the worse for it. Egads! I don't know how we are going to keep her under control after surgery. I know, we'll find a way.
Nixie was dopey from her x-rays all afternoon. They sedated her so she wouldn't wiggle when they took them. She slept all the way home. The procedure will cost between $2600 and $3200, depending on what they find once they get in there. We will drop her off the morning of the 30th for her surgery, and then pick her up the next day. Then the fun begins--sixteen weeks of recovery--no running, no stairs, no playing, no jumping on furniture, and certainly no vaulting 4 foot walls. She should be back to a normal level of activity after 6 months. Happy happy joy joy.
Great sites for people wanting more information on the TPLO procedure:
- Kodi's TPLO covers Kodi's two TPLO procedures http://www.lauriebryce.com/tplo/
- Ginnie and Jabber's TPLO experience about an old Dane who had the procedure done http://www.ginnie.com/DaDane231.shtml
- OrthoDogs Yahoo! Groups for any canine orthopedic issues http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodogs/
- Slocum Enterprises, the originators of this patented procedure.http://www.slocumenterprises.com/
Patent number : 4565191
