2nd cruciate....advice?

[Craphouserat]

Morning all,

Our 9 yr old rescue dog Archie ruptured his back left cruciate last Feb. He got operated on in the April and it was a long but ultimately successful road to recovery. It's been great in recent months watching him run around with his hairy friends when out on walks.

Yesterday he was at the beach with the dogsitter and all her mutts - he came back limping heavily - this time his back right leg. We thought he'd maybe just overdone it chasing his friends around and decided to give him a quiet day today - no walks just out in the garden. Anyway - he wasn't any better so I called the vet and got a cancellation so went straight there (I'm currently off work long term sick so home ). Just brought him home - the vet thinks he's ruptured his back right cruciate this time.

He's booked in for an x-ray next Tuesday morning. The vet was someone I've never had before and his bedside manner wasn't great - when he came out to tell me and discuss it there were dog's barking all around me and I wasn't really hearing him well and he just wanted the next dog in. I know he said check my insurance policy ( It's a petplan for life policy) which i think will cover it?

My questions for you guys is - although he has recovered from the first left leg operation he holds it up when going down stairs like he's protecting it. Is it worth putting him through another operation to fix the rear right? I'm worried we'll put him through all this again and his quality of life won't be great. Would you/have you had a dog with both rear legs done in this way?

If the insurance policy won't pay then it will only end one way because he's not a young dog and the money is daft which we can't really afford at the minute.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.....I know I'm over reacting but I'm gutted by this and really upset by it. We don't have kids - just Archie.

Cheers.

[Red9zero]

If the insurance covered the first leg, I doubt they'd cover the second. Our 10 year old Westie is still recovering from cruciate surgery at the moment. He had a metal plate put in and with regular physiotherapy and massage treatment, he is just about back to normal. There is a 50% chance of the other leg going at sometime, as you have discovered, which is putting us off letting him go back to daycare.
We have seen various different alternatives to surgery, from laser therapy to massage, but as our dog properly ruptured his we had to go for surgery. As you say, cost is a factor. We spent over £4k ourselves (insurance covered £1k) which some people say is mad on a 10 year old dog, but we have no kids and had the money. I am dreading the other leg going as you don't want them to suffer, but surgery is a risk, let alone the expense.
Good luck and try speaking to another vet to see if they have any suggestions for alternative treatments locally.

[riosyd]

Unfortunately it is quite common for the other leg to rupture, happened to my retriever when he was 2 and then again at 3 years old. He had some hydrotherapy sessions after the second operation, he recovered well and will be 14 next month.
(His staffie pal has had one leg operated on at the age of 12 and is still going strong).

[Craphouserat]

Thanks guys - checked the policy and cannot see anything that says it shouldn't be covered - unless i'm missing something obvious.

[paintman]

Petplan covered for life usually has a maximum amount per year - not per condition unlike some - which resets each year. (Our cats are on this)

It's not a repeat of the same injury to the same leg anyway.

You need to call & discuss the matter with them.

Edited by paintman on Wednesday 12th May 19:37

[Red9zero]

We're with Animal Friends and they definitely said they won't cover the other leg if it went. Vet thought it was fairly standard too. Definately worth checking though.

[Unknown_User]

My 10 year old dog popped his cruciate last November and is now doing well. I had a referral to Anderson Moores (near Winchester) and they were very good.

We discussed at length whether his other cruciate would go and they stressed Petplan (my insurer) should cover the other cruciate. They advised getting them (or another vet) to liaise with Petplan as they could possibly try to wriggle out of covering the other cruciate.

Best of luck with Archie.

[Craphouserat]

Thanks for the replies guys. I will call and discuss with Petplan tomorrow but theres nothing in the exclusions part of it that seems to rule it out. I got the most expensive policy I could get.....here's hoping it's OK.

Anyway - he's in tomorrow forr his X-Ray to confirm the extent of the damage and we'll take it from there.

Thanks all.

[Red9zero]

Good luck. Hope all goes well.

[beambeam1]

Any update?

FWIW, my bullmastiff x had one leg go then the other a few months later when she was a year old. She's never skipped a beat since, well worth doing but then losing a significant amount of weight and being you probably helped a lot. I found the key thing was the rehab and keeping her on a lead for ages afterwards.

[jmsgld]

It is very common for a the other cruciate to rupture 6m-1y after the 1st. Petplan covered for life will not generate exclusions as long as you keep the same policy. You will be limited as to how much you can claim in a policy year though.

The treatment options depend on the size of the dog etc. Was the 1st surgery done by an orthopaedic specialist or a 1st opinion vet?

I'm a vet and would personally always go with an orthopaedic specialist if funds were not an issue.