Cruciate Ligament Rupture in Dogs
The Cranial Cruciate Ligament is one of the main stabilisers in a dog’s knee (stifle) joint. It is one of the most common orthopaedic injuries we see in both pet dogs and working dogs. Most often, it ruptures due to chronic inflammation of the joint, leading to ligament weakness and finally rupture. Occasionally the ligament will rupture due to trauma, but this is less common than degeneration of the ligament.
The inflammation in the joint can cause lameness and swelling of the joint capsule prior to a partial or full rupture of the ligament.
Both stifles may be affected so lameness may be difficult to see and may be shifting from one limb to the other.
Once the ligament has ruptured the stifle joint becomes unstable and causes pain and potential further damage to the internal structures of the stifle. For most dogs’ surgery to change the geometry of the forces through the stifle or to stabilise the stifle is necessary to return comfort and good function.
We offer three types of cruciate disease surgery:
- TPLO - Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy – Changes the forces through the stifle to stop the instability on weight bearing.
- TTA: Tibial Tuberosity Osteotomy – Balances the muscle forces of the quadriceps and calf muscles to equalise them and negate instability.
- Lateral Fabellae Loop: This stabilises the stifle joint by placing a nylon ligature along a similar path to the cruciate ligament such that the stifle is stable on weight bearing.