# Canine CCLR treatment options



## sukuna (Nov 22, 2021)

i've read in an article tplo there are 2 treatment options that you can go when it comes to CCLR. the medical management which is considered to be more conservative than surgical but it can also be very expensive and extensive. but as a fur parent we do not want our dogs to undergo any surgery. so what treatment do you guys prefer?


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

sukuna said:


> i've read in an article tplo there are 2 treatment options that you can go when it comes to CCLR. the medical management which is considered to be more conservative than surgical but it can also be very expensive and extensive. but as a fur parent we do not want our dogs to undergo any surgery. so what treatment do you guys prefer?


What is CCLR? Is it CCL repair?


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## Mikki (May 6, 2018)

sukuna said:


> i've read in an article tplo there are 2 treatment options that you can go when it comes to CCLR. the medical management which is considered to be more conservative than surgical but it can also be very expensive and extensive. but as a fur parent we do not want our dogs to undergo any surgery. so what treatment do you guys prefer?


People on this Forum or on any other website type forum cannot answer your question. This has to be up to you and an experienced Veterinarian. It's always helpful to get two opinions when you're not sure what to do. 

I will tell you our son tore his ACL during his first football game in the 9th grade. My husband is an orthopedic surgeon who is now retired. The ACL tear was initially very painful. He could have, had surgery but my husband opted to not have it repaired. Our son is now 50 years old and is still living with his ACL tear. He has always been very active - continued to play football and other sports throughout high school, skiing, rock climbing, etc, etc. Occasionally, he has some pain in that knee which Ibuprofen takes care of it. 

Other people might have had surgery. There are options and it's up to you and your Vet. Make sure you are working with an experienced and good Vet.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

If you're talking about a CCL repair it will depend on a lot of factors. I can only tell you what we did when Perry tore his. In our case, because it was a partial tear, the vet recommended crate rest. It seemed fine for a while, but then it tore again a few months later. After the second one, the vet still recommended crate rest - but said that she would recommend that we do surgery if it tore a 3rd time... which it did, and we had surgery to repair it.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

Melissa Brill said:


> What is CCLR? Is it CCL repair?


Correct.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Mikki said:


> People on this Forum or on any other website type forum cannot answer your question. This has to be up to you and an experienced Veterinarian. It's always helpful to get two opinions when you're not sure what to do.
> 
> I will tell you our son tore his ACL during his first football game in the 9th grade. My husband is an orthopedic surgeon who is now retired. The ACL tear was initially very painful. He could have, had surgery but my husband opted to not have it repaired. Our son is now 50 years old and is still living with his ACL tear. He has always been very active - continued to play football and other sports throughout high school, skiing, rock climbing, etc, etc. Occasionally, he has some pain in that knee which Ibuprofen takes care of it.
> 
> Other people might have had surgery. There are options and it's up to you and your Vet. Make sure you are working with an experienced and good Vet.


I think a lot of it has to do with how severe the tear is. If it is minor, rest and rehab can be very successful. If it is a complete rupture, no amount of rest is going to put that back together again...


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Scout's case was a complete rupture of the CCL. The meniscus was also torn from the joint instability and rubbing. The only option was surgery. Then after the eight week recovery I noticed him hold the left leg up. That morning I took him in to be examined and he had surgery in the afternoon. This time it was a partial tear and the meniscus ok. It was a long recovery between the two surgeries, but he made a complete recovery. I would get a few opinions from orthopedic specialists in your area.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Mikki said:


> People on this Forum or on any other website type forum cannot answer your question. This has to be up to you and an experienced Veterinarian. It's always helpful to get two opinions when you're not sure what to do.
> 
> I will tell you our son tore his ACL during his first football game in the 9th grade. My husband is an orthopedic surgeon who is now retired. The ACL tear was initially very painful. He could have, had surgery but my husband opted to not have it repaired. Our son is now 50 years old and is still living with his ACL tear. He has always been very active - continued to play football and other sports throughout high school, skiing, rock climbing, etc, etc. Occasionally, he has some pain in that knee which Ibuprofen takes care of it.
> 
> Other people might have had surgery. There are options and it's up to you and your Vet. Make sure you are working with an experienced and good Vet.


DD injured her foot dancing about a month ago. We were sent by her doctor to the orthopedist for X-rays to confirm she did NOT have a fracture, to find out, only through a detailed consultation, that she did have a fracture. The consultation was the best we ever had in the last year of appointments for an injury on her other foot. I really value the specialist’s opinion in these cases, and this just reiterated that to me.

If you have access to a veterinary specialist in your area, I really believe that is where to go if you are undecided about treatment options. Specialists seem to be better at weighing multiple treatment options rather than recommending the standard treatment, and at determining the best course of action for a particular case, because they have more varied experience. You may need to ask your vet for a referral. In my area some of the veterinary specialists are contracted with many clinics.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> DD injured her foot dancing about a month ago. We were sent by her doctor to the orthopedist for X-rays to confirm she did NOT have a fracture, to find out, only through a detailed consultation, that she did have a fracture. The consultation was the best we ever had in the last year of appointments for an injury on her other foot. I really value the specialist’s opinion in these cases, and this just reiterated that to me.
> 
> If you have access to a veterinary specialist in your area, I really believe that is where to go if you are undecided about treatment options. Specialists seem to be better at weighing multiple treatment options rather than recommending the standard treatment, and at determining the best course of action for a particular case, because they have more varied experience. You may need to ask your vet for a referral. In my area some of the veterinary specialists are contracted with many clinics.


It's always best to get a second opinion if possible. Ten days ago I had foot surgery for an old injury I had been putting off. The first doctor gave me the one option of placing a pin and losing flexion of my toe. The second doctor gave me three options and the outcome of each..the pin, a new flexible joint that may need replacing in the future or removing bone spurs, smoothing the bone and cleaning the joint out. I chose the later and have had minimal discomfort. I get the sutures out in a few days.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> ... If you have access to a veterinary specialist in your area, I really believe that is where to go if you are undecided about treatment options. Specialists seem to be better at weighing multiple treatment options rather than recommending the standard treatment, and at determining the best course of action for a particular case, because they have more varied experience. You may need to ask your vet for a referral. In my area some of the veterinary specialists are contracted with many clinics.


Definitely - when I was talking about Perry's vet I meant his ortho vet, even though they're 1 1/2 hour drive from us, it's worth it for the specialist(s). I wouldn't have had his regular vet even contemplate surgery (though neither would she - she's the one who recommended the specialist  )


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## BMasterPLover (10 mo ago)

What did you end up doing with your pet’s surgery? My 8 yo Havanese just blew his CCL and debating on surgery or no


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