Anyone's dog had TTA, not TPLO surgery?

[BeachBullyPC]

It looks like PC will be needing surgery.  The vet put him on some drugs and scheduled his surgery for Dec 1st should he need it (surgeon is gone all of Nov).  Here are my concerns.  We went to an orthopedic specialist who touched him for maybe 20 seconds before determining that he "probably" needs surgery.  Really? He can tell that quickly?  He said you can't do a drawer test on Bulldogs because of their size, and I know people that did have that done so I'm confused.  He basically very quickly manipulated his knee to come to a conclusion.  Would you get a second opinion? This guy is familiar with the breed, which is why we were referred to him.

He said that we can do TTA vs. TPLO, which is not as invasive.  From my research, they heal much faster with TTA and since it's not as invasive, it is cheaper.  We were quoted $4100...same thing our friend whose Bulldog had TPLO done at the same facility.  Is this accurate?  I thought TTA was much cheaper. 

I was just there on Friday and will be calling them tomorrow to ask more questions, but if anyone has any experience with this I'd love to hear it, especially regarding recovery time for TTAs.  Thanks! 

[ksdstny]

they absolutely can do the drawer test on bulldogs. i wouldnt recommend the tta, pc is way to active for that type of repair. harlow had her surgery and was basically inactive for 12 weeks. hardest thing we ever had to do. i had to hide all balls, tuggies, etc. i used a sling for 8 whole weeks. until the first post op xrays. we also did rehab, worth every penny. she is now a runner, player, n jumper much to my dismay.

i gave you a name of a great surgeon, she's worth her weight in gold, highly recommended in the vet community. dr. clarisse davidson in pasadena. harlows surgery was 3100.00 which included all meds, post op visits and xrays (this was 1.5 yrs ago), we also had access to dr. d, via her cell 24/7. any dr. "familiar" with the breed who says you cant do a drawer test is full of bunk imo.

good luck, all the best to pc, i think we are heading down this road with steeler unfortunately.

[BeachBullyPC]

Thanks so much for your reply. I was hesitant as well with the TTA, since he's so active. This is a surgeon our breeder suggested.  His regular vet has another rec, which I will call tomorrow. His reg vet won't do surgery on active Bulldogs.

So if I do take him to Pasadena, you think he'll be ok on the ride home?  Do they stay overnight? I'd of course get a hotel there to be near him if that's the case. I will call her as well.  I'm just worried about the post-op visits, since it's o far away from us and he'll be in pain. 

[Fenway]

both times, the docs didn't spend too much time manipulating. they did the drawer test and some other things and made the dx. the thing is, while they can tell from this manipulation whether something is off with the joint, they generally do not know the extent of hte damage until they get in there. i know the first time, it wasn't so much the manipulation, but the visible muscle atrophy that was telling. sure enough, it was torn and he also noticed some collateral issues with his patella while he was in there.

i don't know much about the TTA and i'm not sure if it was on option (i remember being given 3 options, but doc dismissed the other two immediately). while the TPLO recovery sucks, I don't know that it would be the deciding factor for me - i would care more about the success rate of the procedure itself (the mechanics of it, implants used, etc.)

[Fenway]

So if I do take him to Pasadena, you think he'll be ok on the ride home?  Do they stay overnight? I'd of course get a hotel there to be near him if that's the case. I will call her as well.  I'm just worried about the post-op visits, since it's o far away from us and he'll be in pain. 

In my experience, yes they stay overnight. he will still be pretty groggy and on pain meds, so he will likely sleep in the car. for a longer trip it would prob be best to have an suv or something that has fold down seats so he can easily lay down. and you will have to pick him up to get him in/ out.

[BeachBullyPC]

Ugh, this vet doesn't even want to consider TPLO for this breed.  I'll call Pasadena tomorrow and see if I can get him in this week or next.   I'd have to bring MB along too, since it's 4 hours of just driving and my husband travles all the time it seems and won't be here for a few weeks and I can't leave him home for that long. Do you think it would be a problem bringing another dog into the exam room?  I've never done that but if I go there, I don't think I have a choice.

[buddha]

Buddha had the TTA done instead of the TPLO...that was due to his age (7), size (49 lbs) & activity level (super couch potato).  I think PC would do better with the TPLO since he is so active.   Our surgeon did do the drawer test but he kept other manipulations to a minimum.  Buddha had muscle atrophy too so it was pretty obvious something was wrong.

Good luck with everything!  

[Susan & the bullies]

Violet had a TTA at 10 months of age. The recovery was very fast and she's been fine ever since. I think she was toe touching within 48 hours of surgery and we were doing walking therapy shortly thereafter. No stairs, no running, no jumping for about 6 weeks.  It cost $3000 (just outside of NYC) about 3 years ago. We had a very positive experience.

[ksdstny]

maggie, its not gonna be easy. what i can say is this......i was a flippin nervous wreck. my first year with harlow was so stressful. she had almost every problem imaginable. i was crying all the time. i would not settle for anything less then the BEST. that is what she got. if dr. davidson did not meet my needs i was taking her to UC Davis as kybee suggested. dr. davidson is that good. they took the best care of her TWICE. she had two surgeries there, if i needed reassurance, i called her on her cell, no matter how small she was always present and that meant the world.

i do have to say i was completely ANAL, i followed the instructions almost to the letter. period. she was crated, penned, leashed, slung, until they released her. then she had therapy. i am so happy i did that, we were a team her and i, thats why we are so bonded. we did it together, when i felt inadequate she made me feel it was ok, and i wasnt letting her down. i had a complete meltdown the first time i had to sling her to go potty. i was on the phone with trish, she probably thought i lost my mind.

but in the end you have to go with who is going to work with your needs and expectations. i think she went back like 10 days or two weeks oh no, we had to go back in three days to remove the fentynol patch (pain patch) but maybe they could work with your vet and they can remove it. its a controlled substance so they're supposed to take it off. i know others who've done it themselves. then i think its 2 wks for suture removal, then 4 wk, 8 wk, n 12 i believe xrays. the last releases them. from there we went to therapy.

i'll help if i can, i'm about 40 min. from there.

[khybeemaow]

Wonder what made your ortho say a drawer test couldn't be performed. I watched the ortho do one on Fiona and I could definitely see the motion in the joint that looks like a drawer.  Fiona had 2 TTAs; one in both knees about a year apart. I considered TPLO since she was so active but the ortho assured me that unless she was a frisbee dog or participated in activities similar to agility events, a non-TPLO repair would be fine. I think the cost was around $2800 the first time but I had to stay in a 24 hour pet hospital so she could continue to be monitored overnight and administered pain meds if necessary. The second time, we just brought her home and set up a bedroom on the first floor for her. She recovered nicely both times. I will say this though: After her death, Fiona was donated to the vet hospital at UC-Davis and it was noted in the necropsy report that her knees were still bad despite the surgeries so in retrospect and if I had to do it again, I may think a lot harder about the TPL. It make me sad to think her knees still hurt her.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[ksdstny]

 :'(you read the report! sorry maggie i know how hard that was for you. fiona was happy, well taken care of and loved to the limit, all us older gals have knee problems, lol.

[BeachBullyPC]

So I called our regular vet to ask which surgeon he recommends and it's the same one as our breeder!  Now I don't know what to do, both the vet and breeder said they would trust him with their Bulldogs and he is good with active dogs.  I called them back to see why they think TTA is better, and the vet is going to call me back tomorrow when he's in. 

[Susan & the bullies]

Oh no. I hope I didn't add to the confusion. No matter which route you decide you will be helping your baby feel better and enjoy his life to the fullest.   

[khybeemaow]

:'(you read the report! sorry maggie i know how hard that was for you. fiona was happy, well taken care of and loved to the limit, all us older gals have knee problems, lol.

Not to hijack this thread but I didn't read the report yet ( still can't do it  ). Her vet had called to let me know when the necropsy was done and he told me that her knees were still bad because he knew she had two knee surgeries.  And LOL! us older gals do have knee problems (and hip and back and shoulder, and everything else that can move or rotate  )

Porkchop (and Susan): I didn't mean to discourage you from TTA. I've had a couple of GSDs that had it done with great results and one of them even went back to playing frisbee occasionally. I also know other dog parents that have had it done on their pooches with success - Fiona is the only dog I've ever heard of where the results were less than successful.

I hope Porkchop feels better and gets back to running the beach