ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Running and playing sports can be hard on your knees. It can exact a toll. Each year, anywhere from 175,000 to 250,000 people tear their ACL and have surgery.
And think about it. Our pets are pretty athletic too. They run and jump. So, what about their knees?
Well, some checking revealed they don’t have an ACL, but they do have something similar -- a CrCL.
The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association estimated that 1 million surgeries are done each year on pups to repair problems with their CrCL (knees).
My wife Christy and I have a 6-year-old Shizu named Chloe who started limping.
The limping became chronic, and then her knee repeatedly popped out, and things got worse.
So, our regular vet suggested we take Chloe to a specialist.
Veterinary orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jay Erne took some X-rays and discovered Chloe did indeed have a problem that required attention. In fact, he suggested Chloe might be a candidate for surgery to correct the issue and offer her pain relief and a better quality of life.
What did the X-rays show?
“It looks like it’s a very narrow groove (in her knee) she has,” Erne explained. “It looks like that’s what predisposed her to this. There’s not a whole lot of room for the kneecap to sit.”
The problem could worsen over time, potentially going from a nuisance to a more painful or even debilitating obstacle.
Even though Christy and I were worried about our four-legged little girl, she was about to become one of the more than 600,000 dogs in the United States that have knee surgery every year.
Erne and the staff at the Veterinary Orthopaedic and Mobility Center in St. Augustine prepped Chloe for the procedure.
After placing her under anesthesia, she was ready to go.
“We’re going to cut this bone and we’re going to shift it a little bit,” Erne explained as he began the surgery. “That’s going to align this kneecap with the groove a little bit better. Then we’ll put a couple of small pins in there to hold it in its new position, then we’ll tighten up some of the tissue around the kneecap as well.”
“(We) can’t widen it too much because we want to make sure we have enough cartilage for the kneecap to ride on,” Erne explained as the surgery continued.
Apparently, there is a genetic component to this problem among Shizus, and it can cause dislocations.
“It could also be due to bone growth. As their bones are developing, it can create a bit of an alignment problem,” Erne said.
Chloe is a rescue. Christy and I adopted her from the Jacksonville Humane Society.
We learned she came from a puppy mill, and dogs are overbred in those mills. That may have led to the genetic problem as well because she’s had other issues consistent with overbreeding.
As Erne started to wrap up the surgery, he continued to explain the procedure.
“I am inserting two little pins,” Erne said. “And we’re setting those pins down a little bit so they’re flush with the bone. OK, badda bing badda boom!”
Almost finished.
“So, we’re just going to do a little suturing here. It’s the last part. Just going to do a little suturing around the knee cap, just to give it a little extra support,” Erne said.
Erne tested the kneecap to make sure it, in his words, is “nice and stable.”
Satisfied he gave the big OK!
“Chloe did really well,” Erne told us.
We were able to take her home about five or six hours after surgery.
In the meantime, Erne explained that for the next few days, Chloe would be somewhat groggy and her movement should be restricted.
“In about two weeks, her stitches will be removed, and in six weeks, she should be fully recovered,” he said.
Just like clockwork, Chloe is back to her old self. No worse for wear. Running, jumping, terrorizing (I mean loving) her older sister Carly and loving life. The knee? Good as new.