TPLO 9 month old

Hi, my just 9 month lab couldn’t weight bare on his hind leg, took him to the vets and first of all she said she thinks he has just over stretched. Just as we’re about to leave she says oh I can see it now, suddenly says she thinks it’s CCL damage and orders X-rays, next few days she says he needs a TPLO. I’ve received the X-rays and could anybody look over them and show me what damage I’m looking at and if a TPLO is recommended as he’s so young and still growing. Thank you 

Hello  For me, the best way to diagnose a cranial cruciate ligament tear is to palpate (feel) the joint in a particular way, which takes some training to learn and can be difficult to do conscious in a large / painful / lively patient. The cruciate ligament prevents a certain movement of the tibia with resepect to the femur in a front-back direction at the knee; if your vet can feel 'slippage' happening in this direction, then the cruciate ligament is lax.  We don't reccommend trying this yourself at home as it can be painful;  it is usually best felt under anaesthetic if the vet is suspicious.  Radiographs are useful for other reasons, however; they provide information about about the conformation of the joint, may help to inform the best way to fix it and can definitely help to rule out secondary problems such as arthritis.  Here is a blog post covering some more about the problem. https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2021/03/08/cruciate-disease-in-dogs-what-are-the-options/ I hope that something there is helpful.

We do not provide second opinions on this site.  We have less information available to us than your vet, having felt the joint and taken a full history, does to them.  This means that the helpfulness of my opinion as a second opinion would be very limited (as well as somewhat unprofessional).  However, cruciate surgery is not a day-one veterinary skill and many vets refer their cruciate surgeries to the person in the practise best qualified to perform them.  If it is not the same vet who performs the surgery as read the radiographs, they ought to review the radiographs and give a proper second opinion for you.

Rachel Kenvyn has also written this helpful post: 'Ruptured cruciate ligaments in dogs, which is the best surgery?'  which explains more about what a cruciate liagment rupture is and how it is assessed and diagnosed. https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2020/11/12/ruptured-cruciate-ligaments-in-dogs-which-is-the-best-surgery/