Torn cruciate, knee dislocation?

Hello and thanks for having this resource available.  I appreciate your time. Can anyone take a look at the attached diagnostics and give input on whether you concur with the diagnosis that Dobby has a torn cruciate?  And any other advice? Thank you much

Here is the report 

Hello - I'm afraid that I may disappoint you.  This site is run by veterinary professional staff and one of the first courtesies of seeing second opinions as a professional, is to be honest, open and fair.  I can see a radiograph here, but I know nothing of the patient, of the incident that apparently led to some sort of injury, of how the joint feels under the fingers, of how the pet is presenting, or how they are systemically.  You are asking me to give a medical opinion second to a vet who should by now have seen all of those things;  the truth is that they have the best information and that my opinion is worth little beside it.  It is rather like seeing a book review written by someone who has read the book, and then asking someone else who reads books (in general), what they think, and judging the first writer on that opinion.  In general, I would diagnose a cruciate tear first and foremost by palpating (feeling) the stifle joint in a relaxed (anaesthetised) state, and taking radiographs (x-rays) if need be, in order to rule out fractures, arthritis, unexpected mineralisations and to highlight osteoarthritis inflammation, and sometimes to look at the triangle of tissue around the joint.  Confident vets will rarely be fazed if you do want a fair second opinion, but the way to achieve this would be to ask them to refer your dog and / or the radiographs to a specialist with better knowledge and more authority than they have themselves on the subject.   If I were to disagree with your vet, they would still be more likely to be correct;  if a specialist with all the information specific to your dog were to disagree with your vet, then this would be significant.

However, we can help a little bit with some of the background around cranial cruciate disease.  Here is Sarah Fiddy, writing in in our blog, about torn cruciate ligaments.  I hope that this proves helpful to you - please do come back to us if there is anything else we can help with.