Molly’s TPLO Surgery

Molly is a very active 72 pound Golden Retriever.  She loves to chase the ball, walks up to 5 miles a day and plays in the creek behind her families' home daily when she can.  Molly had her first ACL repair winter of 2003 that was a Lateral Fabellar Suture (Extra-capsular) repair.  Although Molly recovered well from her first knee surgery she did develop some arthritis in her knee over the next year that left her a bit stiff when she gets up. 

When Molly ruptured the ACL on her opposite leg in 2004 at age 9, her family chose to have the TPLO done to get a faster recovery and hopefully a near perfect long-term outcome.  Molly did well with her surgery, and went home the next day walking 70% on her leg and by her 4 weeks recheck was walking normally on her leg.  She was restricted to leash walking and slow physical therapy until 9 weeks post-op when the bone had fully healed.  Today (at age 13) she enjoys all the activities she did before her injury and arthritis has not developed in her TPLO knee.

Molly's family felt that the TPLO was definitely worth the extra expense and post-op care. She is a very active dog and they felt the TPLO has given her the ability to continue her 5 mile walks and romps in the creek with  stiffness only on the Extra-cap side.  Molly was a great case study for us to be able to compare the long-term results of TPLO vs. Extra-cap in the same dog with the same injury.  The TPLO side is definitely more comfortable for her. 

 Molly’s Knee pre-op with a 20 degree angle .    Molly’s knee post-op with a perfect 5 degree angle.