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Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in the Dog
Presented by Jack D. Henry, Jr., DVM, MS, Diplomate, ACVS (Board Certified by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons)
Staff Surgeon, California Animal Referral and Emergency Hosptial (C.A.R.E. Hospital)
All of our knee joints have several ligaments associated with them which serve to maintain their stability. The muscles crossing and surrounding the knee joint support the joint secondarily. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the major stabilizer of this joint. Partial or complete rupture of it is the most common injury to the hind limb of dogs. Size of the dog, age and gender doesn't matter. This injury is seen in dogs from ~5 pounds to 250 pounds of body weight. It is uncommon for the injury to occur in dogs much younger than 15 months of age. In dogs younger than 12 months of age, the ACL more often breaks away from its attachment to the femur or tibia than for it to tear along its length.
A dog with a torn ACL will exhibit varying degrees of lameness on the affected limb. If the injury is present for a few weeks and the dog is particularly active, bony arthritic changes will occur.
Injury of the ACL results in loss of stability of the knee. When any force is generated through the joint, as from weight bearing, loss of the integrity of the ACL allows the tibia to slide forward in relation to the femur and causes pain.
There are three surgical procedures, each of which change the dynamics of the tibia, and accomplish joint stability, neutralization of forces through the joint, and very satisfactory return of function for the limb.
Two of these procedures accomplish these results by making the angle of the tibial weight bearing surface more level. The third procedure changes the relation of the tibial weight bearing surface to the patellar ligament.
The best way to avoid having this injury from happening to your dog, although not always practical, is to keep it in good physical condition before allowing extraordinary activity. Controlled walking and swimming are two activities that will go a long way to accomplish the desired conditioning.
Dr. Jack Henry is the newest member of the C.A.R.E Hospital team. He received his veterinary degree from Kansas State University and was certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) in 1975. He has owned and operated two surgical specialty practices, Veterinary Surgical Referral Service, in Phoenix, Arizona, an 18 year venture, and most recently VetSurg in Woodland Hills, California, from 1994 – 2008. Prior to his move west, he was a surgical instructor on the facilities of Kansas State University, the University of Illinois, and was also employed as Director of Clinical Services at a large, 24-hour general care and emergency facility in Detroit Michigan.
 With Dr. Henry’s expertise, surgical services available at CARE include orthopedic, neurologic, oncologic, and general soft tissue surgery. CARE welcomes Dr. Henry’s skill and experience and looks forward to providing state-of- the-art surgical care for your patients. As always, our specialty services are by referral and we will continue to work closely with the patients’ primary veterinarian to provide optimal treatment.
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Kirby Wendel
Big Dog Parade
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