The fans were shocked, silenced by the sudden
end of so much promise, followed by that
horrible feeling of what might have been.
Am I describing the play that took out
Cleveland quarterback, Brian Hoyer, and all the hope he represented for long
suffering Browns fans? Oh, my goodness, no! This was far worse than that. The
player injured didn’t even play football. She played “ballie”, and although she
had the same injury as Brian Hoyer, a torn ACL, she wasn’t a human. She was a
dog. And not just any dog. The player hurt was our beloved Welsh Corgi, Betsy
Louise. Moreover, in that instant her parents went from being veterinarians to
owners of a broken pet, with all the concern and anxiety their clients might
experience when faced with a similar situation.
What should we do? Surgery or medical
management? We don’t do knee surgery in our practice, but we have treated
several dogs, big and little, successfully with anti-inflammatory drugs,
glucosamine-chondroitin sulfate medications, exercise restriction, and time.
Betsy, however, was a special case. She was only two years old, and without
question, the most athletic dog we’ve ever had.
Although our two Border Collies literally run
circles around her when it comes to herding sheep and ducks, and Betsy does
try, fetching the Kong ball is her specialty, and obsession. With her short
legs and lightning reflexes, she makes the Border Collies look like the team
that always plays, and loses to, the Harlem Globetrotters.
The knee or stifle joint, which connects the
long femur bone to the shorter tibia and fibula bones of the lower leg, is one
of the most complex joints in the body, subject to stress with each step taken;
the stress exacerbated when running, jumping, and twisting is thrown into the
mix. This is probably what got Betsy into trouble.
The joint is held together by two pairs of
ligaments, which are fibrous bands of tissue, that link bone to bone. The
medial and lateral collateral ligaments are located on the inside and outside
surface of the joint. The anterior or cranial cruciate ligament and the
posterior or caudal cruciate ligament hold the joint together from within.
If the anterior cruciate ligament is torn, as
in Betsy’s case, the tibia is allowed to move forward unconstrained, which
destabilizes the joint and can lead to further damage to the other ligaments as
well as arthritis.
Betsy’s mother, Bonnie, consulted with two
surgeons. One preferred a procedure known as Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy
[TPLO]. In this surgery part of the tibia is cut and rotated. It is more
invasive, more complicated and thus more expensive. For larger dogs, though, it
may be necessary. The other surgeon routinely performs the Lateral Imbrication
technique, which involves tightening the lateral joint tissues with sutures.
For smaller dogs like Betsy, this usually works fine, and is the route we
decided to take.
As surgery day drew near, however, we were
filled with additional nervous-owner questions. Were we doing the right thing?
Would the operation be a success? And, of course, the whole idea of putting
Betsy’s life in someone else’s hands, even when we knew he was perfectly
capable, was another small mountain to climb.
The patient was to be dropped off at
the animal hospital around noon. Bonnie made a list of Betsy’s likes and
dislikes. Included was that Betsy liked to have someone’s fingers placed inside
her ears, I guess for an internal massage. She also liked to have her chest
rubbed, but not her belly. I did not know that. And please, if they could trim
her nails real short while she was sleeping, as Betsy has never been keen about
nail-trims. I knew Betsy
liked to play by her own rules, but I didn’t realize there was an actual list.
I appreciated the doctor and his technicians for the kindness and patience
shown to me, the list, and Princess Betsy Louise.
Her surgery and recovery went well, and
although she was pretty gimpy for the first few days, the sparkle soon returned
to her eyes. With each passing day she becomes more like the Betsy Louise of
old. Hopefully, in about three months, if her rehabilitation continues to go
well, she can begin to think about getting back in the game.
Author: Dr. John Jones
