Ruptured Cruciate Ligament
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FIRST, THE BASICS

The knee is a fairly complicated joint. It consists of the femur above, the tibia below, the kneecap (or “patella”) in front, and the bean-like fabellae behind.  Chunks of cartilage called the medial and lateral menisci fit between the femur and tibia like cushions and there are an assortment of ligaments holding everything together allowing the knee to bend the way it should and keep it from bending the way it shouldn’t.
 

There are two cruciate ligaments which cross inside the knee joint: the anterior (or, more correctly in animals, cranial cruciate) and the posterior (or, more correctly in animals, the caudal cruciate). They are named for the side of the knee (front or back) where their lower attachment is found. The anterior cruciate  prevents the tibia from slipping forward out from under the femur.

FINDING THE RUPTURE

The ruptured cruciate ligament is the most common knee injury of the dog. Chances are that any dog with a sudden rear leg lameness has a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.  The history usually involves a rear leg suddenly so sore that the dog can hardly bear weight on it.  If left alone, it will appear to improve over the course of weeks but the knee will be notably swollen and arthritis will set in quickly. Dogs can be presented in either the acute stage (shortly after the injury) or in the chronic stage (weeks or months later).

The key to the diagnosis of the ruptured cruciate ligament is the demonstration of an abnormal knee motion called a “drawer sign.” It is not possible for a normal knee to show this sign.

THE DRAWER SIGN

The veterinarian stabilizes the position of the femur with one hand and manipulates the tibia with the other hand. If the tibia moves forward (like a drawer being opened), the cruciate ligament is ruptured.

Another test that can be used is the “Tibial Compression test” where the veterinarian stabilizes the femur with one hand and flexes the ankle with the other hand. If the ligament is ruptured, again the tibia moves abnormally forward.

If the rupture occurred some time ago, there will be swelling on side of the knee joint that faces the other leg. This is called a “medial buttress” and is a sign that arthritis is well along.

It is not unusual for animals to be tense or frightened at the vet’s office. Tense muscles can temporarily stabilize the knee preventing demonstration of the drawer sign during examination. Often sedation is needed to get a good evaluation of the knee. This is especially true with larger dogs.

Since arthritis can set in relatively quickly after a cruciate ligament rupture, radiographs to assess arthritis are a good idea. Another reason for radiographs is that occasionally when the cruciate ligament tears, a piece of bone where the ligament attaches to the tibia breaks off as well. This will require repair and the surgeon will need to know about it before beginning surgery.

HOW THIS HAPPENS

There are several clinical pictures seen with ruptured cruciates. One is a young athletic dog playing roughly who takes a bad step and injures the knee while playing. This is usually a very sudden lameness in a young large breed dog.

  • A recent study identified the following breeds as being particularly at risk for this phenomenon: Neapolitan mastiff, Newfoundland, Akita, St. Bernard, Rottweiler, Chesapeake Bay retriever, and American Staffordshire terrier.

    Neopolitan Mastiff

    Newfoundland

    Akita

    St. Bernard
     

     

    Rottweiler

    Chesapeak Bay Retriever

    American                                  
    Staffordshire Terrier                             

On the other hand, an older large dog, especially if overweight, can have weakened ligaments and slowly stretch or partially tear them. The partial rupture may be detected or the problem may not become apparent until the ligament breaks completely. In this type of patient, stepping down off the bed or a small jump can be all it takes to break the ligament. The lameness may be acute but have features of more chronic joint disease or the lameness may simply be a more gradual/chronic problem.

  • Larger overweight dogs that rupture one cruciate ligament frequently rupture the other one within a year’s time. An owner should be prepared for another surgery in this time frame.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CRUCIATE RUPTURE IS NOT SURGICALLY REPAIRED

(almost) normal

damaged

Without an intact cruciate ligament, the knee is unstable. Wear between the bones and meniscal cartilage becomes abnormal and the joint begins to develop degenerative changes. Bone spurs called “osteophytes” develop and chronic  pain and loss of joint motion result. This process can be arrested by surgery but cannot be reversed.

  • Osteophytes are evident as soon as 1-3 weeks after the rupture in some patients

This kind of joint disease is substantially more difficult for a large breed dog to bear though all dogs will ultimately show degenerative changes. Typically, after several weeks from the time of the acute injury, the dog may appear to get better but is not likely to become permanently normal.

  • In one study a group of dogs was studied for 6 months after cruciate rupture.  At the end of 6 months, 85% of dogs under 30 lbs of body weight had regained near normal or improved function while only 19% of dogs over 30lbs had regained near normal function. Both groups of dogs required at least 4 months to show maximum improvement.

WHAT HAPPENS IN SURGICAL REPAIR?

There are 3 different surgical repair techniques commonly used:

EXTRACAPSULAR REPAIR:

lateral orthopedic wire suture in a dog’s left stifle

This procedure is currently favored as it can be performed in a relatively shorter surgery time than the other procedures. The knee joint is opened and inspected. The torn or partly torn cruciate ligament is removed. Any bone spurs of significant size are bitten away with an instrument called a “rongeur.”  If the meniscus is torn, the damaged portion is removed. A wire or very large, strong suture is passed around the fabella behind the knee and through a hole drilled in the front of the tibia. This tightens the joint to prevent the drawer motion, effectively taking over the job of
the cruciate ligament.

  • The dog may carry the leg up for a good
    2 weeks after surgery but will increase
    knee use over the next 2 months eventually
    returning to normal.
     
  • The dog will require 8 weeks of exercise restriction after surgery (no running, outside on a leash only including the backyard)
     
  • The wire placed will break 2-12 months after surgery and the dog’s own healed tissue will “hold” the knee.

INTRACAPSULAR REPAIR:

This procedure has fallen out of favor lately as it has been unable to demonstrate superior results to the extracapsular technique described above. Intracapsular repair intuitively seems like it should do better as it uses living tissue (rather than an artificial material) to essentially make a new ligament. This takes more time surgically. As with the extracapsular repair, the knee joint is opened, fragments of the ligament are removed, as is damaged meniscus. After this a strip of connective tissue is dissected locally and passed through the middle of the joint exactly where the cruciate ligament used to be. The “new ligament” is attached at the opposite end to an implant or simply
sewn into place.

  • Bandaging for a couple of weeks after surgery is commonly recommended.
     
  • Again, the dog may not bear weight for a good two weeks after surgery and will likely require 2 months to return to normal function.
     
  • Again, 8 weeks of exercise restriction will be necessary for healing.

TIBIAL PLATEAU LEVELING OSTEOTOMY (TPLO)

This procedure uses a fresh approach to the biomechanics of the knee joint and is meant to address the lack of success seen with the above two techniques long term in larger dogs. With this surgery the tibia is cut and rotated in such a way that the natural weight-bearing of the dog actually stabilizes the knee joint. As before the knee joint still must be opened and damaged meniscus removed. The cruciate remnants may or  may not be removed depending on the degree of damage.

The TPLO rotaes (as indicated by the arrow) the sloped tibial plateau until it is perpendicular to the line between the stifle and the hock joint centers

This surgery is complex and involves special training in this specific technique. Many radiographs are necessary to calculate the angle of the osteotomy (the cut in the tibia). At this time the TPLO is felt to be the best way to repair a cruciate rupture regardless of the size of the dog and is probably the only procedure to be considered for dogs over 50lbs. This surgery typically costs twice as much as the extracapsular method.

  • Most dogs are touching their toes to the ground by 10 days after surgery though it can take up to 3 weeks.
     
  • As with other techniques 8 weeks of exercise restriction are needed.
     
  • Full function is generally achieved 3-4 months after surgery and the dog may return to normal activity.

WHAT IF THE RUPTURE ISN’T DISCOVERED FOR YEARS AND JOINT DISEASE IS ALREADY ADVANCED?

A dog with arthritis pain from an old cruciate rupture may still benefit from a TPLO surgery. It may be worth having a surgery specialist take a look at the knee. Most cases must make do with medical management. Please click here to visit our section on Arthritis Treatment.