Torn ACL surgery??

[PinkMartini]

Anyone's dog have to have surgery to repair a torn ACL?

Our french mastiff had surgery today to repair his right rear leg - apparently he tore his ACL jumping over our back fence last month. (He weighs 140lbs and is a major couch potatoe - I still have no idea how he got over it) The vet is a specialist up here and has done tons of these, so I'm pretty confident that he did a good job.

Dozer's home now and resting but other than "Don't let him outside but to go potty" they didn't really give us any additional post op instructions. (He does have another appt next Tues that we'll get additional info at) Obviously he needs to rest to heal, but for how long? (I didn't go to the vets to pick him up - DH did) If you had a dog that had surgery to fix it, was the dog 'normal' after surgery? How long before they could run/play again? Did they heal ok?

I feel so bad for him, he enjoys spending time outside with our other 2 dogs and we're not going to be able to let him for awhile... Anything special we should do?

And here's a picture of the poor guy :(

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/Pure14k/Dozersurgery11.jpg

[jesvet]

You need to call the vet and follow up with them. Every surgeon is different with their instructions but most involve fairly strict activity restriction for several weeks. I'm surprised you don't have any written discharges, honestly.

[Boomer]

I'm not a very frequent poster here but saw your posted and wanted to respond. I would call your vet. It has been quite a few years but my Black Lab torn his ACL in both legs (not at the same time) and he was on very restrictive activity. He was not allowed outside without a leash for awhile and then only to go to the bathroom. You have to kep them very quiet for, I think, about a week and then slowly introduce exercise, walking, etc. Swimming is actually great for them as the resistance helps them recover the knee faster.

Bottom line I would not wait until next week, I would call the vet for post-op instructions.

Good luck.