We all love the crazy things dogs do, but sometimes they hurt themselves in the process. Luckily, veterinarians are trained to deal with the most common injuries dogs inflict on themselves.
Read on to educate yourself so that you know the facts if your dog sustains an orthopedic injury.
Torn (or partially-torn) ACL in dogs
I don’t like to throw around acronyms willy-nilly, but even if most people don’t know that “ACL” stands for “Anterior Cruciate Ligament,” they’ve heard of this common human knee injury. You’ll even hear vets using the same terminology to describe the injury in dogs, and even though the correct anatomical term in dogs is “Cranial Cruciate Ligament”, we’re talking about the same structure.
Classically, dogs rupture (or partially rupture) this ligament that lives inside the knee joint during play. It often happens when back leg is planted, and the body rotates in the opposite direction. Carrying a few extra pounds can predispose your dog to this injury, so here’s yet another reason for keeping your dog trim.
If the ligament is only partially torn, the dog may improve with strict rest and anti-inflammatory therapy. In the case of a full tear, the knee joint is unstable to the point that most dogs need a surgical repair, or significant arthritis will build up over time, rendering the dog completely lame on that leg.
Dislocated hip in dogs
We commonly see dislocated hips in dogs that have been hit by a car. If the force of the collision is significant, the ligament that attaches the femur (the thigh bone) to the hip socket can be torn, and the normal joint partially or completely disrupted. Dogs that already have malformed hip joints (known as hip dysplasia) are at a much higher risk for this injury, since the connection between the two bones is tenuous at best.
If the injury is addressed soon enough, sometimes we’re successful at relocating the joint manually. Usually the dog needs to stay in a specially designed sling for several weeks. Unfortunately however, most of these dogs need surgery. A total hip replacement is the best option for most dogs, but the cost of the procedure and the availability of a surgeon trained in performing it makes it difficult for many dog owners to get this for their dogs. Luckily, most dogs do pretty well with a “salvage” procedure known as a Femoral Head and Neck Ostectomy (FHO or FHNO).
Luxating patella
This isn’t really an injury, as dogs are born with this problem, they don’t develop it later in life, but it’s incredibly common. The patellas, or kneecaps, “luxate,” or move into and out of the groove of the knee where they are supposed to sit quietly and behave. The kneecap slides either to the inside or the outside of the knee – inside in small dogs, outside in big dogs, but that’s just a rule of thumb. What starts as an occasional hopping motion or holding the back leg up periodically (until the kneecap reseats itself ) will ultimately turn into an arthritic knee joint if not addressed in severely affected dogs.
The surgery to repair this problem is fairly straightforward. The groove for the kneecap is deepened, giving it a more substantial place to reside.
Intervertebral disk disease
Dogs with long backs and short legs – think Dachshunds, Shih Tzus, and Bassett Hounds – are more prone to IVDD, or Intervertebral Disk Disease. However any dog can have it, including mixed breed dogs.
Quick anatomy lesson: the spine is a series of bones called vertebrae that are stacked end-to-end from the base of the skull to the tip of the tail – much like canned goods in a grocery store display. Between each pair of vertebrae is a Frisbee-shaped piece of cartilage called an intervertebral disk. Through the middle of all of this runs something called the spinal cord – you may have heard of it; it’s kind of a big deal.
Some breeds, including the ones mentioned above, have weak places in the disks, and given the pressure placed on the disk by the spinal column, these weaknesses can cause the disk to bulge and press on the spinal cord, causing neurologic problems. These problems can be minor or major, sometimes resulting in full paralysis.
Surgery to repair intervertebral disk disease is serious business, and the success rate varies depending on many factors. Usually the disk material must be removed, which is much harder than it sounds, and sometimes the vertebrae are fused together with metal plates.
Fracture repair in dogs
Dogs can fracture bones doing any number of things – jumping off of high places, stepping into holes, or getting hit by cars, to name just a few. Depending on the location and the severity of the break, the dog may or may not need surgery to guarantee a good repair. Simple fractures, involving a single “clean” break to a long bone, are fairly straightforward to repair. Sometimes a splint or cast will stabilize the bone fragments while they heal back together. Other times the bone needs stabilization with a metal pin driven down the center cavity, or with plates screwed into the bone.
If there are multiple pieces of bone to be brought together as a result of the trauma, the repair becomes more complicated. The best chance for a good recovery and functional limb is to address the problem as soon as possible after the injury happens. Once a break occurs, the body begins to form a type of scar tissue in an attempt to stabilize the area, and this complicates repair considerably.