Laurie's Blogs.
Oct 2014
Query a Meniscal Tear
Hi Laurie,
I just started seeing a 10 year old 30 pound mixed breed dog for a cruciate tear. She has a meniscal click along the medial aspect of the stifle, so I advised that I did not expect that she would do well with conservative therapy, but the owners wanted to start with rehab. She has only had 3 sessions, but is already showing quite a bit of improvement. My question is what does a meniscal injury really mean for recovery?She was an active dog prior to surgery, so our goals are a dog that can be comfortable running around in the backyard for another few years. If that is unrealistic without surgery, then the owners will do surgery. I told them that we would rehab her for 2 weeks then repeat her exam, so we will be re-evaluating our plan this week and I would appreciate any information you can give me about long term expectations.
Thank You!
HH
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Hi HH,
So the interesting thing about these meniscal clicks is that without arthroscopy / surgical exploration, we don't know how bad they are. I have had cases where there was a meniscal click but the owners couldn't / wouldn't do surgery... or it was a post-operative finding (about a year out) that didn't seem to affect the dog.
I go with function. If you are getting improvement... then you pay more attention to that than you do the click.
Human studies show that 58% of meniscal tears can resolve / improve with conservative management. So, there's no harm in trying.
Treat for cartilage regeneration / OA, pain management, & function / strengthening.
None of us have a crystal ball... so in cases such as this... I tell the owners just what you have done. "Let's do a trial and see." I've been amazed more than once!
Best of luck!
Laurie
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Hi Laurie,
Thanks for the reply. The click has steadily been getting softer/quieter over the last 3 weeks and I can no longer palpate it along the medial aspect of the stifle with ROM. Clinically, the dog is steadily getting better. This has been a great case so far. I am using your conservative cruciate article to help guide my exercise selections and the owners are thrilled at her progress. Hopefully this will be a case with a good outcome. Again, thank you so much for your guidance!
HH
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Hey HH,
This is awesome!!!
Have fun with it. I hope all continues to go well. These cases can simply amaze you (and hopefully others that learn of this option!!)
Cheers,
Laurie