Has your dog suddenly started limping on one of its back legs?
There are many different reasons for limping in dogs, and knee injuries are among them. One of the most common knee problems seen in dogs is an injury to the cranial cruciate ligament, sometimes called a CCL tear. 

What is a Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL)? 

​The cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) is an essential ligament that helps stabilize the knee joint. This ligament connects the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone) which helps prevent the tibia from sliding forward. When a dog tears this ligament, it often leads to pain while walking as the knee is unstable. If left untreated, arthritis can start to develop and it can damage other parts of the joint such as the meniscus, the shock absorber pad, which would also contribute to pain and inflammation. It has been shown that tearing of the CCL is not usually caused by one sudden injury, but rather by gradual wear and tear of the ligament and changes to the joint over time.

How do we fix a CCL tear? 

The most recommended method of treatment for cruciate ligament injury is a surgical repair. The gold standard procedure for CCL repair is the Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) surgery which involves taking the steep part of the tibia, making a circular cut and rotating the top of the tibia so that it is more flat.  By doing this, we change the biomechanics of the knee which stabilizes the joint and this eliminates the need for the cranial cruciate ligament entirely.
To learn more about TPLO repair visit our TPLO page.

TPLO Repair

Signs Your Dog May Have a Cruciate Ligament Injury:
• Sudden limping on a back leg
• Not bearing weight or "toe-touching" 
• Sitting with the leg kicked out to the side
• Stiffness after rest or difficulty getting up
• Swelling around the knee
• Decreased activity or reluctance to jump

Figure shows a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament (in red)

In this photo are Ava the bullmastiff and her sister Riley, the Aussie. See the way Ava is sitting vs how Riley sits? Ava has her one leg kicked out to the side, which is typical of dogs with cruciate ligament injuries as they don't like to bend their knee. Whereas Riley sits square and straight. Ava had a TPLO performed on her right leg to correct the instability in her knee. Shortly after, Ava tore the ligament in her left leg which is not uncommon for dogs to have bilateral CCL injuries, and had a second TPLO surgery.