My vet sent me to Dr. Corse after my 75 pound dog suffered a leg injury. He diagnosed a torn CCL and recommended surgery, but was honest in letting me know I had some time before surgery became necess... Read More
My vet sent me to Dr. Corse after my 75 pound dog suffered a leg injury. He diagnosed a torn CCL and recommended surgery, but was honest in letting me know I had some time before surgery became necessary and I could wait if I wanted to. I did want to because I hoped the leg may heal itself, but more importantly, I was quite nervous about putting my active dog through recovery. I definitely didn't want to do the psychological damage of putting her in a crate since she has never been in one, but I knew I had to keep her calm. I procrastinated.Since it was such a big surgery, I also wanted a second opinion. Dr. Corse recommended TPLO and the second opinion surgeron said TTA. I began the research phase and discovered that 99% of the info out there is really different vets explaining why the surgery they do is best, but very little academic research with real results. I ended up at UGA, figuring the vets there would be on the forefront of technology (they were) and they recommeded TPLO. They also knew Dr. Corse and said he would be a fine choice if I didn't want to use them. I ended up coming back to Northlake Veterinary Surgery instead of driving to Athens for surgery and follow-ups. Dr. Corse knew what I was doing and answered questions for me during my research and supported my endeavor to find all the answers I could. I was nervous about whether the surgery would be successful and what the recovery would be like, but I knew it had to be done. I was pleasantly surprised when I picked my dog up the next day and she wasn't zonked out, she was alert and even putting a very small amount of weight on her bandaged leg. She looked like she came through the surgery fine.Instead of putting her in a crate and using that crazy Elizabethan collar, I just watched her all day and kept her calm. I only used the collar when I had to leave her alone, and I put her in an exercise pen instead of a crate. I knew my dog wouldn't like the hard plastic Elizabethan collar, so the nurse also gave me a softer one that was made out of cloth that she didn't mind. The recovery wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared, once I realized it is ok for the dog to walk around a little bit, just not too much and no jumping on furniture or walking up flights of stairs. Those are pretty easy to keep at bay if you just pay a little attention. After a week or so, when I knew the incision had begun healing, I asked if I could put a little Grannick's Bitter Apple on the bandage to make sure she wouldn't chew it. Dr. Corse said I could and it woked well.Within two weeks, my beloved dog was putting significant weight on her bad leg and after 3 months or so she was more or less completely healed. It's now 9 months later and she is doing great. I wrote this long review so that you don't have to spend the time and money that I did getting second opinions and conducting research -- if your dog has a torn CCL, just let Dr. Corse do the TPLO surgery and you'll be happy you did! It's not nearly as painful or tramatic for the dog as I had feared, it's much worse to let them walk on a hurt leg. I probably should have done the surgery sooner, but I wanted to be sure. Waiting doesn't really help anything, the leg will just keep getting worse and your dog won't be getting the exercise that is necessary for health and happiness. Read Less