Take care of those knees!

Hi All,

Libby here.

This week, I'm writing about a topic that is near and dear to Dr. Silverman's heart.

You may not have known this but, about a year ago Dr. S. had a knee replacement surgery. He needed a new knee because of an injury he sustained as a young athlete- while playing basketball, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.

He didn't let this injury hold him back however, and the following year, he sustained a torn meniscus in the same knee. Now bear in mind, this was before the days that effective cruciate ligament surgery was an option so he just kind of sucked it up and dealt with a bum knee for thirty years. Fast forward to last year when he decided he wanted to regain some mobility and he finally got the surgery. Yay for Dr. S's knees!

So, why do you care about Dr. S's knees? Well other than the fact that he's happier now, (and everyone loves a happy vet) this is also the most common orthopedic injury in the field of veterinary medicine so it bears talking about!

Last week in fact, I was lying on top of the garbage can minding my own business, when a doggy came in limping and barely bearing any weight on his left hind leg. I felt really bad for the poor guy- I appreciate how important it is for a dog to be able to run. Otherwise, who would chase after us cats? Anyway, Dr. S. took a look and diagnosed some cruciate ligament instability and minimal range of motion of the knee.

A couple of days later, Dr. S. performed a surgery and when the joint was opened, lo and behold, the doggy had a torn meniscus wedged in the joint that was preventing the leg from being able to extend fully (That's what Dr. S. had too!)

Anyway, without going into gory details, the torn meniscus was removed and the knee was stabilized surgically. The dog is starting to toe touch- yes, that's just what it sounds like- he's literally beginning to touch his toe to the ground and bear weight on the leg.

You may not realize it but a lot of dogs sustain this sort of injury (being the athletic beings they are!). If you see your dog limping or appearing to hesitate a bit when they make turns, be sure to bring them in to the vet-they may have a rectifiable condition that, if fixed, could really improve their lifestyle!

Til next time,

Libby