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Animal Spotlight - Shanty
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Shanty is a 5 year old female Australian cattle dog mix. She came in to our clinic in March 2008 because she was limping on her right rear leg. X-rays and an orthopedic stress test were done and it was determined that she had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her knee. This is a very common injury in dogs and is similar to the knee injuries football players get. In fact, Shanty had ruptured her ACL in her left rear leg in November 2004. It occurs often in dogs that play ball or Frisbee, but can happen to dogs with any activity level.
Dr. Frier performed surgery the following day to repair the torn ligament. He removed the remaining parts of the ligament and damaged cartilage within the joint. An artificial ligament was used to take the place of the torn one. After the surgery was over her leg was heavily bandaged. The bandage remained on for a few days to provide support and the sutures were removed two weeks later. Shanty has healed well and is back to walking on all four legs again!
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Normal Cruciate Ligament
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Ruptured Cruciate Ligament
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Animal Spotlight archives...
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