Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) or Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) is an important support ligament to provide stability to the knee joint. It runs from the back of the femur (the bone above the knee) to the front of tibia (the bone below the knee). It prevents the forward movement of the tibia when a dog places weight on the leg. When this ligament is torn, it causes instability in the knee joint manifested by marked pain, lameness and cartilage destruction. If early return to function is not achieved, the patient can develop arthritis later on in life. Dog ACL injuries can be caused by multiple factors including breed, age, activity level, and obesity.

Surgical options

There are a number of surgical options such as:

• Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy (TPLO),
• Tibial Tuberosity Advancement (TTA),
• Tight Rope etc.

Most of these procedures are done by veterinary specialist surgeons at a very high cost.

At Lower Plenty Veterinary Clinic, we commonly use either Modified Maquet Procedure (MMP) or extracapsular techniques. The MMP technique is well researched and has been developed to provide a rapid return to function with very low complications during the rehabilitation period. This technique is a modification of TTA procedure performed by specialist veterinary surgeons. We offer this procedure at a competitive price of $1600 – $1900.

Here are some important links that you’ll find handy:

• More information around the procedure
• More information on care after the procedure
• An MMP case study in a working dog

Call us on (03) 9439 0777 for more information and to make an appointment.