Huxley, a seven-year-old Golden Retriever, was always the first to chase a ball across the garden. So when his owners noticed him favouring his left hind limb and sitting with the leg held out to one side, they knew something was wrong. At LuxiVet, an examination confirmed a cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture – one of the most common orthopaedic injuries we see in dogs.
What is a cranial cruciate ligament rupture?
The cranial cruciate ligament stabilises the knee (stifle) joint. In dogs it rarely tears from a single trauma; more often it degenerates over time until it fails, sometimes during ordinary activity. Once ruptured, the joint becomes unstable, painful and inflamed, and without treatment the cartilage wears down and arthritis develops.
Reaching a diagnosis
Diagnosis combines an orthopaedic examination – checking for the characteristic “cranial drawer” and “tibial thrust” movement – with radiographs to assess joint effusion and rule out other conditions. In Huxley’s case, both the clinical signs and the imaging pointed clearly to a complete rupture.
Why TPLO surgery?
For an active, medium-to-large dog like Huxley, a Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy (TPLO) offers the most reliable return to function. Rather than replacing the ligament, TPLO changes the geometry of the top of the tibia so that the knee becomes dynamically stable during weight-bearing – the ligament is no longer needed to keep the joint in place. The bone is cut, rotated to the calculated angle and secured with a specialised plate.
Huxley’s recovery
Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. Huxley spent the first weeks on strict rest with short, controlled lead walks, followed by a gradual, structured return to activity and physiotherapy. Around twelve weeks after surgery he was back to a near-normal life – and, much to his owners’ relief, back to chasing that ball. If your dog is limping or reluctant to bear weight on a hind leg, please get in touch; early assessment makes all the difference.