Need Input on Cranial Cruciate Lgament Surgery for Our Beagle.

Our sweet 7 year old beagle appears to have ruptured his cranial cruciate ligament. Our vet is recommending using either West Caldwell Animal Emergency and Referral Associates  or Garden State Veterinary Specialists  for the surgery. Looking to get some feedback on either of those facilities or any other that you might recommend. Also, if you have had a dog go through this type of surgery I would welcome your input on what type of surgical method was used on your pet along with any suggestions that helped with recovery. This is our first time experiencing pet surgery and we are trying to gather as much information as possible to make the situation as stress free as possible for our little guy.

I've been to specialists at both hospitals and my dog had surgery at AERA. It's my impression, spending a lot of time in dog rescue circles, that they are equally well-respected. It's also my impression that AERA is a lot more expensive. Since your dog needs a fairly routine procedure, I'd probably base my decision on price. 

FYI -- AERA is actually in Fairfield, and it's often referred to as just Fairfield. ("I took my dog to Fairfield.")

Did you discuss the possibility of a brace with your vet? I don't know anything at all about these injuries, but I've heard that a brace is sometimes effective as an alternative to surgery. Here's a random link:

http://dogaclbrace.com/our-research/dog-acl-brace-comparison/

Kthnry Thank you for the input. I had no idea about the braces, interesting website.

Our dog had surgery at AERA. Unfortunately, it showed lymphosarcoma and the condition was very far advanced by the time any symptoms showed up.  They are expensive, but they have all the diagnostic tools possible and the quality of care was excellent. I wish our boy had had a better prognosis, but I can't fault the quality of care he received there.  Do you have pet insurance? That might help. I know that our costs were in the neighborhood of $8K for a 4-day stay, blood work, blood transfusions, the exploratory surgery, the biopsy, meds, IVs and the boarding charges for the time he was there and the constant post-op monitoring (he was a pug, and they have issues with anesthesia and do require extra follow-ups after it). Hope all goes well with your pup.

Thanks Cody for taking the time to share your experiences. So sorry to hear that your surgery led in such a different direction.

Our dog had surgery at Garden State Veterinary Specialists in 2013 for two ruptured discs in his neck. Before the surgery he was virtually paralyzed and refused food and water; we couldn't even get pain medicine in him. After surgery he was like a new dog. He had to stay for two or three nights at the hospital and there were two follow-up visits, and it definitely was not cheap (and we don't have pet insurance), but we were very, very pleased with the quality of care. Good luck!

In researching this injury I am reading about a procedure called Modified Maquet Procedure. Does anyone have any feedback on this or know of a vet surgeon who is currently doing this procedure in NJ?

While a fairly common procedure, the surgery really isn't routine and you want to be sure that the surgeon is a specialist in this.  Dr. Collins at Animerge specializes in ACL surgery as does the sports medicine specialist Dr. Gillette at Red Bank.  Oftentimes a partially torn CL does not require surgery (I currently have a student with a 12 year old Jack Russell who has a partial tear and after an extended rest he's doing just fine).  

Very unexpectedly our 11 year old pooch tore up his ligaments and had to have this surgery 10 days ago.  It was performed by our regular vet and he is doing fine.  We chose to do it this way because our other dog is scheduled for the same surgery in a few weeks.  First dog could not wait as he could hardly walk.  We have previously gone to Fairfield with a dog and they did a very professional but incredibly expensive job.

Our shepherd had ACL surgery in 2014, via TTA surgery (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy). We went to Garden State vet and the surgeon did a phenomenal job. We left him at the hospital for three days to ensure full bed rest off the leg. A week later, he was walking and doing great. Watch for steps - they should keep off them for a month.