Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL)Disease

Pet named cooper (2 years/Male/Neutered/Labrador/ 55kg) was presented with history of difficulty in walking and getting up from hind limb. Cooper was being previously treated by vets with various pain killers and joint supportive medication without any relief.

After a complete physical examination and radiography, Cooper was diagnosed with bilateral Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) disease. Post diagnosis, an advance knee surgery TPLO (Tibial Plateu Leveling Osteotomy) was performed one by one for both knees.

Now cooper has completely recovered and doing very well.

A CCL disease is one of the most common cause of hind limb lameness but most of the time it goes unseen or undiagnosed. The skeletal structure of the dog knee is such that the CCL is under a tremendous mechanical stress even during relatively sedentary activities.

Depending on the severity of the CCL injury, a dog’s symptoms might range from having a hint of lameness to being unable to bear weight on the injured leg. A dog with a CCL injury may also have swelling on the inside of the knee.

In CCL diseases, ligament degenerates or weakens over time due to genetic, conformational or immune mediated processes within the joint. The weakened ligament may partially or completely rupture following activities such as running or jumping. Unfortunately, the condition leading to CCL rupture is often present in both the knees and about 30- 50% of dogs will rupture both CCL within 6 month-2 years after rupture of one. This process also leads to osteoarthritis which is a painful condition.