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My point is that non-surgical healing using Conservative Management provides a final result that is equal to the best result obtainable after an intracapsular or extracapsular surgery in most cases. Surgery is sometimes appropriate in the beginning of the healing process, depending on the injury. But surgery, in & of itself, does not result in a joint that is more secure from injury, less likely to have future arthritic changes, or in any way superior to a joint that has recovered using Conservative Management. I believe that the experience we had with Tigger & the experiences of many other dogs prove that healing without surgery is a viable option in most cases.
Experts in the field agree that TPLO has Not been shown to result in a better outcome than other methods of treating dogs with ligament injuries. Until recently TPLO was a patented procedure with restricted licensing. It still is quite profitable for the vets who perform the surgery.
Regardless of the type of surgery being recommended, often the surgeon will say to people "Your dog will develop arthritis if he doesn't have surgery." This is a specious claim. Research tells me that after dogs have ligament injuries they are much more likely to develop arthritis later in their lives.
This Is True Whether Or Not They Have Surgery.
The simple fact is that having had ligament injuries leaves a dog with a less than perfect joint which is going to be more prone to develop arthritic changes. But there is No reason to believe that any type of surgery decreases the likelihood or degree of arthritis in these dogs.
I don't doubt that Tigger is more likely to have arthritis in his joints in coming years than a dog who never had ligament injuries, but the relative likelihood of arthritic problems for a dog with torn ligaments who has had TPLO or other surgery versus a dog who has healed without surgery is not proven or suggested by research. And I can think of no reasonable argument to support such a claim. While I have heard of many vets using this specious claim to support their preference for the surgery they wish to do, there is NO evidence I can find (& I've looked hard!) to support these claims.
In my opinion surgery is sometimes necessary, but a very large number of unnecessary surgeries are done. There is very seldom any good reason to rush to surgery. It is almost always possible to give Conservative Management a chance first. If after several months Conservative Management isn't working, surgery can be reconsidered.
I hope reading about Tigger's experience has been helpful. I would be interested to hear from others about their dogs' experiences.
Regards,
Max & Tigger
tiggerpoz@earthlink.net
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