Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello.
My dog ACL seems to be torn (my dog already had a TPLO to the other back leg) but I've been told that she doesn't TPLO this time because a medial buttress formed around the ligament and stabilized the TPLO naturally by itself... Does this sound right? What is a MEDIAL BUTTRESS? Is it just another way to define osteophyte (she does have arthritis)? If so, shouldn't ostephyte be removed instead?
The vet in fact would rather do a MENISCAL RELEASE instead, and some electroacupunture for the muscle. A plus would be to do STEM CELLS INJECTIONS.... But beside the cost of everything it is the differing opinions with this vet and a second one (that would do also the TPLO beside meniscectomy and stem cell injections. He said thst TPLO is needed by looking at the xrays, perhaps by looking at the angle of the knee..?)...
I am confused on the best to do....
I'd rather not do a TPLO if not needed (since it is very invasive) as the first vet told me, but I also do not like the idea of putting my 7 years old "baby" under a possible second operation and anesthesia - if then we find out that later TPLO was needed after all...
Would stem cells injections alone solve all the problems (instead of having TPLO or meniscectomy)? How about the medial buttress thing?
Hopefully I can have an opinion on this, it be appreciated....
Thank you very much.

There are several types of operations for repairing a ruptured ACL. TPLO being one of them. There have been very few studies comparing the different procedures, but those studies have shown that the various procedures are about equally effective. Other studies have shown that immobilization of the knee and rest produce results as good as surgery. The use of anti-inflamatories hinders healing. I generally recommend omega-3 fatty acid supplements and homeopathic Connective Tissue Tonic along with strict leash walking.

full recovery takes about 6 weeks.