Cranial Cruciate Disease

The most common orthopedic problem in dogs is Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) disease or injury. One might think that since this type of problem is so common, veterinary medicine would have developed a clear understanding of its cause and the best way to treat it. Unfortunately, that has not yet happened. Most veterinarians agree that surgical correction is the best alternative. There are dozens of described surgical procedures for CCL correction, but there are no studies to show which procedures are best. On the other hand, veterinarians who promote more conservative, non-surgical therapy have even less scientific evidence that this is an efficacious procedure. If veterinarians cannot agree, what does a pet owner do?

At the Center for Veterinary Pain Management and Rehabilitation we look at each patient as an individual and consider all options for therapy. Dr. Wall has advanced surgical training in the most common forms of surgical repair, vast experience in postoperative rehabilitation and many medical opinions and observations of non-surgical therapies.

Illustration from “Hill's Pet Nutrition, Atlas of Veterinary Clinical Anatomy”