Yeah, yeah we have tons of titties and crotch shots on the site, but every once in a while we have some good useful information too.  Unfortunately, shitty things always have to happen in order for others to learn.  Hence, Speedmonkey.net. 

I have 2 awesome dogs.  An American Staffordshire Terrier (often and erroneously referred to as an American Pitbull Terrier, 2 different breeds) and a Dogue De Bordeaux or more commonly referred to as a French Mastiff. 

I rescued the Mastiff nine months ago and immediately signed up with VPI Pet Insurance, their Superior Plan.  My Staffordshire has already had it for about 5 years, so what a good idea...why not give VPI more of my money.  Oh, you already see where this is going...

So last month the Mastiff being about 140 lbs. tore his ACL, Anterior Cruciate Ligament, a very common injury for large/giant breed dogs.  My vet said he would go either way, but didn't say surgery was totally necessary. 

With my dog still limping, I took him to a highly recommended specialist and surgeon, Dr. Alan J. Schulman of the Animal Medical Center of Southern California...sounds expensive right?!

There it was in black and white, the X-ray that clearly showed a tear and certain future arthritis if it wasn't repaired.  Before I could focus on the rest of his diagnosis, I asked him, roughly based on what he was seeing in front of him, how much it was going to cost.  $3500.  Believe it or not, I was relieved.  I was thinking about 5K.  It's amazing how that happens.  Still a significant amount of doe, especially around Christmas, it suddenly seemed like pennies when compared to my initial layman's guesstimate. 

On to the VPI Pet Insurance...after searching their website, I discovered at table that illustrates pretty much the exact same procedure my dog is getting.  WONDERFUL...they pay up to *90%. 

"*"  ?  Great, what does that mean??  Sure enough at the bottom of the table, *Treatment for ACL damage or rupture is covered for pets who've been insured with a VPI policy for 12 calendar months or more.

So since my dog has only been covered for 9 months, they pay PHUCK ALL!!  Not 20%, not 30%...ZIP, NADA, BUPKIS!!!

Oh but sir, it's in the Terms & Conditions.  Ohhhh...I'm sure it is lady, but WTF???  So essentially I've been paying 40 bones a month for partial insurance.  Sure, I could understand if was a pre-existing condition, but a common injury like a torn ACL..not even to offer a sliding scale?  10% after 3 months of coverage, 30% after 6 months…it’s a joke. 

I'm covered for things like flea & tick medication...ohhh how nice of them. 

Anyway, if this has happened to you, or if you want to write to the President of VPI Pet Insurance, then you can write him at:

Mr. Dennis Drent
3060 Saturn Street
Brea, CA 92821

Oh, Dr. Schulman - fantastic surgeon.  Very thorough and although busy, gave me the feeling that he'd give me all the time I needed to fee l comfortable about the operation and the after care.  Great staff. 

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So I got a call from Gail telling me the Dennis was out of town, but that she would be more than happy to answer any of my questions.  Actually she was just calling me to tell me they received the letter - but there is nothing that can be done blah blah. 

It's not like I expected VPI Insurance to suddenly mail me a check for $3500...I just needed to let them know how badly they suck.  Now apparently they now. 

Gail understood my grievance, she explained to me that underwriting decided to implement the 12 consecutive month policy after they kept receiving claims a month after approvals.  They were losing too much money.  But the GOOD news she said was, when your dog tears his other ligament, you'll be happy because then you'll be covered (by then I will have been covered for the 12 months). 

GOOD NEWS???  I quickly understood to whom I was speaking.  I was speaking to a woman who considers my dog tearing his 'good knee' a good thing.  God bless insurance companies. 

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It's been just over 4 weeks and my Mastiff is able to put about 60% weight on on his leg.  The trick is, once he is able to put full weight on it (another month)  to get him to walk with confidence and to not burden his good side.  He has developed the habit of hopping which of course is murder on the hips, especially for 140lb dog!

The surgery that was performed is called, Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy - (TPLO)

The procedure:
One of the important functions of the cruciate ligament is to prevent forward and backward sliding of the femur on the tibia bone, also known as drawer motion.

The tibial plateau leveling osteotomy - TPLO involves making a curved cut in the top of the tibia bone (osteotomy) to include the tibial plateau. The tibial plateau is then rotated along the curved osteotomy in order to level the slope.

A plate and screws are used to hold the tibial plateau in place so that the bone can heal well. Below is an illustration demonstrating the curved cut in the tibia bone and rotation of the the tibial plateau; below right is photo of a plastic bone model demonstrating the TPLO; take note of the metal plate and screws that hold the bone together while healing takes place.

Healing:
Healing Phases Following TPLO surgery:
          o Unlike the convalescence from other extra-articular or intra-articular techniques, recovery from TPLO surgery frequently is more rapid and complete. In our experience, about 50% of the dogs will start to walk on the limb within 24 hours after surgery. Within 5 days after surgery most dogs will begin weight-bearing on the operated limb.

          o By 2 weeks after surgery, a moderate amount of weight-bearing can be expected. Dogs with partial tears tend to recover quicker than dogs having complete ligament tears. We have seen some dogs having partial tears recover to near full weight-bearing within 2 weeks after surgery…this is phenomenal, as we have never seen this type of a recovery with any of the other surgical techniques that are used to stabilize the knee.

          o Radiographs taken at 6 to 8 weeks postop should reveal healing of the osteotomy site.  At this time most dogs have mild or no lameness; when we evaluated our patients having TPLO, the average time for the lameness to resolve was 10 weeks.

          o At 2 months after surgery, exercise in the form of leash walks should be gradually increased each week. Increasing the number of walks per day tends to be better than just increasing the duration of each period.

          o At 4 months after surgery most restrictions of exercise can be lifted. Full working activities (hunting, agility, etc) can begin at 6 months after surgery. Unconstrained activity prior to this time can cause spraining of the soft tissues of the stifle (patellar ligament sprain) resulting in a prolonged recovery.
 
Yearly radiographs of the stifle should be taken to evaluate the degree of arthritis. The TPLO procedure should minimize the progression of degenerative joint disease.  One study demonstrated a slower progression of arthritis following TPLO surgery, versus dogs that received the lateral imbrication technique, however arthritis usually will develop regardless of technique.  Source

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