Re: [pyrnet] Cruciate Ligament Disease

["Linda Weisser" <lmweisser@home.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: <JGentzel@aol.com>

To have lateral dislocations involves either a significant bony
change or an abnormal bony development or possibly an injury.  The injury
would make the cruciate damage the more severe of the two conditions.  So I
cannot envision seeing a lateral PL that was caused by a cruciate damage
condition without seeing severe knee problems as well.  >>

I know nothing about Sonia's dog so I cannot speak to that.  Lateral
displacement is not unheard of in dogs and is most often not connected to
cruciate damage.  the lateral PL is not "caused" by the cruciate damage.  I
cannot account for why what we see in terms of the connection between age of
onset and lateral luxation is true, it just seems nearly always to be the
case.  If you wish I can privately share some numbers with you.  Not huge
numbers but some.

<<My point being I am not sure how you
would see the lateral PL in older dogs without diagnosed other observed and
noted problems i.e. bony damage or lack of normal development or possibly
internal knee damage (but the knee damage would be the greater problem
clearly).  >>

Well, I don't know that either but the one time that I encountered PL in
dogs that I bred was 3 in one litter (does that scream genetic?) all of
which occured in dogs from 11-13 months.  One case was bi-lateral, the other
two unilateral.  All of the luxations were lateral.  None of the dogs had
accompanying boney damage or cruciate problems.

OTOH, when we see the more "classic" PL it is nearly always manefest in
puppies by 3-4 months, seems to have more or less rapid onset of clinical
signs,and is medial.

Linda