Meet Zilo - the BFG (Big Friendly Giant)

At 81kg, Zilo the English Mastiff is one of our largest patients. We first met Zilo one night at our after-hours service when he came in unable to weight-bear on his hind leg. As you can imagine, an 81kg dog doesn't do very well on only 3 legs!

Zilo had been chasing a bird that night and slipped and had started to limp. During a clinical exam it was found he had a in his knee. The cruciate ligaments are necessary for joint stability, and won't heal by themself; the only option for Zilo was surgery to stabilize the joint. Cruciate surgery is the most common orthopaedic surgery that we do - when dogs run and twist and turn it is often the cranial cruciate ligament that takes the brunt of the forces.

There are 2 procedures that can be done to stabilize a knee with a cruciate rupture. The first is quite commonly performed and involves placing an artificial ligament in a similar position to the ruptured ligament, using very thick suture material similar to fishing line. The second procedure is a new technique, which in the long run provides a better outcome. This procedure involves correcting the angles of the knee so that it is stable, by taking a piece of bone out of the affected leg's shin bone and placing a plate across it.

Because Zilo is such a big dog, it was thought best not to do the first procedure because the suture placed around the knee would most likely rupture due to his great weight. So Zilo had the second procedure performed. He came in the following day for surgery and was given very strong pain relief so he wouldn't feel a thing, anaesthetized and the surgery performed - taking just under 2 hours to do. Zilo stayed in hospital that night so we could monitor his recovery, and went home the following day. He had to be very closely confined for the following 6 weeks, since he had essentially had a knee reconstruction - and we can't give dogs crutches to walk on!

Zilo has had a fairly uneventful recovery and is now walking very well on his left back leg. We all look forward to seeing Zilo, our very own BFG, again soon!

81kg Zilo had cruciate surgery (one of the most common types of orthopaedic surgery that we do)