Degenerative Knee

My beautiful 4 year old dog Bertie has had problems with his joints all his life. At 8 months old he was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia which has limited him on most of his activities. As he has got older the congenital condition has progressed and then stabilised and is coping well with his condition.

However at the end of 2017 Bertie damaged a ligament in is knee whilst playing with another dog. I took him to the vet who said that he had partially ruptured his tendon. He was treated with pain killers and restricted exercise. Everthing eventually settled and he was back to his usual self. Whilst this event occurred I was going through a period of not working due to various factors and my pet insurance lasped. When I was able to reinstate it Bertie now had a pre-existing condition which would not be covered by my insurance.

In January of this year whilst out walking on a muddy rainy day Bertie managed to injure the same knee when walking along a slippery grass bank. He was taken to the vets again and the treatment was the same as last time, however he did not recover as well and has an intermittant limp. I requested a referral to an orthopaedic vet who diagnosed Bertie with degenerative knee ligaments and informed me that the condition is likely to get worse and effect his other knee. We discussed surgical option as to how his knee joint could be made more stable, originally they mentioned a knee replacement, but a second opion recommended a TTA (tibial tuberosity advancement) operation with possible stem cell therapy (depending on the condition of his joint surface). The cost of the TTA surgery is £2,300.00 and the stem cell therapy is £2,000.

All help will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.