Hello XXXXXXXX,
This is Dr.Christian. You are right. There are many options for ACL surgery and it depends on the size of the dog and severity of symptoms as to which is best for you dog. If the option is available I would go to a board certified surgeon in your area (your veterinarian can refer you to one). They'll take a look, perhaps doing some tests and determine the right surgery in your case. You'll probably spend more but the results are much more likely to be good and provide long term relief. If you have any other questions please let me know.
Sincerely,
Dr. Christian
Can you give me some ideas of what the different procedures are? I want to be able to listen to the surgeon with some idea of what he is talking about. Is it reasonable to ask for 2nd opinions as I would with my own surgery?
It is definitely reasonable to ask for a second opinion. It is always important that you are comfortable with the information you have. For larger dogs, a Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) is the surgery of choice and has great success long term but I would recommend finding someone with good experience with the surgery (hence a board certified surgeon). Here's a website that explains a lot of it in detail: http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/tplo.htm. There are surgeries such as imbrication and lateral suture as well- these are generally saved for smaller dogs. Based on your dog breed I would suspect the recommendation would be for TPLO.
Hope that helps.
Good luck.
Dog Veterinarian
12 years of veterinary experience in canine surgery, medicine and behavior