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| - As you can see from the 5 stars I gave ASG, I was very impressed with their professionalism, knowledge, and of course the Surgeon Dr. Lirtzman. I'll share my story, however this wont be representative of everyone's situation, but it is definitely something a good pet owner should take into consideration.
First, a little back story on our situation. I am a physical therapist with 10+ years of dealing with primarily orthopedic conditions. My training is with humans, but my working knowledge of anatomy and research fundamentals helped me learn about canine anatomy fairly easily. Buster, our 5 year old pit-mix, was diagnosed with a torn ACL about 1 year ago from another Veterinary orthopedic surgeon. That conversation went like this: VET: "Oh yeah, he has a torn ACL" Me: "Ok, so what are our options?" VET: "Here is the $4,000 surgery I do for this issue and I can do it this Thursday. Its a 6 month recovery." Thats it, no alternative treatment options, alternative surgeries, anything.
That's when I went into research mode. I found that there is debate about what is the best type of surgery, debates on how necessary surgery is, several alternative treatment options, etc. I became well versed in canine lower extremity anatomy, and decided to opt for a conservative treatment plan (no surgery). After several months, my dog was doing very well, and back to being happy. Then it happened...... somewhere along the road to recovery, my dog tweaked his knee, and was in a lot of pain. He suddenly had significant cracking, limited range of motion, and was limping. There was definitely something locking up my dogs knee, and I suspected a meniscus tear (the cushioning cartilage between the bones of the knee). As much as I would like to think I could rehab this away, I couldn't. I was VERY LUCKY to find Dr. Lirtzman, and see that he offered a surgery that no other Vet surgeon in the Valley did (as far as I can tell), arthroscopic surgery for dogs!! This is something that has been used for years in humans with very good results. So I bit the bullet, and took my dog in. Dr. Lirtzman confirmed the tear, and we scheduled Buster for surgery. Although we knew the ACL was torn as well, Dr Lirtzman was not pushy about doing that surgery, and agreed the scope would be a good idea. All I can say is my wife and I are thrilled with the outcome!! Within a week Buster already was walking better. Within 2.5 weeks, he was walking up and down the stairs normally (he couldn't before surgery). After a month out, he was running and playing again. I still have work to do to get him stronger, but he is a much happier dog, and is not showing signs of pain, and he isn't stuck in a kennel for 6 months.
Another important note, is that Dr. Lirtzman has apparently been performing this surgery for years, which I think is invaluable. Any learning curve he may have went through is long gone. I highly recommend this facility.
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