I'm so sorry to hear that Eli hurt his knee. I hope that you'll get some answers from the tests on Tuesday, and I hope that he feels better soon!

Oreo ruptured her CL on her 10th birthday. Our vet gave us the choice beween traditional extracapsular repair surgery and TPLO surgery. Not having surgery wasn't an option for us because of her size--65 lbs.--and because of the complete tear. We chose to do the traditional surgery because it didn't involve bone changes. An orthopedic surgeon came to our regular vet's office, which I think was great because he had lots of experience with the procedures. I wrote about Oreo's surgery and recovery here and here.

It's been a little over a year now, and Oreo is walking and running great! The vet said Oreo has great range of motion for any 11-year-old, which she attributes to Oreo being in athletic shape before the injury. Oreo has very little arthritis and pain only very occasionally when she overdoes it. I'm thrilled with the result: she has truly exceeded my expectations.

Best wishes to Eli and you.