Elizabeth is in pain........operation or no?

[E_Taylor]

Elizabeth Taylor is 1 1/2 years old and just recently she has lose patella's on both of her legs. She isn't the same anymore and she's in a lot of pain and discomfort. I went to the vet and the surgery is $2000 per leg. She is in Grade 4 but I'm still contemplating on getting the operation. I'm not sure of the complications and how long will it take for her to get better. Has anyone been through this? I need advice

[Chelsey]

Welcome to YT glad you found us.

There are members on the board that had surgery done on their babies, i'm sure they will be able to give you advice.

Best wishes to you, and your baby.

[LunasMomma]

I'm sorry you are both going through this My little girl Luna may have to have the surgery at some point. Our vet said that if it starts to cause her pain or limping, then it'll be time for surgery. Scary, but what are you gonna do, you know? It has to be fixed before it gets too bad or the operation won't help, from what I understand.

I hope that someone that's been through this will be here soon to help you I LOVE her name, btw

[lisatodd]

i have no advise. that is very hard decision to make. i hope someone will help you.
i am so sorry for this and i hope everything works out for you

[yorkiemalt]

Hi!

I've posted alot about luxating patellas.....if you click on my name and see recent posts you'll be able to find them.

Right now, we are rehabbing our 3rd knee! My maltese had both kness done last year....one in April and one in June. Phoebi, my yorkie, just had hers done this January 2.

I think my posts go on and on, but if there's any other questions I can help with just let me know.

There's a few things to keep in mind with Elizabeth....she's young and a Grade 4 knee will never get better. As time goes on, she will be in excruciating pain if she's not now. A dog will hide pain - it's their instinct.

Also, there's different varients to the surgery. That is why you'll sometimes hear people having to go back for another surgery. Chose a Board Certified Surgeon and interview him....find out how many he does in a week.....there's alot of choices to make once he's inside the knee.

Good Luck to you and Elizabeth....

[Tinker'sMommy]

No advice here but want to wish you and Elizabeth the best. I will be praying for her to get better

[TLC]

Listen to Yorkiemalt - She has EXCELLENT advice - very knowledgable

...you can also look at my past posts as well regarding Luxating Patella.
Roxy had both rear legs done in August. Her left leg didn't stablize, she had her 2nd surgery in December. Both legs at the same time cost me $3000. The left leg (2nd time) cost me $600.

I went to Dr. Laura Hinton - www.vetspecialist.com
Westbury, New York (Long Island)

Best of luck!

[Sweetums]

Your poor baby! I have knee pain and have had surgery on my own knees. I gotta tell you that the pain is unrelenting misery, and it was heaven after surgery when the pain finally went away. I can only say that if it were my dog, I'd do the surgery, knowing how much pain it is probably causing her. Yes, it's expensive. I totally get that. But I wouldn't let my baby suffer much longer, if it were me. Definitely check out who can do the best job so you won't have to have it redone.

[E_Taylor]

Hi Yorkiemalt,
Thank you so much for your advice. It has now been a week and I had to rush Elizabeth Taylor to the emergency room due to her not being able to sit down properly. By the way this is how I really found out that Elizabth is at a 3+ and when she went to her vet the day before for her annual check up he did not mention anything about her grade in her knees. She has her good days and her bad days. Right now she is shaking as if she is cold but I know she's not because most of the time she is lying in the bed with me under the covers. Is this a possible sign of her being in pain. The vet from the emergency room provided me with pain killers but I'm scrared to give it to her because she may depend on it. What are the most common signs of LP and if Elizabeth doesn't show the signs how can I tell if she is truely in pain?

[LunasMomma]

OMG yes, give her the pain meds! Shaking is a sign that they're in pain Poor baby

I know you don't want her to become depedant on the pain meds, but what else can you do, ya know? I don't think it's possible anyway, they should be non-narcotic.

BIG hugs to you and Elizabeth

[yorkiemalt]

E_Taylor.....

Please give her the pain medication....what did they give her? It doesn't matter which one...just give it to her with food.

Did the ER Doctor suggest getting an Orthopaedic Consult? I sure hope so.

In my mind, no 1 1/2 year old dog should have good days or bad days when there is an operation that could provide her a pain free life.

I see you're in the Bronx. I'm not sure how far Fairfield, NJ is from you, but that is where my Orthopaedic Surgeon is located. There is nobody else that I know of that I would recommend so highly.

And yes, shaking is a sign of pain. Make her comfortable for tonight and see if you can get in to see a surgeon tomorrow. A 3+ knee and the fact that she's showing true pain should get you a same day appointment.

Take care of yourself and her......I'll be thinking of you.

[red98vett]

POOR BABY !!!! I wish you all the best and it really sounds like she may have to have surgery ....I agree with yorkiemalt - no dog that age should have pain like that and if it's treatable - then that's what needs to be done - I know it must hurt to see her like this and I sure would give her the medication ....she sounds like she really needs it

[Sweetums]

Oh dear! Yes! For heaven's sake GIVE THE POOR BABY HER MEDICATION!!! I would never let my baby suffer like that. I'd have her put down before I'd let an animal suffer like that. And here you've got the medication to help her right at your finger tips. Don't delay. It's abusive not to treat an animal that's in pain!

And it's not likely your animal will be dependent. The studies on humans who take pain meds show that if they are taken for pain, they don't get dependent. As soon as the pain stops the use of the medication stops with no problems. Besides, it's easy to wean off. All you have to do is cut it in half for about 3-4 days, then in half again for 3-4 days, then in half again until you're down to a tiny tiny dose and then just go off it.

I've taken pain meds myself that are considered habit forming, for quite long periods, and as soon as the pain went away permanently, I just stopped taking the medication. There's no point in taking it when there is no more pain, unless you're doing it to get high, and an animal would not have that motivation. The dependence is mainly psychological, and animals just don't have that need.

[Yorkiedaze]

That seems like quite a bit of money. I had both of Zada's knees operated on last year and it cost $1,300.00 and he's a specialist. I'd check around.
Also grade 4 is the worst you can get and may not be corrected. When they get that high it's usually too late for an operation. All the best to you and your baby.

[yorkiemalt]

Originally Posted by Yorkiedaze

That seems like quite a bit of money. I had both of Zada's knees operated on last year and it cost $1,300.00 and he's a specialist. I'd check around.
Also grade 4 is the worst you can get and may not be corrected. When they get that high it's usually too late for an operation. All the best to you and your baby.

A grade 4 knee is the worst but it is not inoperable. The amount of pain the dog would suffer with a kneecap that is permanently dislocated and riding up and down the leg would be excruciating.

What they say about a Grade 4 knee is that surgery should happen immediately. The longer the knee is left in that the condition the less chance the surgery would be 100% successful.

As far as price, in my area, NYC area it's approximately $2500 - $3000 per knee. Keep in mind, the different variables to the surgery.

I looked at it this way....I would demand nothing but the best surgeon for my family and I demanded nothing less for my dogs. Not to say, that kind of money came easily. I'm on my third knee in less than a year.....ummm.....$10,000 worth of knees!

The fact that both my dogs can walk and are pain free is worth every cent of what we spent.