Sammy had LP surgery yesterday on both knees. The specialist told us that is is "elective" but we could tell she was walking funny and she can't walk far (although that doesn't stop her from jumping and running like crazy in the house) but you can just tell something isn't right. She was diagnosed with bad grade 3's. Loki has one grade 2 and unless it gets worse he will not need surgery. He can walk for miles without a problem and does not limp.
The reason it is elective is that they are not in pain NOW, for the most part. But if it's bad, by the time they are 5 or so they will have arthritis and then it will hurt! The specialist said she likes to fix them when they are puppies. Sammy is almost 2 but she put her in the "puppy" category for recovery. The surgery is expensive and the recovery isn't easy... but she said it has an 80% success rate. So, if you're dealing with grade 3's or they have symptoms, I'd get checked by a specialist. Not all vets do this. We traveled an hour away and the specialist is just an orthopedic surgeon for small animals so this is what she does every day!
Good luck to all of you dealing with this. We have learned a lot and I hope those who have already done the surgery can help us through recovery! |