I am so sorry about the diagnosis, but glad you are going to have surgery done. You will save him the crippling pain of arthritis later on.
This is what a vet on another forum wrote about Grade 3 luxations:
"Grade 3: The patella is out of place all the time but can be manipulated back into its normal position manually (though it will not stay there).
It is not a good thing to have one's knee cap out of place; the entire weight-bearing stress of the rear leg is altered which, in time, leads to changes in the hips, long bones, and ultimately arthritis. How severe the changes are depends on how severe the luxation is (i.e., the grade as described above) and how long that degree of luxation has been going on. In time, the legs will actually turn inward, making the dog "knock-kneed." The luxation is not considered a painful condition but after enough time and conformational change, arthritis sets in, which is indeed painful.
Dogs with Grade 3 or 4 disease definitely should have surgery." |