Quote:
Originally Posted by LBH  Hi Everyone,
Moose went to the vet yesterday after a couple days of strange behavior that we couldn't seem to diagnose. He wasn't really putting his right back leg down- just kind of scooting it across the floor. Our vet quickly diagnosed luxating patella in his back right leg and said that he has very loose kneecaps on all legs, especially the back two.  Of course all we ever want is for our babies to be happy and healthy and I was so upset to hear this news. The vet is not optomistic about Moose being able to function normally without surgery; we are giving him 2 weeks of rest/confinement to see if the kneecaps will stive give him trouble after they have been allowed to rest. The good side is that he doesn't seem to be in visible pain, he just isn't his normal active self, and this of course inhibits his ability to run and play.
The vet also wants to conduct a bile acid test next week just to rule out a liver shunt. Moose does have frequent bouts of tummy upset (as you have probably seen from my previous threads!) but this is usually due to the mischevious little guy eating something he shouldn't. He doesn't exhibit any other symptoms associated with liver shunts at all, but the vet is concerned with frequent g.i. upset and wants to rule it out once and for all.
I have spent hours reading this forum and all of the threads about luxating patella and whether or not to do the surgery based on what stage the condition is in (we have not diagnosed the stage yet, Moose will be back for x rays to do this). So I am just looking for stories from yorkie owners who have very small babies (Moose is only 4lbs!) who have either had the surgery or elected not to, and how things have turned out. I am extremely worried about how risky and dangerous the surgery is for such a small dog.  Please reply if you have been through this and can share your story; I would appreciate it SO much! Thank you!  |
my dd has LP 4 in back both legs per xray and the fact they do not manipulate at all is a grade 4 as grade 4 is permanently out and hers are cemented to outside with no manual manipulation. She hurt her leg on doggie stairs and is no longer lifting the leg after 2 months of rest - she only lifted leg the first 1 1/2 days. We had digital xrays done and it shows LP 4 confirmation. I have spoke to orthopedic and 3 dvm and due to dd not being able to tolerate nsaids or antibiotics and what i have discussed with these 4 i will not do any surgery on her. We believe she tore or ruptured her acl which is a possibility with LP dogs. You are best to keep them from twisting and turning chasing balls and jumping on and off things if they have this as much as possible. DD was an avid frisbee player and never had any leg lifting and played 3 hrs a night. When i spoke to ortho he said they will have arthritis whether they have this surgery or not as just like humans you have surgery there is scar tissue and arthritis in joints that have been fixed same with dogs. I will not elect for surgery unless she is continuously lifting the leg ALOT. My dd does get up slow after laying on it a long time but 90% of time is fine with her leg. This surgery is very hard on them and a friend did this surgery recently and dog is now lifting leg again so I my recommendation is unless the dog is in pain, lifting leg, etc i would not recommend surgery in a toy breed.