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Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985  How scary! Kaji has grade 3/4 LP's in both knees. They don't cause him to miss a step and he doesn't show any discomfort so long as I keep his weight down. My biggest fear is him getting this surgery, not for the money but the pain and discomfort. |
Ivan didn't show any symptoms either. We may not have known how bad off he was if it hadn't been for Iris starting to limp. When she stopped using one of her legs, we had both pups evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon as well as a chiropractor. Both doctors urged us to have surgery for them both as soon as possible. The chiropractor also pointed out several symptoms on both pups that we hadn't noticed. They were just little ways that they were compensating. They were only 11 months old and we were very scared. Ivan only had to have one knee done but Iris had both. He still has a grade 2 in the other knee so we will have him checked every 6 months and keep an eye on it. Fingers crossed that he never needs the second surgery. I sure hope your Kaji never needs it too. I know many folks have been able to avoid surgery with weight management, good nutrition and even chiropractic care. For our pups, surgery was the right thing to do and we are glad that we did. It was hard on them (and us too) but they are both doing great.
OP- I forgot to mention that we took our pups for some physical therapy a few months after the surgery. Iris had some muscle atrophy from being in the bandages for a week and then the limited movement. The swim therapy really seemed to help her. You might want to ask your surgeon about that if they don't bring it up as part of the recovery plan. Here is another picture of Iris at her first swim session.