[LullaBelle]

My little LulaBelle (who is 5 yrs old) was recently Diagnosed w/ Arthritis in her last two disks in her back, and serious hip dysplasia. I'm no vet and even I could tell her hips looks bad on the x ray. It was a huge shock since I wasn't expecting it.
Originally I thought she pulled a muscle in her back b/c she had been acting like she was in pain, but it would come and go; it wasn't that she was constantly in pain. She would be hunched over for a little bit, head down and some times shaking as if it really hurt, and then after a few mins she would be back to her normal self running, jumping, barking and acting normal as if everything was fine.
When the vet took her x rays I thought maybe a possible fracture or something. I was totally blown away w/ this diagnosis!
My parents had a German Shepard and he had hip dysplasia really bad for quite some yrs. I never expected it in my 5 yr old yorkie!

So the vet put her on Half a chew of Synovial Flex (condroyton) and 2.5mg of Prednisone a day. She said in the future she will probably need to have her ball joints to her hips removed if she is to live comfortably for the next 10-15 yrs. She said since dogs walk on all 4s that they don't need the ball joints to walk, that the musculature is what is most important.
The meds seem to be working she seems back to her usual self its just that I don't want her on them long term; b/c I had a dog yrs ago who had cancer and her vet put her on Prednisone. Basically (long story short) she ended up w/ roid rage and her cancer wasn't getting any better. Its still a very hard subject for me even these yrs later. I would just hate to see my Lu go thru that and I don't think I could go thru that again.
So my husband and I have opted to save up for the surgery.

My question is does anybody have any experience with this? Have they ever had this surgery done? How much should it cost? And what are the usual results?
Any information (and prayers) would be greatly appreciated.'
Thank you
Bridget