My daughter's Chi has a grade 1-2 and she probably won't need surgery. I don't feel any clicking with her joints and she hasn't walked around funny. I was told that my Yorkie, Sparrow is a grade 2-3, and I think it's only in her right leg because that's the leg that I feel the click sometimes. I haven't seen her walk funny either. I just got her from a rescue a few days ago so I haven't had a chance to take her to my own vet with the holidays and everything.
I'm glad to know that even the dogs with a grade 4 can be okay for many years. I always thought that a 4 is a definite candidate for surgery because it's the highest grade. I hope that my two will be okay in the long run. The Chi is over 3 years old and Sparrow is 1 and a half years old. The Chi is insured with Embrace, and I'm going to do the same for Sparrow. However, they don't cover luxating patella and any resulting complications from LP surgery or whatever else dealing with the LP if it's a pre-existing condition. They would cover it if it's the result of an accident which is the other way a dog can end up with LP.
On a Chi forum I read that somebody got the LP surgery for their Chi, but the dog seemed worse afterwards. I don't know what grade that Chi was, but it scared me to think that a dog can end up worse after LP surgery. I haven't checked back to see if the Chi ended up getting better, but it wasn't that long ago that the owner posted about her Chi not doing well with the LP surgery. |