Quote:
Originally Posted by Lisasyorkie  Hello All,
We got out first Yorkie a few months ago. She is a wonderful 5.2lb bundle of joy. This little Yorkie has touched our lives in such a positive way with all her little kisses and love. She is about 9 months old now and our vet has diagnosed her as have luxating patella in both back knees with one being worse than the other. Our vet has recommended a type of surgery where they deepen the groove where the kneecap sits.
My concern is with the diagnoses itself. Our Yorkie has no signs of any problems with her knees until the vet does the exam to test for it which seems to cause our Yorkie a lot of pain. And the vet suggest that we do this surgery soon to prevent arthritis from forming. I will definitely get a second opinion before doing anything. But before I let another vet examine our precious puppy, I wanted to see what the normal procedure is for determining problems with knees in Yorkies really is. It is normal for a vet to pop the knee out of joint in order to test for luxating patella? I'm not sure if this is what the vet is doing but some part of the exam is causing pain. And before I let another vet do this, I just want to see what some more experienced Yorkie owners have to say.
Has anyone has this problem before? What did you do?
Thanks
Lisa  |
Wow, my Bella is going through this very same thing right now. In Bella's case, it is much more extreme, and it's obvious that she is not using her bad leg a lot of the time.
Yes, I'm afraid that the vet does have to feel the kneecap and see how much it moves in and out of the groove. It can seem shocking, and yes, the action of popping the knee in and out of the groove can definitely cause pain and discomfort. In your case, if you're not seeing any other signs of discomfort, like hopping, skipping, or holding one leg off the ground as the dog walks on the other three legs, a second opinion is definitely indicated. Is your vet also the surgeon, and if so, does he or she have lots of experience performing this type of surgery and/or is he or she board certified? If not, get your second opinion from someone who is highly experienced, and preferably board certified. It would be tragic to have surgery done if there is a misdiagnosis, or if the luxating patella is mild enough that it can be treated with anti-inflammatories and rest. Good luck, and keep us posted on what happens!