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Originally Posted by aweitzm1  Sorry for not getting back to everyone sooner. Right after I typed this thread I got a call from my dog walker that he was bitten by a pit bull at the playground. I have been dealing with that and put this issue on the back burner.
For those asking Thumper is about 7 years old. My vet is pushing it because he feels as Thumper gets old arthritis is going to kick in and then it will be too late to fix the issue. |
Oh my...is he ok? How scary.
The specialist I use for knees is amazing. He does not recommend surgery on knees in adult yorkies unless there are symptoms. You can do the surgery and end up having a torn ligament months or a year later (or whenever) and then you are looking at yet another surgery. By that age, the wear and tear on the CCL has already happened and it cannot be reversed! Hard on the pup and definitely on the pocketbook! I have adult pups with LP who do not have arthritis! IF an adult does tear the CCL, then the LP can be repaired at the same time you repair the ligament. That said, many never do tear the CCL.
Many vets do push for LP surgery....I have seen that time and time again with the different foster homes we have. I like to think they mean well, but again, if there are no symptoms it really is not recommended. Here is a link to the American Acadamy of Veterinary Surgeons about this subject:
https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/patellar-luxations
Note this statement from that link...the first sentence should be taken seriously. I believe too many yorkies end up with unnecessary surgeries on knees......most of them these days do have some degree of LP.
Patellar luxations that do not cause any symptoms should be monitored but do not typically warrant surgical correction, especially in small dogs.
I highly recommend that you see a board certified surgeon with extensive experience with surgery on small dogs with knee issues. You can find one by searching here:
www.acvs.org