My Betty Boop has LP!!!!

[enchilila]

I took Betty Boop to the vet this morning because she has been having mucousy poop. They did a CBC which was all normal. Her poop was free of worms. He gave us Biosol-M.

Last night, we were playing fetch. I threw the ball down the hallway and she has to round corners to get the ball. We have done this a million times before. She didn't come back very quickly the last time and when she did, she just stood there with her back right leg up, putting no pressure on it. Right then, I said "OH NO"! I knew what was going on because I have read so much on this forum about it. She got better within 15 minutes. I was hoping that she would never have this problem.

I told the vet about this and he felt of the knee and said it was loose. He graded it a 1. He said the knee pops back into place fast. He told me to keep an eye on it. He said he would like to do surgery if it goes to a 2 (where the knee doesn't slip back into place very fast). He said he wants to catch it before surgery would have to be done on the bone.

He showed me a dog leg and what LP actually looks like in its stages. At Stage 2, surgery would involve making the "indention" a little deeper (I call it the knee cup) where the knee lays inside and holds it in place. Then he cuts a small strand of ligament and places it on a side of the knee and it would give it extra support and hold it in place. He said it is major surgery, but would not be as extensive as waiting until later and operating on bones and using pins. Also said, recovery time would be less than 2 weeks and she would be wanting to be up and around before then. He said if I waited until a later stage, it would require pins and if those pins didn't stay in properly, the knee would be in bad shape again. The vet said he has done this many many times without incident and has had good success.

The cost of Stage 2 surgery is $350.

Is this post confusing? I tried to explain it as simple as I could. Does anyone have an opinion on this?

[Perrella]

I'm so sorry this happened to Betty Boop. Praying that is stays at grade 1 for her.
Can't offer any help and hoping I never have to experience this. But you explained it very well and now I understand it much better. Sounds, like on grade 2 surgery, success rate would be much higher, that's a plus.

I'm sure others with knowledge and first hand experience will be able to guide you better.

Hug & kisses from me & Zhoie to little girlie!

[enchilila]

Originally Posted by Perrella

I'm so sorry this happened to Betty Boop. Praying that is stays at grade 1 for her.
Can't offer any help and hoping I never have to experience this. But you explained it very well and now I understand it much better. Sounds, like on grade 2 surgery, success rate would be much higher, that's a plus.

I'm sure others with knowledge and first hand experience will be able to guide you better.

Hug & kisses from me & Zhoie to little girlie!

Thank you so much. I was hoping that she could outrun this problem in her life. The vet said to help her up and down off of beds and sofas as much as possible. Yeah, right! She's a fast mover!

She doesn't seem bothered by it at this time. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. I, too, hope you and Zhoie never have to go through it.

[jadabug]

I'm sorry to hear about Betty Boop having LP. Did your vet mention cosuquin or dasaquin? Jada has grade 2 and she is on dasaquin and shows no symptoms. My vet is just going to keep a watch on her as it hasn't popped out and stayed out at all. She has never limped either. It seems there are more of our babies with LP than without.

[Elle]

Originally Posted by enchilila

I took Betty Boop to the vet this morning because she has been having mucousy poop. They did a CBC which was all normal. Her poop was free of worms. He gave us Biosol-M.

Last night, we were playing fetch. I threw the ball down the hallway and she has to round corners to get the ball. We have done this a million times before. She didn't come back very quickly the last time and when she did, she just stood there with her back right leg up, putting no pressure on it. Right then, I said "OH NO"! I knew what was going on because I have read so much on this forum about it. She got better within 15 minutes. I was hoping that she would never have this problem.

I told the vet about this and he felt of the knee and said it was loose. He graded it a 1. He said the knee pops back into place fast. He told me to keep an eye on it. He said he would like to do surgery if it goes to a 2 (where the knee doesn't slip back into place very fast). He said he wants to catch it before surgery would have to be done on the bone.

He showed me a dog leg and what LP actually looks like in its stages. At Stage 2, surgery would involve making the "indention" a little deeper (I call it the knee cup) where the knee lays inside and holds it in place. Then he cuts a small strand of ligament and places it on a side of the knee and it would give it extra support and hold it in place. He said it is major surgery, but would not be as extensive as waiting until later and operating on bones and using pins. Also said, recovery time would be less than 2 weeks and she would be wanting to be up and around before then. He said if I waited until a later stage, it would require pins and if those pins didn't stay in properly, the knee would be in bad shape again. The vet said he has done this many many times without incident and has had good success.

The cost of Stage 2 surgery is $350.

Is this post confusing? I tried to explain it as simple as I could. Does anyone have an opinion on this?

Are you saying she has grade one? How old is she? Does she need them both done? Did she injure it?

He said 2 weeks recovery? How long did he say she would be in a cast? Are you missing a digit in the price? Is he board certified? Make sure you go to a board certified orthopedic surgeon.

I hope she's better soon.

[enchilila]

Originally Posted by Elle

Are you saying she has grade one? How old is she? Does she need them both done? Did she injure it?

He said 2 weeks recovery? How long did he say she would be in a cast? Are you missing a digit in the price? Is he board certified? Make sure you go to a board certified orthopedic surgeon.

I hope she's better soon.

He said she had grade one. She turned 1 year old on June 22nd. She only needs the right knee done possibly one day. She didn't injure it that I know of. She is always very hyper, running to and fro, jumping up and down. The only thing I can think of that could cause it to slip is when she flies low to the floor and rounds the hallway corners to get the ball. OH!! It just came to mind that we have hallway carpet runners. I wonder if she might have gotten her legs under one or tripped on one. That's a very high possibility. They are coming up NOW!!

He said about 2 weeks recovery. He didn't mention a cast, but then he may not have told me every detail. Nope, he said $350. He is not an orthopedic surgeon that I know of and I don't know if he is board certified. How would I find that out, short of asking him. Is there a way to find it on the web? And, how do I find a list of Orthopedic surgeons around my area?

Would it be wise to go ahead and find an ortho surgeon and take her to be examined?

You have brought up some good points that I need to remember if and when Betty Boop needs surgery.

Thanks!

[Patti]

Hopefully you can avoid surgery. Wow your vet is really inexpensive. I just had Pixie's knee done and the bone had to be cut and it was done by a board certified othopedic surgeon and it was 2600.00. Her recovery is 6 weeks confinement. I would get her on the a glucosemin supplement, train her to use a ramp or stairs to get on and off furniture to help avoid the need for surgery.

[capt_noonie]

I would highly advise to NOT get surgery for grade 2, totally unnecessary. Esp your pup doesn't even have grade2 and the vet is already talking surgery. Grade 1 is so mild, usually from an injury, and nothing to get worried about. Uni has grade 3 and has been doing very well on cosequin. In the past year since she was diagnosed, she had not lifted her leg even once after I put her on the supplement.

Now, putting BB on supplements is not going to make the problem go away, but it will help keep her joints healthy. That, and keeping her at a healthy weight will put less stress on the joints. Keep jumping to a minimum, or use stairs, etc.

If you do think about surgery, I would first get a 2nd opinion and only go to a board certified ortho specialist. I am very weary of vets who jump to say surgery at the first moment. $350 for the less invasive grade 2 surgery imo would be a waste of money, and I don't believe for a second recovery time is 2 weeks. Most lp surgery is between 6-8 weeks, if not more.

Also, whenever I go to the vet, they always check knees, even with my new vet I just found, I didn't say anything about lp, he felt Uni's knees and asked me if I knew. I said gr3 and he agreed. Why did your vet not check BB's knees the first time you went in? My first horrible vet at Banfield told me Uni had lp at 6 months, but didn't explain further, so i didn't really know about it until I came on here.

[Darlene68]

I am so sorry that Betty Boop was diagnosed with LP It seems there are so many yorkies diagnosed with this, it really is scary. Hugs.

[fifeandshaffer]

Some dogs dont ever need the surgery,, my dog fife had both of his done one a g4 one a g3, he also needed a hip replaced, he got pins in lhis lp and hip when he was under 1 year old, i had his done at the univ of penn they are very good, not cheap but good, I paid almost 10k for his surgeries, but well worth it, they also require 3 yes 3 vet references to get into the ortho dept at penn, but again worth it. Dont make yourself crazy over what could have happened or did happen or if she slid or thr like, sadly it happens to so many yorkies because not all breeders are there for the love of the dog its more like love of the dollar. I agree with prev post limit jumping use steps for furniture andor beds.. but if your dog was anything like my fife he wanted no parts of that, so surgery was only option, also the gluc might also help it might not but it sure wont hurt. Also a 2nd opinion never hurts

[Connie]

I'm sorry to hear about Betty Boop having LP, but I just can't see your vet suggesting surgery at grade 2. Libby has had grade 2 LP since she was about the age Betty is, and she is 3 1/2 now. I put her on Flexicose, which is a liquid glucosamine complex and she has been fine...no limping or noticeable problems. My vet told me to keep Libby skinny and she will be fine. I would not put any of my dogs through surgery unless they were in pain and it was obvious with limping, etc. Give Betty Boopster kisses from me and the girls!

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by enchilila

I took Betty Boop to the vet this morning because she has been having mucousy poop. They did a CBC which was all normal. Her poop was free of worms. He gave us Biosol-M.

Last night, we were playing fetch. I threw the ball down the hallway and she has to round corners to get the ball. We have done this a million times before. She didn't come back very quickly the last time and when she did, she just stood there with her back right leg up, putting no pressure on it. Right then, I said "OH NO"! I knew what was going on because I have read so much on this forum about it. She got better within 15 minutes. I was hoping that she would never have this problem.

I told the vet about this and he felt of the knee and said it was loose. He graded it a 1. He said the knee pops back into place fast. He told me to keep an eye on it. He said he would like to do surgery if it goes to a 2 (where the knee doesn't slip back into place very fast). He said he wants to catch it before surgery would have to be done on the bone.

He showed me a dog leg and what LP actually looks like in its stages. At Stage 2, surgery would involve making the "indention" a little deeper (I call it the knee cup) where the knee lays inside and holds it in place. Then he cuts a small strand of ligament and places it on a side of the knee and it would give it extra support and hold it in place. He said it is major surgery, but would not be as extensive as waiting until later and operating on bones and using pins. Also said, recovery time would be less than 2 weeks and she would be wanting to be up and around before then. He said if I waited until a later stage, it would require pins and if those pins didn't stay in properly, the knee would be in bad shape again. The vet said he has done this many many times without incident and has had good success.

The cost of Stage 2 surgery is $350.

Is this post confusing? I tried to explain it as simple as I could. Does anyone have an opinion on this?

This is what makes me want to second guess your vet. He said he wants to do surgery before he has to do surgery on the bone, yet he wants to wait to see if she gets to gr2, which he says surgery on gr2 would be to deepen the groove in the knee. Isn't that contradictory?

Also lets not forget your BB is only at gr1 and he's already talking surgery!

[enchilila]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

I would highly advise to NOT get surgery for grade 2, totally unnecessary. Esp your pup doesn't even have grade2 and the vet is already talking surgery. Grade 1 is so mild, usually from an injury, and nothing to get worried about. Uni has grade 3 and has been doing very well on cosequin. In the past year since she was diagnosed, she had not lifted her leg even once after I put her on the supplement.

Now, putting BB on supplements is not going to make the problem go away, but it will help keep her joints healthy. That, and keeping her at a healthy weight will put less stress on the joints. Keep jumping to a minimum, or use stairs, etc.

If you do think about surgery, I would first get a 2nd opinion and only go to a board certified ortho specialist. I am very weary of vets who jump to say surgery at the first moment. $350 for the less invasive grade 2 surgery imo would be a waste of money, and I don't believe for a second recovery time is 2 weeks. Most lp surgery is between 6-8 weeks, if not more.

Also, whenever I go to the vet, they always check knees, even with my new vet I just found, I didn't say anything about lp, he felt Uni's knees and asked me if I knew. I said gr3 and he agreed. Why did your vet not check BB's knees the first time you went in? My first horrible vet at Banfield told me Uni had lp at 6 months, but didn't explain further, so i didn't really know about it until I came on here.

I feel like I'm a bad mom because I've seen her in action on these hallway carpets and I should've known. I'm hoping to keep her at a grade 1. I would love to put her on cosequin. I've used this for my cats in the past. Where do you get yours at a good price? I am so glad to hear that yours is doing so well.

She weighs 5 pounds. She uses the stairs to go UP to the bed. But, she will FLY off of it most of the time. It can't be helped. I've tried to catch her before she does this. I also have steps in front of both sofas. She doesn't use them. She'd rather FLY.

She LOVES to run and run and run and play with the outside cat. She loves to play at night until I get so tired. I'll always worry now about her knee.

I won't rush into surgery. He told me to not worry about anything right now. It could be 2 months or 2 years and to just keep an eye on her.

I am notorious for seeking out specialists. This is why my vet of 30 years banned me from his clinic. And also because of the research I do on the net. Pretty narrow-minded, huh?

Thanks for your input. It is much needed. I am new to the LP circuit.

[enchilila]

Originally Posted by fifeandshaffer

Some dogs dont ever need the surgery,, my dog fife had both of his done one a g4 one a g3, he also needed a hip replaced, he got pins in lhis lp and hip when he was under 1 year old, i had his done at the univ of penn they are very good, not cheap but good, I paid almost 10k for his surgeries, but well worth it, they also require 3 yes 3 vet references to get into the ortho dept at penn, but again worth it. Dont make yourself crazy over what could have happened or did happen or if she slid or thr like, sadly it happens to so many yorkies because not all breeders are there for the love of the dog its more like love of the dollar. I agree with prev post limit jumping use steps for furniture andor beds.. but if your dog was anything like my fife he wanted no parts of that, so surgery was only option, also the gluc might also help it might not but it sure wont hurt. Also a 2nd opinion never hurts

Yeah, I'm beating myself up over it. I've seen her interaction with the hallway carpet before and didn't remove it.

She is her old self tonight and showing no pain. She is BEGGING me to throw the ball so she can chase after it down the hallway. I'm barely tossing it.

I want to put her on cosequin or something similar.

Wow! Your baby went through a lot, but sounded like he did well after the surgery.

[enchilila]

Originally Posted by Patti

Hopefully you can avoid surgery. Wow your vet is really inexpensive. I just had Pixie's knee done and the bone had to be cut and it was done by a board certified othopedic surgeon and it was 2600.00. Her recovery is 6 weeks confinement. I would get her on the a glucosemin supplement, train her to use a ramp or stairs to get on and off furniture to help avoid the need for surgery.

I'm glad Pixie's surgery went well and that she is doing good. It would be hard to keep a good Yorkie down for 6 weeks. Betty Boop has steps but she would rather FLY off of the sofas and bed. I'm going to put her on cosequin or glucosamine soon.