Luxating Patella (Floating Kneecap) NEED ADVICE!!!

[QT Pies]

Has anyone ever had the luxating patella (floating kneecap) with their yorkies? My vet told me that my 1 yr. old male needs to have surgery for this problem. She said if he didn't get it done, he would have arthritis later on in life and that he could even just walk on three legs. If anyone has had experience with this, I would really appreciate your advice. Thanks

[yoshimax]

Hello,
I am sorry to hear about your baby with luxating patella. My little maltese had the same problem when he was about 2 years old. I had the surgery done on both of his knees by an ortho specialist. It was really hard but he is better now. He is 7y old now. I was told the same thing about arthritis later etc. being that my dog was young at the time, I opted to have it done. Good Luck... I would get a second opinion as I did. It was a very expensive surgery too.

[pippen5078]

I cant believe I went to this site to look up what my dog is going through and I find your pose. I have a 10 month old female who was playing with his siblings about a week ago and heard her yelp. then she started walking with her left rear leg bent up..then the next day she would do it periodically...she can only make abouit 50 % of her jumps onto the couch. and runs with 3 legs. I took her to the vet but was told different then you.
They said to have her take at easy and see what happens no jumping or running..sure remember she is a puppy...lol..anyways i googled it...the surgery needs to be done by a orthopedic vet only..it has a 48% of sucess and it may revert back again if they jump or run wrong. Some say to wait awhile and see what happens. I was given a pain, antiinflamatory med to give her but she doenst seem to be hurting..just has a bruised ego as she cant jump.
hope that helped..i know it is frustrating and i feel soo bad for my baby!
karen
pippen5078@aol.com

[QT Pies]

Hello--Thanks for responding. I am going to get some more opinions. My vet and an ortho specialist both said he needed it, but I am still going to get some more opinions. The specialist said he would have to be confined for 3 months. I can't imagine him being confined for that long. I would be so worried during surgery. He said it would cost around $2000.00, but I am more concerned about Smokey.

[yoshimax]

Originally Posted by QT Pies

Hello--Thanks for responding. I am going to get some more opinions. My vet and an ortho specialist both said he needed it, but I am still going to get some more opinions. The specialist said he would have to be confined for 3 months. I can't imagine him being confined for that long. I would be so worried during surgery. He said it would cost around $2000.00, but I am more concerned about Smokey.

I had insurance on my baby before but it was not covered and I paid almost 3,500 for the 2 legs. He was out for almost 6 weeks where I had to carry him out to potty because he cannot stand on his 2 legs to do pee. But we did not want to subject him to 2 surgeries and 2 recoveries. I still have pictures of him right after surgery. He was on a morphine patch for a week, Go to a board certified surgeon who has done a lot of these. They have more experience.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by QT Pies

Has anyone ever had the luxating patella (floating kneecap) with their yorkies? My vet told me that my 1 yr. old male needs to have surgery for this problem. She said if he didn't get it done, he would have arthritis later on in life and that he could even just walk on three legs. If anyone has had experience with this, I would really appreciate your advice. Thanks

Hello. Yep, lots of us have dogs with LP. My Daisy was born with two grade-4 luxating patellas. She had to have surgery on one of them when she was 2 years old because she went completely lame and could not walk, even after resting her in her crate with medication. The other leg has "gone out" a couple of times in her life, and we've had her surgeon look at her and x-ray it, but he never wanted to do surgery on that leg.

She is almost 11 years old now and has no arthritis and can run almost as fast as a cheetah! So please ask your vet to refer you to a board certified surgeon who specializes in orthopedics so you can get a second opinion. Surgery is a last resort in these cases and you want to take the most conservative approach you can.

Good luck!

[QT Pies]

When this first happened, he yelped really loud. The ortho specialist said it was because he tore some cartilage. But he doesn't yelp at all anymore and he is his active self as usual--no more yelping. The specialist showed me how to check to see if it is out of place and when I check, it is almost always out of place, but he walks fine and runs great. This is why I am so confused about it. He seems fine, but the specialist said it would really affect him when he is around 6 or 7. It's really hard to know what to do.

[Buster Brown]

Hello my Buster was diagnosed with LP grade 3/4 on both his back legs. I got opinions from 2 vets and an board certified Orthopedic surgeon and went ahead with surgery on his left leg as it was the one that was giving him the most problems. He said he would not do the surgery on his other leg until it was causing him problems. Buster was 15 month old when he had the surgery. He had an eight week recovery and was all ready weight bearing on the leg 2 days after surgery. He is tearing around like before now. I try to keep him from jumping on and off the furniture as that can aggravate the knees. Yes sometimes the problem can come back but that is true with human's knees as well. I did not want him to suffer with arthritis in his later years. The surgery cost $3000.00 but he is a board certified Orthopedic in Los Angeles so prices are probable a bit steeper here and I wanted the best for Buster. I was lucky I have PetPlan insurance and they do cover LP and other hereditary conditions which some do not. The confinement goes by quicker than you think but it must be done. Buster was kept in a crate in the beginning and then a little xpen for the remainder of the time. I just did not want to see Buster in pain and I knew every time he extended the leg or did not want to touch his paw down that he was in pain. I am sorry you have to go through this. I was a difficult decision to make but I am glad I went ahead with the surgery. Best Wishes to you and your dog.

[Buster Brown]

Originally Posted by QT Pies

When this first happened, he yelped really loud. The ortho specialist said it was because he tore some cartilage. But he doesn't yelp at all anymore and he is his active self as usual--no more yelping. The specialist showed me how to check to see if it is out of place and when I check, it is almost always out of place, but he walks fine and runs great. This is why I am so confused about it. He seems fine, but the specialist said it would really affect him when he is around 6 or 7. It's really hard to know what to do.

Sadly dogs will run and play when in pain. They do not know the should not. It is like a kid who will play even if he is sick. They are stoic little troopers and do not mentally think hmm I am in pain I should not play like we would. If they do not play then they are really hurting! Would you deny yourself surgery if you knew that in a few years you would limp and be in pain and you could not reverse the damage done? I know it is hard and expensive but think of what you would do for yourself or a child. You are doing the right thing by checking with the Doctors and if they say do it then I would go with their suggestion.

[Patti]

I am sorry to hear about your babies. Pixie fell off the bed and couldn't walk on her left leg last summer. I had 2 er vets, xrays, my vet and an ohro surgeon say she needed surgery. She had the surgery and has done great. One of my others has grade 4 in both legs is almost 6 years old and gets along fine. It depends on the dog. I would get another opinion and try the crate rest for a few weeks if you can. Pixie was on crate rest for 6 weeks and it wasn't too bad. I held her and kept her by me on the bed a lot of the time. Good luck and keep us posted.

[QT Pies]

Do they get back to their normal selves after all that confinement? Thanks for your replies!

[gloriajean]

My Vet WILL NOT do the surgery until the dog can not walk at all. Different Vets-- different stories, ???? If your dog is getting along good maybe you could put off the surgery while you saved up for it??

[deeda9999]

Sorry to hear about your pup. Gilmore is finally pretty much out of confinement inside the house. It has been 11 weeks of crate rest. You can search my posts to read Gilmore's story. We had no choice. He was fine one day and the next was crying in pain with the knee totally out. The surgery cost $3000 and my VPI insurance didn't cover any of it. His personality is pretty much the same although now I think he definitely looks for me more now. I was also afraid he would be sad or it would break his spirit but it really doesn't. I think it makes your bond stronger because they will need you to do everything for them. My love for him was intense before but I swear it is more intense now. I never would have thought that before.

I think he will look for me less when he can finally run free outside but that's all good. We had no choice and I guess that was easier than debating if we should do the surgery or not. We had no time to prepare for 3 months in a crate but we managed and Gilmore seems happy and is in no pain.

Good luck to you and your pup whatever you decide.

[Teegy]

My vet tells me Teegy has it and then pulls his legs in and out and wiggles his kneecaps, then says see can you feel that pop. This makes me mad because he's never had any issues and I have to wonder if wiggling his knee caps doesn't just help loosen them. My friends Yorkie had the same issue and instead of the surgery she gave her 1/4 of a baby aspirin a day for any pain she was in and put her on a diet, she was a bit chubby.

[Patti]

Pixie was fine during and after her confinement, but she was 4 1/2 years old and not an active dog. My surgeon only had her on crate rest for 6 weeks. By the 2nd week she could walk pretty normal. I would let her walk for short periods of time. Also, I kept her "sister" with her so she had her pal with her. By the 6 th week she was back to normal.