Luxating patella. Surgery?
 

My 2 year old Maltese/Yorkie, Kimchee, hurt herself while playing fetch in the grass. She was diagnosed with lp grade 3/4. The vet and ortho recommend surgery because this can lead to arthritis. It's been a couple of weeks since the incident and she walks and jumps fine with no pain. Every once in a while she'll limp when she runs in the grass. I think the uneven terrain makes it worse. Anyway, do you all think we should do surgery? Or can we treat her with supplements and just be more careful of her running and jumping? I'm worried about her post surgery (never crated, very hyper) and $3000 is hard to come by nowadays.

It may not seem bad now but I think you will regret it later if you dont get the surgery. Even though some dogs limp and then continue playing it probably doesnt feel real great when it pops out. Also she could be putting more weight on the other leg making that one also prone to early arthritis. You can also be at risk for cruciate ruptures which are very expensive to fix also. Its your choice but a 3/4 I would fix.

If Kimchee is in pain, then I think surgery should happen. If she is not in pain, I look into supplements first. We use Dasuquin. It's a bit more than Cosequin. Hot Rod had lp surgery 2 years ago and thankfully his knee is great. I would really talk it over with the surgeon and see where he feels she is.

Surgery is always hard but the recuperation time is difficult as well. We had to keep Hot Rod quiet for 6 weeks. It was tough and hard. I am glad that I did it as it was something he needed, his leg was bowed outward and he was not wanting to walk on our walks.

If a specialist has recommended surgery, I believe you have your answer about what to do. To pay for this, perhaps you can get Care Credit.
CareCredit Healthcare Finance - Payment Plans and Financing for Cosmetic Surgery, Dental, Vision, Hearing, Veterinary & Other Medical Procedures

Maggie has grade 3 LP and has only had a problem once. We kept her quiet and kept her off it as much as possible. She also had an injection from the vet and got pills to take while "resting" it. That was when we first discovered it and she hasn't had any issues since. Our vet said the surgical center charges $2000/leg, but said one of the surgeons comes into his office and it can be done for $1000/leg. I'm not sure if the $3000 you mentioned is for one leg or for both, but I would check around if I were you. Also, if you feel the dog is having continual or chronic problems with it, you should have the surgery. We plan to hold off doing the surgery unless Maggie has more problems, which thankfully she hasn't.

Buster has 3/4 LP in both his back legs. He had the surgery on the one that was causing him issues, the Orthopedic Surgeon said to wait on the other leg until it was causing him pain/problems. He was unhappy with being crated during the recovery time but it was worth it. I would be careful about choosing someone to perform the surgery just because they are cheaper. Look into how many times they have performed this surgery especially on small dogs. For me going with an Orthopedic surgeon was the wiser choice. I did not want Buster to be in pain. It is not just the limping when they are in pain he would lift the leg bothering him when standing as weight bearing on it caused him pain.:( The reason to do it earlier rather than later is that the more they use the leg the more damage is caused to the joints which results in irreversible damages which causes arthritis later on in life. Also by running off kilter they can cause damage to other ligaments.

:thumbup::thumbup:

I have seen disasters occur because of people choosing a cheaper vet. More important is the qualifications of the surgeon. I met an owner whose pup had a FHO performed by a cheaper vet and sadly the vet severed the sciatic nerve. I never did hear the outcome...I met her in the waiting room of the speciailist where she went after the mess was already done. :(

I would think you would do as much research for the vet surgeon for your dog as you would for a surgeon for yourself or loved one. Price either higher or lower isn't really the main issue.

i had this same thing happen to Sadie at about 10 months old. she was injured going up the steps and diagnosed with Luxating Patella grade 3. We opted not to do surgery at the time per advice from our vet and surgeons and waited for her to try and heal on her own. the knee slipped back into place but she was still limping. about that time I started working for a vet that offered VOM (Veterniary Orthopedic Manipulation) basically chiropractic care for dogs. We saw this woman several times over several weeks and Sadie is now limp free and has been for a year and a half. we go in for 6 month check ups to adjust her knee and hips and keep her in place and do cold laser therapy on her muscles to keep her strong. i really believe in this method of healing. sometimes you have to go through with a surgery, but this is cheaper and worth a try first and if it doesn't heal them and keep them in good shape THEN we would do a surgery. try it out and find one in your area. i promise it's worth the drive to one and it's worth their fees for treatment. saved us a 1500 surgery and saved Sadie from being put to sleep for a surgery at 4 lbs at the time.

Veterinary Chiropractic, Animal Chiropractic, Veterinary Cold Laser Therapy

http://www.vomtech.com/practitioners3.htm (you have several in your area)

we also used this when the vet said there was nothing that could be done about her hip having a huge bald spot and loosing all it's muscle. cold laser therapy has regrown a lot of that muscle back and restored it to her body. it's really amazing what they can do.

Mikki has LP and our vet did say that she would probably deal with arthritis when she got older. However, she doesn't appear to be in any pain and he did not recommend surgery at this time. She has a grade 4. We try to limit all jumping with her. If you trust your vet then I think you should follow his/her advice. I trust mine and know that when surgery is needed he will recommend it. If you are doubting the vet's opinion you could seek another vet. But if you have already seen an ortho then I am thinking that surgery may be your pups best option. Good luck on your decision.

Thank you all for the advice! I went ahead and scheduled her surgery for Oct. 17th with the orthopedic surgeon. It is $3000 per leg. I figured we should get this fixed early before it worsens. Crating her will be tough though! I also ordered some glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM for the future. Don't want to go through this with the other leg too!

Best of luck with her sugery. Please let us know how she is doing. The after care will be a long road to recovery. Please make sure to following your surgeons advice.

The day of surgery will be hard until you get the phone call that she is awake. Been there done that, it seemed like the longest day ever. Good luck.

I'm so sorry that you have to go through this!!

I'm concerned about LP too. Right now by baby doesn't have a severe case but it is definitely something I'm monitoring. Stay strong and agreed about closely following doctor's orders post-surgery.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: Good luck Kimchee will be in our thoughts and prayers.

Good luck with the surgery and for a smooth and speedy recovery. Prayers going out to both of you.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: You might want to bring in old towels or tshirts with your scent on it to comfort her at the hospital. I did this with Buster. Just to let you know you will probably not get the clothing/towels back as they can not keep track of it but it will be a nice bedding donation to the other pups down the line at the hospital. I also ordered a Kiss e cone collar from Hot Rod's Mom. Having the soft collar really helped Buster be comfortable while not be able to chew at his stitches. Best of luck!

Good luck with the surgery! My little girl just had hers done on both knees this past Saturday =\ been an up and down recovery and I hope it's worth it. Best of luck to kimchee!

Kimchee appreciates all the support! She just had her surgery this morning. Doc says she did very well. Going to pick her up tomorrow at 10am. Any tips on post surgery care?

Definitely lots of rest! I didnt leave my house for 10 days haha till she got her stiches out. She refused to use her potty pad and I had to carry her outside to the backyard to let her go. She basically slept the whole entire time because the antibiotics and pain meds made her sleepy. Now its been almost 4 weeks and it was like nothing ever happened. Her surgery went well but she is still cant play or go for walks just because I dont want her to mess up her little legs!

Hope kimchee is doing well!

Thanks! It's been tough. 1st 2 days she was whimpering, shivering and panting a lot. Pain meds helped. Then today she starts walking around like nothing happened! It's gonna be tough keeping her inactive. We have her confined to the bedroom for now.

Glad to hear she's walking around. Amazing how quickly they bounce back. She still needs to take it slow though, good luck with that. My prayers are with both of you.

How's Kimchee doing? I hope she has a speedy recovery!

Thanks. She was doing well up until yesterday. We left her in her play pen and went out to eat. We came back and noticed she was limping. Before that she was walking fine on that leg. Not sure what she did while we were gone. I'm guessing she was standing on her hind legs and trying to climb her way out of the play pen. Today she's still struggling with that leg. Going to call the vet to schedule a follow up appointment. :(