Introduction & baby boy P-Nut diagnosed with Legg-Calve-Perthes - Page 3 - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Yorkiemom1 · 07-31-2012, 12:21 PM

"Cheaper" did not even enter into the formula! Believe me, I can spitz money off with the best of them! And when it comes to my dogs, I go where they can get the best care, regardless of price. It was a question of allowing that pup to continue to atrophy in the undone hip, until she recovered from the first procedure, then going back in, back under anesthesia, and doing the other hip later. I could not get any rationale that made any sense to me, from any of these vets that wanted to stage the surgery. Most had just never done the surgery in both hips at the same time and THEY were not comfortable doing it. This was NOT a good enough reason for me to allow that pup to have a procedure that an experienced vet can do easily and successfully in one setting. I had much support from vets around the Nation, that happened to agree with my rationale, for wanting to use a vet that was comfortable doing both hips at once. Dr Terrel was well known by the vets I spoke with at his alma mater, and I was comfortable with their recommendation. I would have never gone to any surgeon that I did not feel was capable of doing the procedure, and doing it well, regardless of what the charges were. I know this man's credentials, and I know the man himself, and I was comfortable with his expertise and experience. He specializes in orthopedics, although he is not board certified. His 25+ years of experience doing these surgeries, successfully, more than qualifies him as capable in MY opinion. I am terrified of dentists. I went to a "board certified cosmetic dentist" in order to get a tooth filled, because he had a technique of giving injections in your mouth that you would never even feel the injection! I paid at LEAST 5x's what a regular dentist charges, for nothing but a filling, JUST so he wouldnt hurt me with that horse needle in my mouth! No, I dont shy away from spending money when the situation calls for it....I was comfortable with Dr. Terrel, and as usual, he did an excellent job, and that pup has done absolutely just as well as she would have done had I chosen to have the surgery "staged", by a board certified surgeon. I think P-Nuts mom has already chosen her vet, he has over 30+ years experience, and I am not sure if he is board certified...but she is comfortable with what he has told her, and she has chosen to go his route. I am sure the surgery will be a success and it is probably what is best for THAT pup. I dont think his hips are as bad as the pup I was helping with, so the pain and muscle atrophy may not be as much of a concern.

ladyjane · 07-31-2012, 12:35 PM

Not trying to insult anyone. I am just baffled...I thought you had consulted with 7 chief surgeons who all said they would do both at once? Maybe I am just not reading things well.
As for atrophy in a hip, I don't agree with you or your vet, ... you are talking about a puppy. How much atrophy really could have happened between surgeries? You chose what you chose...and the results were good. All that matters. I am simply not in line with your thinking regarding ortho surgery. The person I met who had a sciatic nerve cut on her pup during a FHO surgery clinched the deal for me...sure, any vet can make a mistake, but I will always err on the side of caution and go with the experts...board certified surgeons. That's my choice. Can they have problems? Sure...but at least I will always know I went with the best. If I went to a regular vet who just happened to do ortho surgeries and there was a problem, I would never forgive myself.

P-Nut Mom · 07-31-2012, 12:39 PM

My guy is not board certified, but has done many of these surgeries. A search in the beginning of this process revealed only a couple of board certified people in the region, one is out of county and the other is by referral only and is the one with whom my doc consulted on the x-rays, dx, etc. There is supposedly an ortho specialist that works out of one of the San Jose-area VCAs, but I will not go back to a VCA animal hospital. I left our previous vet hospital because they were taken over by VCA and they became a nightmare to deal with. We don't want to travel out of county for this, we'd like to use our trusted guy who is close by. Cost didn't enter into our decision, either. P-Nut's left leg/hip has actually gotten better over the past couple of weeks, he's not exhibiting symptoms in that one anymore, so I feel comfortable having the right done, then the left. I'm sure this will be quite a learning process and I hope never to have to go through it again, but I would, of course, if another little guy or gal needed it done.

107barney · 07-31-2012, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1

"Cheaper" did not even enter into the formula! Believe me, I can spitz money off with the best of them! And when it comes to my dogs, I go where they can get the best care, regardless of price. It was a question of allowing that pup to continue to atrophy in the undone hip, until she recovered from the first procedure, then going back in, back under anesthesia, and doing the other hip later. I could not get any rationale that made any sense to me, from any of these vets that wanted to stage the surgery. Most had just never done the surgery in both hips at the same time and THEY were not comfortable doing it. This was NOT a good enough reason for me to allow that pup to have a procedure that an experienced vet can do easily and successfully in one setting. I had much support from vets around the Nation, that happened to agree with my rationale, for wanting to use a vet that was comfortable doing both hips at once. Dr Terrel was well known by the vets I spoke with at his alma mater, and I was comfortable with their recommendation. I would have never gone to any surgeon that I did not feel was capable of doing the procedure, and doing it well, regardless of what the charges were. I know this man's credentials, and I know the man himself, and I was comfortable with his expertise and experience. He specializes in orthopedics, although he is not board certified. His 25+ years of experience doing these surgeries, successfully, more than qualifies him as capable in MY opinion. I am terrified of dentists. I went to a "board certified cosmetic dentist" in order to get a tooth filled, because he had a technique of giving injections in your mouth that you would never even feel the injection! I paid at LEAST 5x's what a regular dentist charges, for nothing but a filling, JUST so he wouldnt hurt me with that horse needle in my mouth! No, I dont shy away from spending money when the situation calls for it....I was comfortable with Dr. Terrel, and as usual, he did an excellent job, and that pup has done absolutely just as well as she would have done had I chosen to have the surgery "staged", by a board certified surgeon. I think P-Nuts mom has already chosen her vet, he has over 30+ years experience, and I am not sure if he is board certified...but she is comfortable with what he has told her, and she has chosen to go his route. I am sure the surgery will be a success and it is probably what is best for THAT pup. I dont think his hips are as bad as the pup I was helping with, so the pain and muscle atrophy may not be as much of a concern.

Hopefully you took that pup out of your breeding program given that the pain and atrophy of the pup was so severe. I think those facts alone would definitely lead me to an ACVS diplomat surgeon, and if I were near Houston, to Dr. Beale. I am glad the pup is doing ok though. Leggs-Calves-Perthes is a horrible condition, I hope my Teddy never has any pain from it, but lately that is the least of my worries - I'd rather do LCP surgery than zygomatic mucocele surgery and wire up his face. It makes you not want to own dogs until you remember all the joy they bring us.

Yorkiemom1 · 07-31-2012, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 107barney

Hopefully you took that pup out of your breeding program given that the pain and atrophy of the pup was so severe. I think those facts alone would definitely lead me to an ACVS diplomat surgeon, and if I were near Houston, to Dr. Beale. I am glad the pup is doing ok though. Leggs-Calves-Perthes is a horrible condition, I hope my Teddy never has any pain from it, but lately that is the least of my worries - I'd rather do LCP surgery than zygomatic mucocele surgery and wire up his face. It makes you not want to own dogs until you remember all the joy they bring us.

I am sorry, you misunderstood something I said...thank God, that pup NEVER was in my breeding program?????!!!!!

107barney · 07-31-2012, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1

I am sorry, you misunderstood something I said...thank God, that pup NEVER was in my breeding program?????!!!!!

Oh good!

Yorkiemom1 · 07-31-2012, 04:42 PM

I am supposed to go to Lumberton (?)this weekend.... to pick up a Yorkie that "is not using one of his hind leg....been limping/hobbling on 3 legs for a little while", the owner says ????!!! Have no idea what this is going to turn out to be....this person can not afford to pay for treatment, especially if it turns out to be any type of surgery.....so I will see what this little fella is facing......

P-Nut Mom · 07-31-2012, 05:35 PM

Awww, best wishes for the limping little guy. Hope it's not the same thing going on here...

Yorkiemom1 · 07-31-2012, 06:35 PM

Thank you......I am almost afraid of what awaits me....maybe it isnt too bad.....we will fix it for that baby...

P-Nut Mom · 07-31-2012, 08:53 PM

Wish I could help!

Yorkiemom1 · 08-01-2012, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladyjane

Not trying to insult anyone. I am just baffled...I thought you had consulted with 7 chief surgeons who all said they would do both at once? Maybe I am just not reading things well.
As for atrophy in a hip, I don't agree with you or your vet, ... you are talking about a puppy. How much atrophy really could have happened between surgeries? You chose what you chose...and the results were good. All that matters. I am simply not in line with your thinking regarding ortho surgery. The person I met who had a sciatic nerve cut on her pup during a FHO surgery clinched the deal for me...sure, any vet can make a mistake, but I will always err on the side of caution and go with the experts...board certified surgeons. That's my choice. Can they have problems? Sure...but at least I will always know I went with the best. If I went to a regular vet who just happened to do ortho surgeries and there was a problem, I would never forgive myself.

Yes, that is right...they agreed that doing both hips at the same time was not contraindicated, and especially in a dog that had the degree of muscle atrophy this dog had. This "pup" was 9 months old, and had not been able to move around hardly at all because of the extensive dergenerative process in both femur heads...and after only 8-10 weeks of severly decreased activity, the muscles in her hind legs were atrophying quickly, as muscles will do if they are not being used. She was in a lot of pain. Her clinical signs and symptoms dictated a clearly better choice, with an anticipated better outcome, was to do both hips at the same time. They were correct.

ladyjane · 08-01-2012, 04:00 AM

Right.

ladyjane · 08-01-2012, 04:18 AM

OP, is the surgery on P-Nut scheduled for tomorrow? I thought I had read that but now I don't see that post.

Yorkiemom1 · 08-01-2012, 06:18 AM

You read right....It is in her first post...rt. leg, 8/2. Be sure and keep us posted on how he does....I am sure he will be fine!

P-Nut Mom · 08-01-2012, 07:24 AM

Yes indeed, it's tomorrow, will let you know how he does!

07-31-2012, 12:35 PM	#32
ladyjane Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 27,451	Not trying to insult anyone. I am just baffled...I thought you had consulted with 7 chief surgeons who all said they would do both at once? Maybe I am just not reading things well. As for atrophy in a hip, I don't agree with you or your vet, ... you are talking about a puppy. How much atrophy really could have happened between surgeries? You chose what you chose...and the results were good. All that matters. I am simply not in line with your thinking regarding ortho surgery. The person I met who had a sciatic nerve cut on her pup during a FHO surgery clinched the deal for me...sure, any vet can make a mistake, but I will always err on the side of caution and go with the experts...board certified surgeons. That's my choice. Can they have problems? Sure...but at least I will always know I went with the best. If I went to a regular vet who just happened to do ortho surgeries and there was a problem, I would never forgive myself. __________________ CLOUD NINE BEDS--YORKIE HAVEN RESCUE MY ETSY SHOP Last edited by ladyjane; 07-31-2012 at 12:38 PM.

08-01-2012, 04:00 AM	#42
ladyjane Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 27,451	Right. __________________ CLOUD NINE BEDS--YORKIE HAVEN RESCUE MY ETSY SHOP

08-01-2012, 04:18 AM	#43
ladyjane Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 27,451	OP, is the surgery on P-Nut scheduled for tomorrow? I thought I had read that but now I don't see that post. __________________ CLOUD NINE BEDS--YORKIE HAVEN RESCUE MY ETSY SHOP

07-31-2012, 12:21 PM	#31
Yorkiemom1 Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas Posts: 9,462	"Cheaper" did not even enter into the formula! Believe me, I can spitz money off with the best of them! And when it comes to my dogs, I go where they can get the best care, regardless of price. It was a question of allowing that pup to continue to atrophy in the undone hip, until she recovered from the first procedure, then going back in, back under anesthesia, and doing the other hip later. I could not get any rationale that made any sense to me, from any of these vets that wanted to stage the surgery. Most had just never done the surgery in both hips at the same time and THEY were not comfortable doing it. This was NOT a good enough reason for me to allow that pup to have a procedure that an experienced vet can do easily and successfully in one setting. I had much support from vets around the Nation, that happened to agree with my rationale, for wanting to use a vet that was comfortable doing both hips at once. Dr Terrel was well known by the vets I spoke with at his alma mater, and I was comfortable with their recommendation. I would have never gone to any surgeon that I did not feel was capable of doing the procedure, and doing it well, regardless of what the charges were. I know this man's credentials, and I know the man himself, and I was comfortable with his expertise and experience. He specializes in orthopedics, although he is not board certified. His 25+ years of experience doing these surgeries, successfully, more than qualifies him as capable in MY opinion. I am terrified of dentists. I went to a "board certified cosmetic dentist" in order to get a tooth filled, because he had a technique of giving injections in your mouth that you would never even feel the injection! I paid at LEAST 5x's what a regular dentist charges, for nothing but a filling, JUST so he wouldnt hurt me with that horse needle in my mouth! No, I dont shy away from spending money when the situation calls for it....I was comfortable with Dr. Terrel, and as usual, he did an excellent job, and that pup has done absolutely just as well as she would have done had I chosen to have the surgery "staged", by a board certified surgeon. I think P-Nuts mom has already chosen her vet, he has over 30+ years experience, and I am not sure if he is board certified...but she is comfortable with what he has told her, and she has chosen to go his route. I am sure the surgery will be a success and it is probably what is best for THAT pup. I dont think his hips are as bad as the pup I was helping with, so the pain and muscle atrophy may not be as much of a concern.

07-31-2012, 12:39 PM	#33
P-Nut Mom Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Willow Glen/San Jose, CA Posts: 684	My guy is not board certified, but has done many of these surgeries. A search in the beginning of this process revealed only a couple of board certified people in the region, one is out of county and the other is by referral only and is the one with whom my doc consulted on the x-rays, dx, etc. There is supposedly an ortho specialist that works out of one of the San Jose-area VCAs, but I will not go back to a VCA animal hospital. I left our previous vet hospital because they were taken over by VCA and they became a nightmare to deal with. We don't want to travel out of county for this, we'd like to use our trusted guy who is close by. Cost didn't enter into our decision, either. P-Nut's left leg/hip has actually gotten better over the past couple of weeks, he's not exhibiting symptoms in that one anymore, so I feel comfortable having the right done, then the left. I'm sure this will be quite a learning process and I hope never to have to go through it again, but I would, of course, if another little guy or gal needed it done.

07-31-2012, 04:42 PM	#37
Yorkiemom1 Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas Posts: 9,462	I am supposed to go to Lumberton (?)this weekend.... to pick up a Yorkie that "is not using one of his hind leg....been limping/hobbling on 3 legs for a little while", the owner says ????!!! Have no idea what this is going to turn out to be....this person can not afford to pay for treatment, especially if it turns out to be any type of surgery.....so I will see what this little fella is facing......

07-31-2012, 05:35 PM	#38
P-Nut Mom Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Willow Glen/San Jose, CA Posts: 684	Awww, best wishes for the limping little guy. Hope it's not the same thing going on here...

07-31-2012, 06:35 PM	#39
Yorkiemom1 Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas Posts: 9,462	Thank you......I am almost afraid of what awaits me....maybe it isnt too bad.....we will fix it for that baby...

07-31-2012, 08:53 PM	#40
P-Nut Mom Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Willow Glen/San Jose, CA Posts: 684	Wish I could help!

08-01-2012, 06:18 AM	#44
Yorkiemom1 Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas Posts: 9,462	You read right....It is in her first post...rt. leg, 8/2. Be sure and keep us posted on how he does....I am sure he will be fine!

08-01-2012, 07:24 AM	#45
P-Nut Mom Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Willow Glen/San Jose, CA Posts: 684	Yes indeed, it's tomorrow, will let you know how he does!