How does one define lame? Bella was not using her affected leg (walking like a three-legged dog, grade 4) when she had her LP surgery done. In this part of Illinois, LP surgery is about $1500 to $2000 per leg, as I recall.

That's what happened with Bella.

I just called the U of P vet school (Penn Vet). She said they typically quote about 2800-3000 for a MLP repair. My original quote was 3200-3900 (I guess, best and worse case scenario). The vet I went to is apparently not that far off the low end. I don't plan to do this for a while, hopefully years, but I just wanted to have the info. That price and the strain on Maggie recovering is a lot of incentive to get her to take supplements and limit her more risky activities. We can get some really nice stairs for the bed to save that much $$!

I know this is an old post, but unfortunately I have come across the dreaded LP in Casie.

She had woken up this past Sunday (3 days ago) hopping on her hind leg. So I made a rush appointment and took her in to see the vet yesterday.

About a year ago when she was about 8 months old, I started noticing her skipping during walks outside. I had read all about LP and was mentally prepared to accept she may need treatment of some sort. A friend who is a vet saw her at a party once and said it may be a grade I or grade II at that time.

Over the past 6 months or so, she was back to walking and running normally again. I assumed that maybe the skipping was possibly due to a minor injury. Or that maybe she developed some muscles to hold the knee cap in place better?

But because she woke up 3 days ago hopping and not just skipping, I booked an appointment right away. The vet showed me how the kneecap was not in place and that it could be pushed back in place. She said it was about a Grade III LP in her right hind leg. Her left hind leg is perfectly fine.

I read through all the past posts and several knowledgeable members suggested to not do surgery. As these posts were from 2015...I'm wondering if this is still the current advice? Casie is 1.5 years old right now. She's 2 kg (4.4 pounds).

Yesterday, she had a blood sample taken for tests and I got a referral to a specialist - waiting for them to get back to me for a consultation. While I'm waiting...I just wanted to know if the general consensus is still to hold off on surgery. She's so small, I really hate for her to have a surgery. She's also very young too - is it better to have the surgery done younger than older?

Not to mention...costs have gone up over the past few years. The vet quoted me something like $3000 to $4000 to have surgery on one knee! I am getting married in 3 months in October and am under quite the financial stress right now (not by choice, but it's a big 200-guest wedding). If she needs surgery, it's a pretty big burden! Sigh...

Anyway, my vet prescribed her an anti-inflammatory medication called Metacam. When she took it last night, after a couple hours, she was walking around on both feet again. This morning, she woke up hopping again.

Despite her 3-legged situation right now, she's still super full of energy! She's hopping around like a bunny, playing with her toys, and instigating play with Scottie as usual. It just really breaks my heart to see her hopping...my poor little Casie baby...

P.S. Casie does not jump at all (except once or twice when she's in the bath tub). We live in a condo, so there are no stairs. She's not allowed to jump onto the couch herself and is afraid to jump off the couch. To get on and off the couch, I always pick her up and put her back on the ground.

LP surgery
 

I have not posted for ages, but this came up in my email, so I decided to weigh in.
Dinky is 7 years old now, and he had LP/ ligament surgery at age 5.
He was in pain and a lot of it, and there was no doubt that he had to have it.
His regular vet (in NC at the time) wanted close to 3000. She also wanted to keep him overnight for at least 3 nights.
We went to Asheville about an hour away to see a surgeon. Not only did he have more experience with surgery, he had much more experience with surgery on smaller dogs. (Dinky is 5 pounds). Also the cost was about 2000, and he stayed ONE night.
He travels to do surgery, he has flown to get dogs that need surgery.
So my two cents is to get another opinion. The drive was well worth it.
Also, if the surgery does not need to be done immediately, I would consider a delay. I say this because the recovery demands a lot of your time. I seem to remember Dinky not being allowed to walk at all for a week and after that just a few minutes a day.
But if your girl needs surgery now, don't delay. She could be in pain, and the pain meds mask the pain which puts her at further risk of injury.
Good luck!

If she has a torn ligament, the surgery usually runs around $3,500 depending on where you live.

If it is LP and she is just having issue with it they might just medicate and crate rest her. The specialist I use does not suggest surgery on LP in adult pups because there has already been wear and tear on the ligament...they can end up tearing it and then you have two surgeries. More money and more discomfort for the pup.

My mom just had her 3 year old done. Both rear legs done one at a time with 8 weeks in between. She opted for all the bloodwork and laser surgery and the total for both was $1300. I would wait until needed because she had a maltese with the same problem and it would come out of joint, but the dog was able to kick her leg and get it back in position and never required surgery.

Was that a regular vet or bored certified orthopedic surgeon?

When Callie got her first knee surgery more then 6 years ago she was limping pretty bad and the orthopedic surgeon said she had a partial ACL tear and that, that was the big issue so we fixed the knee and ACL and it's a very rough surgery. Cost close to $3,000 and Callie had issues with the pin and had to be sedated and them pulled. I'm wondering if her ACL is tearing. At her age I'm not sure if she has that much wear and tear on it. 2 years ago Callie had her other knee done and then one year after that her ACL tore in that leg and it was another surgery but Callie was older at that time. I would definitely consult with a orthopedic specialist. Metacam is awesome Callie is on it for pain management with her arthritis and can now jump in the chairs and go for walks.

Thank you so much for giving your feedback (even though you don't actively post here anymore :) ). I was exactly hoping that some of you from years ago might have some insight! hehe..

Thank you Ladyjane for your advice! It is really not in my interest to put her under the physical stress of a surgery. Not to mention, the dreaded recovery period where she wants to run around but can't (it was unbearable enough as it was for a simple spay surgery where recovery was only 7-10 days - I cannot fathom a couple months!)!

I'm still monitoring her as it's only been a few days since she's been on the Metacam. She's since started using all four legs again. Crossing my fingers it was actually somehow nothing serious...

Yes, I totally want to wait until needed too. I will see how she does after a week of the pain meds and then another week after that. I've been a re-check with her vet.. so I'm staying positive and hope that I was just worried for nothing!

Thank you so much for telling me your experience with Callie. Poor Callie..both legs? That really sucks!

Just curious, do you administer Metacam to Callie whenever you notice she's in pain? Or do you give this to her regularly?

If it has only been a few days and she is walking on all four, I would bet she is just fine. They don't use a leg with a torn ccl. :)

Every day. It's been amazing for her. After a month on it they did do blood work to make sure it wasn't effecting anything.

Omg, thank you thank you!! Knowing this totally made my day!! :)

It's been a whole week that she's been on Metacam now. She's been walking on all fours consistently, but occasionally skipping when she's running. Per my vet's instructions, I will stop the Metacam now and have scheduled for her to visit the vet two weeks from now. Hopefully whatever Grade LP she actually has, it'll be manageable and won't require surgery.

Oh, I'm so glad to hear that the regular use of Metacam works out so well for Callie! Do you do any type of doggy physio exercises with her too?

No not really. I'm walking her a bit more because she's not hurting now and loves it. My little guy has skipped a step since we have had him and the vet says his LP isn't even enough to be a grade 1 so maybe some just skip or something.

I certainly hope it turns out to be nothing overly serious. I just wanted to say if by chance a surgery is required, I think one good thing is that Casie's fairly young so I think the theory is that her body can recover pretty well because of her young age. One of the best known vets in my area will, in some situations, not be too overly pressed on the time issue because he believes the body can heal itself in a lot of ways. That might not be at all related to LP, but I just hope it turns out to be really low grade and completely manageable.

I just got back from seeing the Vet. The vet seems very quick to want to take my 7 lb Yorkie , Titan , ( 4 yr old ) to surgery to fix his ruptured ACL..confirmed on X -ray this evening . I spoke to a friend whose Scottie had a torn ACL and her vet said since her dog was small give her a month or so and he will heal and so he did !! That is what I am going to do..Titan does not cry from pain and seems like his old self..still eating and wanting to play . I will keep him quiet for the next month or so and see how this goes!! Besides, being a former ICU nurse I know the dangers of an anesthetic !

Anesthesia is very safe especially if they do pre surgery blood work. By not fixing the ACL tear you are setting your dog up for extremely bad arthritis. The ACL is a ligament so it can't be confirmed by an X-ray.

The dangers of anesthetic and you are nurse? Seriously, there are risks to anything, but you surely must know that the risks are relatively low. I am also a nurse and I would never subject my pup to debilitating arthritis in a limb because of my fears. Now, let me say that there are other reasons where anesthesia CAN be a high risk as in a pup with renal failure. But, a healthy pup? Yorkies need dentals usually yearly...I hope you are not with holding them as well because of a fear of anesthesia because he will be at a higher risk of cardiac or renal issues without good dental care. Periodontal disease can be a killer in yorkies....that risk is higher than that of death from anesthesia if a vet is using appropriate and up to date anesthetic protocol.

Here is a link about what happens to a pup with a CCL tear left unrepaired. They often will use it again, but that does not mean it is healed and ok. Humans can go without surgery if they are not athletic. It is not recommended in dogs.

Yorkie Haven Rescue - Cranial Cruciate Ligament Tear Info

So, it's been two weeks since our re-check with our vet. I didn't end up taking her to see the specialist after she starting to walk again on all fours. The vet said it was good news - her knees went back down to a Grade 1 - Grade 2 LP. I was SO relieved!

She's still skipping on occasion, so I'm trying to do some of those hing leg exercises with her to help strengthen up the muscles in the area.

So my baby boy had the surgery for his ruptured ACL, and I am very happy to say it went really well. Today is his 4 th day post -op and he is back to wagging his tail, is trying to weight bare which I discourage and his elimination processes are working well...so all looks normal. We have a recheck with the Vet in 10 days time, and his staples will be removed at that time. He has antibiotic 2 x a day for 1 week ...no obvious signs of infection. !

It is ok for him to walk on it...but, I am sure your vet told you to keep him on only leash walks for now...and only to potty!

Happy to hear you opted for the surgery and he is doing well! :)

I'm glad she is doing better but I don't think grades can really change like that. They can get worse but not better.

I understand what you're saying. But the vet explained the assessed grade earlier could have possibly been due to trauma of some sort. The sudden hopping was very abrupt. So I felt that made sense...

I know this is an old post but my 14 week old girl hops like a bunny when she runs super fast. Is it normal for pups to hop or should I be worried about LP?

She is probably fine.....video it and post it. They often do it as puppies and then outgrow it. If she doesn't you should mention it to your vet. If you got her from the retired educators in your area, beware...they are brokers and often have pups with awful conditions. Make sure you have her seen by a vet ... and I suggest that at some point you have bile acid testing done because I have heard they often have puppies with liver shunt.
Welcome to YT :)

You could have the vet check it out. My boy Joey did it very often as a puppy but they really had to work to pop his knees out and said it wasn't even a grade 1 and he dosent do it that often now.

Lucy
 

Hi I have just come back from an appointment with a specialist centre, both Lucy's knees are a grade three where the kneecap is sitting on the outside of her knee,
He said her back paws are starting to turn in which can increase the risk of a cruciate tear. She is very grumpy when her sister knocks her back legs and I often find her panting so I stretch the leg to ease it.
Every time I pick her up you can feel both patellas moving in your hand, gives me the shivers.
As she is only two I have decided to get them done. He doesn't like to see dogs in pain after surgery so uses a fentanyl patch for pain. He also uses an epidural s for at least 8 hours of pain relief while the patch kicks in. He is wanting to do the second knee 4 weeks after the first, any thoughts on whether I should stretch the time in between surgeries?