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.