Luxating Patella??? Vet???
 

Gabby, my 1 year old yorkie-4 pound, was fine this morning when she got up but later in the day she started laying around. The problem is she can't get comfortable. She will lay in one spot approximately 1 minute and move to another position. It is like she can't seem to get comfortable. She acts like it is her hip/back legs that hurt. When she lays down she puts her bottom up in the air and lays her head on her front paws, leaving her back legs standing instead of bending them to lay down.She hasn't slept due to not getting comfortable. Help! Should I take her to vet or what? She has been to the vet for a luxating patella but the vet didn't feel it was to the degree to do anything just yet. He suggested just to watch it and see if it got any worse. She is now shaking and won't eat or drink anything. She hasn't used the potty in about 7 hours. Help!!!

She needs to see a vet ASAP!!! This is not LP that is bothering her. Could be many things....but bottom line she sounds like she is in distress!

This is something that the vet should look at asap!

Thanks
 

I called the vet and have an appt today. Thanks so much everyone.

Keep us posted with updates!

Yes, please let us know how it goes!! :)

Headed to an Ortho
 

Well, Gabby is headed to an orthopedic on Monday. She still seems like she is in pain, but not nearly as bad as last night. I will let you know on Monday how the appointment goes. Thanks so much. Please keep her in your prayers. Poor thing will have a long painful weekend.Thanks again.

Thank you for updating us. Just a note until you find out what is wrong - keep her quiet. No jumping on and off furniture - walk on lead and out for potty. Try to limit her zoomies that being running madly through the house.

Poor thing. Glad you took her in. Please update as soon as possible. Sending prayers your way.

Ok just got out of ortho. He said a torn ACL and luxating patella. Suggested surgery. Ever since Saturday evening she has acted fine. I hate to put her through this when she is fine now. I need advice from my other Yorkie lovers. He said he could do it tomorrow. I teach school so I would need to do it ASAP if I was going to have it done. Very sad just hate seeing her go through this.

Torn CCL needs surgery...if you don't do it she will develop terrible arthritis. They do start walking on them after the initial period of not using them, but that does not mean they are better!
Here is a link about it:

Yorkie Haven Rescue - Cranial Cruciate Ligament Tear Info

You have other options. There is conservative medical management - and be advised this won't be less costly than surgery but much less invasive. It combines physical therapy and supplements and anti inflammatories and requires dedication on your part as you need to do at home exercise with your dog as well. You also can consider a leg brace - and absolutely no jumping and only walking on lead.


Most small breed dogs under 30lbs or so can be good candidates for this type of therapy.

It is a well known fact that if a torn CCL is not repaired in any dog, arthritis will set in. Their knees are not like ours and not repairing them imo is subjecting them to lifelong issues. I personally would never allow any pup in my care to suffer with a torn ligament and I do surgery as soon after diagnosis as I can. The major problem with yorkies is the instability in the knee joint and that is what is repaired in this surgery. This is not able to be fixed with conservative management. Usually the surgeons will repair both knees....the one with the torn ligament and the other at the same time. After they have torn one, they are more likley to tear the other.

Can small dogs use their legs after a tear? Yes, but that does not mean there are no adverse affects due to the tear. The fact that a pup can use it might lull a person into thinking they are well, but I can assure you they are not. I don't think there is any evidence that supplements and exercise do anything to avoid this. I guess it all comes down to what a person will put a dog through. I would rather do two months of surgical after care than a life time managing painful arthritis.

Your specialist will give you the best information regarding your decision. Mine strongly urges early surgical intervention and he is not a "surgery happy" surgeon. He often advises against LP surgery in adult dogs unless there is a painful issue where the leg is not being used.

Thanks for the support
 

The Dr seemed sure that it was a torn ACL but he didn't take x-rays which bothered me. The cost didn't bother me as bad as him telling me that the recovery time was 4 months. I was shocked by that. I had read on the forums here where most didn't seem to take that long. Thanks again for the support. I really appreciate it.

I would also be concerned that no xray was done! The ligament does not show in an xray but the structure of the knee does and that is important.

As to four months, that is crazy. I have had quite a few pups over the years have this surgery...fosters and my own personal pups. The recovery has always been two months!

Was this a board certified surgeon??

Thank you so much for the article you sent. He supposedly was a board certified surgeon but I questioned several of his calls today just based on what I had read on Yorkietalk. I know I am a teacher and not a vet by no means but this is my baby. I have no children and this 5 pound little girl is my life. He acted like the surgery was no big deal but told me that it was a 4 month recovery. I asked what days he was available for surgery and he said well if I do it tomorrow...She will be my 5th surgery tomorrow. That concerned me as well. Sorry to vent but I just wasn't impressed at all.

Follow your gut instinct .... you have time to get a second opinion. You can look him up here to see if he is boarded. Did you see a certificate on his wall? Should be there! :

www.acvs.org

You also can find another surgeon on the above website and get a second opinion. I totally understand how you feel about her and she is fortunate to be so loved.

If it is an ACL tear I would get surgery but I think I would also get a second opinion from another bored certified orthopedic surgeon. Callie had ACL and LP surgery and recovery time was two months.

Questioning Canine Cruciate Ligament Surgery - Veterinary Practice News - November 2012


What I like about this article is the referenced research at the very bottom of it.


\I have access to another research paper /// behind a pay firewall - and quite frankly the risk of infection after surgery is anywhere around 5% +or- and the risk that the other ACL tears is upwards of 40%. There are very few studies that look at small or toy breed dogs comparing conservative medical management outcomes versus surgical outcomes over the long term. But what few studies are in place indicate that arthritic changes will occur even with the surgery.


The final decision is yours as the pet owner - and I do concur get a second opinion a second specialist opinion. And I can't fathom why Xrays were not taken........


This is not a black and white issue.

There is always a small risk of infection in ANY surgery...that is a given. That certainly would not make me avoid a surgery. It would make me search for a vet who had a good reputation....certainly any surgeon has a risk of infections in their surgeries, but some do have more. I believe in asking around...the surgeon I use and have been using since 2006 came highly recommended and I (knock wood) have never had any infections in any of the multiple surgeries he has done over the years on my pups.

As for your comments about arthritis, I would be extremely surprised to hear that arthritis is worse in surgical cases than in non surgical....but I will certainly be looking for that information to post here.

In my world this is a black and white issue having been through it more times than I can count and having seen pups go on to live happy, healthy and very active lives with no further issues with their knees.

My dog had CCL repair done at age 11.5 and is now turning 15. Our surgeon did X-rays the day of the surgery. Recovery should have been 12 weeks, but my crazy dog pivoted on his knee and tore his repair so our recovery was atypical and longer. But he walks, runs, jumps, etc perfectly and we were very satisfied with our surgeon and our dog's outcome. We didn't have any other surgical complications.

My understanding of the arthritis issue is that the joint should be stabilized soon after the injury to minimize scar tissue leading to arthritis. Our dog had surgery about two weeks after his injury.

Good luck.

When Wylie had his LP surgery, we were told (I think...?) a 3 month recovery...and honestly, that sounds way worse than it actually is - so I wouldn't let the recovery really scare you too much. They bounce back *so* fast that the "recovery" is more about keeping them safe from themselves, rather than being about, say, being immobile or something.

I will second that! Two days after surgery (for a liver, not a knee) I was having a hard time keeping Bella from running completely amok. These guys come back so fast it is amazing.