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Old 03-17-2017, 11:18 AM   #1
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Default Luxating Patella and Care

So at the vet on Saturday during Thumper's 6 month check up the doctor wants me to consider doing surgery on both of Thumper's knees as his luxating patella is getting worse. Right now he is in no pain and I wouldn't notice it without the vet mentioning it to me.


He said it is better to get it done in the next year or so before Thumper develops arthritis. He does not do the surgery but has a Board Certified Ortho come in and do it at his clinic. He gave me a quote of $2,500 per knee. Hopefully the insurance will pay for 90% of it.


My question is after care. I work all day so I am worried about him being home alone and making sure he rests. He is crate trained so I can put him in a crate and not just gate him in my kitchen.


What have others done for aftercare when you need to work and can't take weeks off to care for your babies.


Bella also has a mild luxating patella and the doctor feels she may need the surgery in years to come as she is a jumper. I control it when I am home but she jumps like tigger when I am not home on her hind legs.


She is not crate trained and hates it so I would be more worried about her and keeping her calm. I believe since she was a breeder she was kept in small confined spaces and now does not like it.


Luckily I have lots of time to think of ideas as none of this is an emergency. I would love to hear other stories.
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Old 03-18-2017, 02:00 AM   #2
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We had Wylie's knees both done at the same time and it went way better than I thought it would. The very worst part is those first few days when you have to help them stand up to pee by holding a towel under their torso to support them. Wylie cannot do crates, at all, so we kept him in a cushy area with the Iris Pen surrounding him. It worked great.
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Old 03-18-2017, 07:03 PM   #3
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Here is the thing LP causes wear on the ACL so you could get them fixed but the wear is already done and they could tear after surgery and then your looking at another surgery. LP supposedly isn't really supposed to hurt. If it doesn't bother him I would not do it.
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Old 03-20-2017, 10:28 AM   #4
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Here is the thing LP causes wear on the ACL so you could get them fixed but the wear is already done and they could tear after surgery and then your looking at another surgery. LP supposedly isn't really supposed to hurt. If it doesn't bother him I would not do it.


I tend to agree with you. Before I do anything I would get a second opinion from a Board Certified Ortho. My vet brings one in but I will get my own opinion as I don't understand why Thumper would need the surgery if he is not in any pain and if pain meds can manage it if he develops pain.


Thumper is 7 years old and loves to jump. I try to curb it as much as possible but you can't catch all the jumps. He has no limping or pain at the moment.
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Old 03-20-2017, 12:43 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Lovetodream88 View Post
Here is the thing LP causes wear on the ACL so you could get them fixed but the wear is already done and they could tear after surgery and then your looking at another surgery. LP supposedly isn't really supposed to hurt. If it doesn't bother him I would not do it.
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I tend to agree with you. Before I do anything I would get a second opinion from a Board Certified Ortho. My vet brings one in but I will get my own opinion as I don't understand why Thumper would need the surgery if he is not in any pain and if pain meds can manage it if he develops pain.


Thumper is 7 years old and loves to jump. I try to curb it as much as possible but you can't catch all the jumps. He has no limping or pain at the moment.
The recommendation is to do the surgery in young pups in order to prevent that wear and tear on the CCL. It is the older ones who should not have the surgery done because the wear and tear has already occured.

I would definitely get a second opinion from a boarded surgeon...and not the one who comes to your vet to do the surgery. It is a bit bothersome to me that your vet would suggest this on a 7 year old and just schedule the surgery with a vet who comes in...boarded or not.

If his knee isn't bothering him, I cannot imagine any boarded surgeon would recommend this surgery. You could do it and then end up with a torn CCL a few months later...I have seen it happen! Then the pup has 2 operations and you are out a lot of money for two surgeries!

He may never have an issue and may never tear the CCL. I have adults with LP and I spend a lot of time with a boarded surgeon who has not recommended surgery for them!

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Old 03-20-2017, 12:57 PM   #6
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The recommendation is to do the surgery in young pups in order to prevent that wear and tear on the CCL. It is the older ones who should not have the surgery done because the wear and tear has already occured.

I would definitely get a second opinion from a boarded surgeon...and not the one who comes to your vet to do the surgery. It is a bit bothersome to me that your vet would suggest this on a 7 year old and just schedule the surgery with a vet who comes in...boarded or not.

If his knee isn't bothering him, I cannot imagine any boarded surgeon would recommend this surgery. You could do it and then end up with a torn CCL a few months later...I have seen it happen! Then the pup has 2 operations and you are out a lot of money for two surgeries!

He may never have an issue and may never tear the CCL. I have adults with LP and I spend a lot of time with a boarded surgeon who has not recommended surgery for them!
My Callie is one of those. Had LP surgery on her knee then not a year later the ACL tore and that meant another surgery.
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Old 03-20-2017, 01:00 PM   #7
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My Callie is one of those. Had LP surgery on her knee then not a year later the ACL tore and that meant another surgery.
Yes, and I think I warned you about it. It really upsets me that some vets don't warn people of this risk. But, in her case, you had said she was having issues...I think sometimes that outweighs it all. You cannot just ignore that. In Thumper's case, it is a bit different.

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Old 03-20-2017, 03:38 PM   #8
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Yes, and I think I warned you about it. It really upsets me that some vets don't warn people of this risk. But, in her case, you had said she was having issues...I think sometimes that outweighs it all. You cannot just ignore that. In Thumper's case, it is a bit different.
Yep and I should have learned to listen to you. I know better now lol.
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Old 03-24-2017, 12:01 PM   #9
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Thanks all. I am not going to do anything right now as I have not seen any pain or limping from him. If/when that starts I will look into options. But my first choice since he is already 7 would be pain meds to manage it and then possibly surgery.


With Bella... I am sure she may need it at some point because she is a jumper/bouncer. Hard to control but working on it. The vet put in medical records "Hyperactive" That is definitely her! Since she is much younger I would consider the surgery.
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Old 03-24-2017, 12:33 PM   #10
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Thanks all. I am not going to do anything right now as I have not seen any pain or limping from him. If/when that starts I will look into options. But my first choice since he is already 7 would be pain meds to manage it and then possibly surgery.


With Bella... I am sure she may need it at some point because she is a jumper/bouncer. Hard to control but working on it. The vet put in medical records "Hyperactive" That is definitely her! Since she is much younger I would consider the surgery.
I know some people are against join supplements but it can't hurt to try those. I use them with my girl and see a difference.
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Old 03-28-2017, 10:21 AM   #11
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This is a really common problem with small dogs and all but one of mine has had it. I have a 13 year old girl that has it in both knees. We call her JW (John Wayne). She is too old for the surgery so I just carry her everywhere most of the time. When we do go on walks she insists on walking but will have to take breaks so I carry her but she does pretty well and doesn't seem to be in much pain. It's just painful to watch.
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Old 05-10-2017, 07:38 PM   #12
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Ripley my sweet yorkie had surgery yesterday, was home by 5pm. Since then she is having a really hard time going to the bathroom. When you brought your Yorkie home how often did he/she go in those first 2 days?
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Old 05-11-2017, 02:32 AM   #13
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This is a really common problem with small dogs and all but one of mine has had it. I have a 13 year old girl that has it in both knees. We call her JW (John Wayne). She is too old for the surgery so I just carry her everywhere most of the time. When we do go on walks she insists on walking but will have to take breaks so I carry her but she does pretty well and doesn't seem to be in much pain. It's just painful to watch.
To me, the way you're describing this - she actually is in pain. Are you giving her a regimen to help w/ her knees and with the pain...? I hope so.

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Ripley my sweet yorkie had surgery yesterday, was home by 5pm. Since then she is having a really hard time going to the bathroom. When you brought your Yorkie home how often did he/she go in those first 2 days?
Surgery can reallllly slow down the GI in a huge way. They go to the bathroom very, very little those first couple/few days - and then things start moving again. Is she having trouble going #1 or #2 or both...?

For our Wylie, who also had both knees done - I put a towel under his chest to support him and then would have him try to go potty.
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