torn acl or LP
 

hi, I am new here. Trying to get info on an injured hind leg. I am quite well versed on LP, my Ellie has bad knees and I knew that surgery was in her future. last sunday she injured the leg, the er said luxating patella and referred a vet. the vet said torn acl...that came out of nowhere. he wanted to wait a week and see her again...we went last night and he seemed to second guess his orig diagnosis! I am upset because it has been a week of limping on the 3 legs that could also be harmed. we cannot get in to see a surgeon until Tues. I am just hoping that the leg does not atrophy and that the other 3 don't get damaged. Those of you that have had LP or acl surgery, did the limping affect other legs? thanks so much
- worried about my baby

I can't help you but wish Ellie the best and welcome you
to YT.
There are many here who can give you information.

I am from Long Island too! Roxy and TJ both have LP in both rear legs.
Roxy had surgery in August 2006 - both legs at the same time.

I went to Dr. Laura Hinton at The Center for Specialized Vet. Care in Westbury, NY
http://www.vetspecialist.com/index.p...VC2&number=100

Do a 'search' here on yorkietalk for Luxating Patella - you will find a lot of information.

Here is just one that I just found for you:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67220

You can ask me anything you want - I will try to help you. :)

Thank you!
 

Hi
wow! so cool to get responses like Archie and TLC!
thank you so much!

TLC - I have made an appt w/dr. hinton for early next week! I really appreciate your help! Ill let you know how we do :)

Hi...my name is Nicole

That's wonderful news. I really liked Dr. Hinton and her credentials. Roxy had surgery on both rear legs in August of 2006. When Dr. Hinton was in there (her legs), she only deepened the grooves and Roxy patella?s slipped back in and worked great. Dr. Hinton only went this far, b/c Roxy has a slight curvature to her bone structure and felt that the classic 'cut and pin' procedure of LP just wasn't necessary. Roxy did good through her 6 week recovery, but it was determined that her right leg didn't stabilize. She had her 2nd LP surgery in November. This time the 'cut and pin' was done. Everything went well. Roxy had to be contained for a longer healing time but she did well. Feb. 2007 took Roxy back b/c she had a bump on her leg. Dr. Hinton took an x-ray and saw that the pin had migrated (which can happen). She removed the pin that day (took about 30 mins.)

Roxy is a NEW girl. What a difference from before surgery to after surgery. She has more confidence and is doing things she didn't do before.

Good luck - Keep us posted! Anytime you want to talk, I am here.

...also, check out:
www.meetup.com - there is a Suffolk County Yorkie Group that meets up 1x a month and the Group's Organizers house in Huntington. She has a fenced in backyard. LOTS of Yorkies are there (anywhere from 10 to 15, maybe even more at times). We meet up for about 1 to 2 hours. It is a great chance for socialization of the little ones. Maybe we will see you there sometime.

P.S. TJ my other baby (Roxy's brother) also has LP in both rear legs. He will have surgery probably in May 07

Sometimes an ACL tear can occur because of the LP....the constant stress on a luxating knee does this. I'm sure waiting till Tuesday won't be a problem. Just don't let her get too "nutsy"! :D

I'm so glad you're going to the same Doc as TLC. She sounds wonderful and her baby is doing so well.

Good luck to you.

hi Nicole my name is Meg
we are part of the nyc meetup but will def join the suffolk group today!!

it makes sense
 

hi Yorkiemalt, thanks that makes perfect sense! she prob has both! she is not pushing it, but will def try to jump into a purse if she see's one!
we have given her a tiny bit of benadryl in some peanut butter to keep her inactive on the vets reco it is better than the pain meds, they seem to try to walk on the bad legs if they cant feel the pain. I will keep you posted on progress!

Please do..keep us posted! I am just finishing up rehabbing our 3rd knee within a year. My maltese had both done and my yorkie had one done.

Had to laugh....Phoebi's freedom date is April 2. That is the day Chan had his first surgery last year. ROFLMAO....one year to the day!

Just keep in mind, it's a fixable problem and for that I've surely been grateful.

update
 

hi all,
so we went to see dr. Hinton today and are very pleased with her thank you Nicole!! surgery will be monday. i love that we get to spend the whole night with her after surgery too! it turns out that Ellie has a torn acl, torn miniscus and the LP woah! poor baby
my work is being amazing about time off next week which puts my mind at ease. so we will be here at home getting better for the next couple of weeks.
Nicole, I cant thank you enough for your reco! i am feeling very confident about Ellie's care, the facility and dr. Hinton are great, thanks again!
we will keep you all posted!
best,
meg:aimeeyork

Glad you found a good vet. I had a yorkie, Zorro who had a torn ACl and had surgery and his kneecap regrooved. He did fine after but would hold that rear leg up a bit when standing. He lived a normal life after surgery. Good luck

Meg,
I am so happy that you feel very confident in Dr. Hinton and the Vet Center. That's very important. I do have some more advice. Bring a pad and pen when you drop her off. Make sure they tell you everything about the recovery time spent at home with you. B/c when you get to bring her home they give you paper work, but it didn't do it for me completely. Meaning, I still had questions and I wasn't exactly sure what I was suppose to do with Roxy and for how long.

Roxy is pee pad trained, so I didn't have to worry about bring her outside to do potty. Roxy had both legs done at the same time which made the first couple of weeks of recovery a little harder. The first surgery Roxy had, was on a Wed. and I picked her up on Friday after work around 4 pm. The second surgery was on a Monday (during Thanksgiving week). She was only suppose to stay one night, but I asked to pay for her to stay until Wed. and they said of course, she can stay. They charged me something like $30 (for medical board that extra night). I work full time, so I would rather her stay there at the Hospital where people are they at home with no one. I DIDN'T visit Roxy at the hospital at all while she was there. I didn't want to upset or excite Roxy. She needed to rest and recovery and as hard as it was for me not to see her, I felt it was best for Roxy that I stayed away until it was time for her to come home. I called everyday and spoke with Dr. Hinton for updates.

Check her butt when she comes home too :D The 2nd surgery for Roxy, when I was driving her home, she was quietly crying the whole way home. I was crying too, b/c I thought she must really be in pain, I thought ok, the first time Dr. Hinton just deepened the grove and this time her bone was cut and repined, so she must be really hurting...Well, when I got home, I checked her butt and they didn't clean her butt and she has lots of poop there which caused 'diaper rash' all on her butt :mad: I was so mad, but I cleaned up Roxy and went to CVS and bought the "Butt Paste' for babies. I had to keep putting it on Roxy for a few days, but then it went away :)

Back to recovery! I have the plastic Play Yard gate system and I used 4 panels to make a small boxed in area and that's where Roxy lived for 6 weeks (1st surgery) and about 8 weeks (2nd surgery). Of course when I was home, I carried her or we sat on the couch. All activity must end for the recovery period. The 1st surgery being that is was both legs, the first 2 weeks, Roxy couldn't really stand on her own. I have a small fleece baby blanket that I rolled up on a diagonal and put that under her belly and that's how I helped her walk to do potty. As weeks go by they do get better and better, but don't take it as they are 100% better and can let them free again. No matter how 'fine' they act, follow the recovery period instructions, Don't give them freedom until Dr. Hinton says she is healed and can have her freedom back!

Sorry this was sooooooooooo long! Hopefully, you were able to get something out of it! I am here if you need to talk, especially during recovery. You can PM me and I will give you my # if you want to talk on the phone about anything? :)

I'm so happy to read this!! As soon as your little munchkin is feeling better, we should all plan a puppy play date! I'm in Brooklyn but willing to drive anywhere. :p

Give your little girl get well kisses from me and my crew. Take care and please keep us updated on her conditioner.

So happy to hear she'll be on her way to recovery by Monday night. I'll be thinking of both of you on Monday.

Great post TLC! The only thing I would add is the need for walking. Please make sure with the Doc first but with all 3 of our knees, physical therapy made a huge difference. The knee is a joint that needs to move, with care, during recovery.

I'm sure she'll be good as new before you know it! :aimeeyork

YES Kim your are absolutly correct! Glad you posted what I missed :)

After the first 2 weeks of very very minimal walking for Roxy (b/c of both legs at the same time), Roxy seemed to walk fine and seemed better. In the mornings before work, she would be in the kitchen with me preparing their food, etc...She had about 20 - 30 mins. of some walking on her own, BUT I had to make sure that TJ and Roxy wouldn't start to play hard, chase each other or wrestle. During the day she was in her pen (approx. 10 hours). And when I got home, the evenings she was aloud out to walk on her own again (30 - 45 mins.) And I picked her up and carried her in between too! But I had stuff to do, so she was in and out of her pen. This went on for the recovery period, as days and weeks went by, she was aloud out of the pen for more and more time! But NO running, chasing, jumping, climbing or wrestling with TJ. I was constantly picking up Roxy if you know what I mean. One second they are good as can be and the next blink of the eye, off they are and me running after them!

Good luck and keep us posted and I meant what I said, we can talk on the phone, if you'd like?

thank you all so much again! I am so nervous for tomorrow, but I know it will all be ok! I know I don't have to explain it to ya'll :) these babies are our lives
we decided to go with the compassionate care, which means we spend the night with ellie at the hospital, I think it will keep me sane...anyway thanks for your thoughts and prayers tomorrow and we will write as soon as we get home on Tues most of all thank you for all of the advice and tips! they have helped tremendously! NICOLE YOU ROCK!;)

Don't be nervous, she will be in great hands and she will have you there when it is all over. :) Again, I am just happy that you feel comfortable with the Center and the Doctor. That's the most important thing :D
I am so glad they can offer you a place to stay with her, I know that will make you both feel at ease.
Keep us posted with her recovery and we are all here if have questions or just need support :)

Our mix Lady tore her acl and we had the surgery and all went pretty smoothly. The vet had us wait a week as well to be sure. Since she is a good hefty 65lbs her limping did have an effect on her other legs so we put her on pain meds until she was completely recovered. Also, remember she is between 13-14yrs old and she has arthritis to boot! I think your girl will be fine since she is a yorkie and there's so little weight being supported. W/ Lady the vet said if we hadn't done the surgery she would have had serious damage to her other legs and would probably shorten her life span. I can't really remember now how long her recovery period was but I believe it was a few weeks +. She was more difficult though of course because she is so big and so old. I had to carry her everywhere including everytime she had to pee so it was really difficult and her being aggressive over her leg didn't help either. So I truly think your girl will do just fine. I think if it had been Harley who had torn his acl the whole fiasco would have been a lot easier. Good luck! You're both in my prayers. Keep us updated :)

:hands: :getwell: Sending prayers your way

we're home from surgery
 

Ellie did well, is in some pain now (as is my neck from sleeping over :)
she had a rare meniscal tear and the acl was completely torn! ouch also they had to deepen the groove in which the knee cap sits!
we rae taking it easy and icing and trying eat and potty. Thanks again everyone for the help and easing our minds!!xo

Meg,
Thanks for posting! I am so happy things went well!
Give the little angle a kiss for me ;)

Keep us posted on her recovery, and I am here if you need anything!

Maybe over the springtime, once she gets better, we'll meet at one of the meetups! :)

Oh my goodness! What a sweetie she is! She's in my prayers for a quick recovery!:D

Get well, Ellie. What a brave little angel!

Ellie recovering :)
 

Hi All,
thanks so much again for your help! you really made me feel ok about surgery (I am such a wimp) I wanted to post some pics of Ellie's first hydro-therapy yesterday! It was so funny. She is still favoring the leg but I think she takes after me in being quite the drama queen....:D
anyway can't wait until she can run and play at the next meetup
Nicole, again thanks so much for reco dr. hinton :)
happy spring all

I am so happy to hear Elle is doing good. Recovery does take a long time. :(

But in a couple of months she will be a BRAND NEW GIRL!!!


Since my Roxy 'got her new set of wheel' - she has turned into a more confident and happy little Yorkie! It makes me feel so good to see the New and Improved Roxy Girl! :p

P.S. We can't wait to meet some time at a Yorkie Meetup ;)

She looks great! So happy to hear everything is going smoothly!

Great to see her doing better.

glad to see she is doing so well after surgery. Kim and Nicole gave you excellent advise. And the hydro therapy is wonderful for the legs. Keep up the good work. You'll have a brand new girl in a few weeks :D