Luxating Patella -- finding a great surgeon

[OwnedByJezebel]

Originally Posted by sandy simpson

My Spud had that and right away the vet wanted to operate. I said no. That dog is just fine. I watch he doesn't jump off furniture but if it is not bothering the dog why do surgery? My Teddy Peanut walked with a hippity-hop on a back leg. No surgery, that was his way of walking. Please do not get surgery unless the dog is having real problems. Or you may invite more problems.

I'm not sure where you got the idea that it wasn't bothering my dog -- it was bothering her. The x-rays confirmed that there was damage that needed to be addressed or she would be lame in the leg before she even turned the age of 4. Then when she's only got one back leg to rely on, that makes the only good leg very vulnerable to injury.

I don't think anyone here is advocating putting a dog through this if they are "not bothered" or having no problems.

[OwnedByJezebel]

Originally Posted by NDC923

Glad to hear your baby made it through everything so well! Hopefully she will be up & at em at not time! I just found out my 10 year old yorkie needs surgery on one of her legs for LP and reading these posts is helping me as well as giving me a lot of information, so thank you all for sharing your experiences! I really wish I was in Texas so I could take her to Dr. Beale because he sounds wonderful! If there's a doctor like that here in NY, I haven't found him/her yet. All they want is your money. That's what worries me most about her having surgery :-(

+1 on what LadyJane said. Find a board certified surgeon and get x-rays done, then you can make an informed decision.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by OwnedByJezebel

I'm not sure where you got the idea that it wasn't bothering my dog -- it was bothering her. The x-rays confirmed that there was damage that needed to be addressed or she would be lame in the leg before she even turned the age of 4. Then when she's only got one back leg to rely on, that makes the only good leg very vulnerable to injury.

I don't think anyone here is advocating putting a dog through this if they are "not bothered" or having no problems.

Oh, I don't think she meant your pup. I think she was referring to this new person who just posted today...just giving her some feedback.

[ladyjane]

BTW how is Jezebel's recovery going?

[OwnedByJezebel]

Thanks for asking! I think she is doing great. She is pretty laid back until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and then she starts to get restless and wants to do more than she should. At least at this point, she is allowed two short walks a day and she enjoys that and it helps. This is what she's doing right now -- notice that there is no scar, the outside of her leg is completely healed:

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by OwnedByJezebel

Thanks for asking! I think she is doing great. She is pretty laid back until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and then she starts to get restless and wants to do more than she should. At least at this point, she is allowed two short walks a day and she enjoys that and it helps. This is what she's doing right now -- notice that there is no scar, the outside of her leg is completely healed:

Happy to hear that she is doing well! Yes, that is another thing with Dr. Beale...I am always amazed at the tiny incisions and the pups heal quickly! She looks terrific! What a cutie!

[TNR]

I just read this thread, and it's made me feel so much better. I found out last week that my Sas has a torn cruciate ligament, so she needs surgery to fix that and the luxating patella. Of course I'm freaking out! The thing I'm most freaked out about right now is her staying overnight after the surgery! That's going to be the worst night. I work from home so I will be able to be with her constantly when she does come home. She is really active though, so it will be tough to keep her from overdoing it. I was wondering what you used to tether Jezebel to you?

[OwnedByJezebel]

Hi TNR, welcome to Yorkie Talk and sorry to hear about Sas.

I used the loop that attaches to the arm of a grooming pole, it's about 18" long. The end with the clip was attached to her harness, and he end with the adjustable loop went around my wrist (if she was in my lap or beside me on the couch), or my ankle or table/chair leg (if she wanted to be in one of her beds on the floor).

LadyJane clipped one of hers into a stroller to successfully confine the pup during recovery, so that is something else you might want to consider.

You are really not going to have to worry as much about keeping Sas under control during the first couple of weeks post-op. They simply don't feel like doing much, and it is pretty easy to keep them confined during that time. They also get used to having to be on-leash every time they go outside or being tethered to something indoors, so when they do feel like doing more (and shouldn't be allowed), they've become used to "the rules." They sleep and relax a lot during normal times anyway, but there will be "moments" where they are restless and difficult. The results are worth it in the end.

It's important to think about what Sas's triggers are and what makes her react (jump up or down, run, get excited, etc) and eliminate those if at all possible. For us, a knock or doorbell makes Jez bolt to the front door, so we put a sign on the front door requesting no knocking or ringing the doorbell. It worked, several packages were left during that time without ringing / knocking and neighbors would call before coming over. At that time she never reacted to seeing birds outside but now when she sees them she goes into full terrier mode, so if we had to do this again today we would have to keep our blinds closed. And it helps a lot when they get to take their rehab walks.

[OwnedByJezebel]

A picture of the groomer's loop:

[OwnedByJezebel]

Actually I felt better that Jez stayed overnight at the surgery center. I knew someone experienced with this surgery was going to be with her all night, and they would be dealing with her pain control and know that was all working properly before I picked her up.

I totally understand the freaking out. I was a bundle of nerves until the stitches were out. It's very stressful. It's awesome that you work from home, we were lucky that Jez was never left alone for the 8 weeks of her recovery, one of us could be home at all times.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by OwnedByJezebel

Hi TNR, welcome to Yorkie Talk and sorry to hear about Sas.

I used the loop that attaches to the arm of a grooming pole, it's about 18" long. The end with the clip was attached to her harness, and he end with the adjustable loop went around my wrist (if she was in my lap or beside me on the couch), or my ankle or table/chair leg (if she wanted to be in one of her beds on the floor).

LadyJane clipped one of hers into a stroller to successfully confine the pup during recovery, so that is something else you might want to consider.

You are really not going to have to worry as much about keeping Sas under control during the first couple of weeks post-op. They simply don't feel like doing much, and it is pretty easy to keep them confined during that time. They also get used to having to be on-leash every time they go outside or being tethered to something indoors, so when they do feel like doing more (and shouldn't be allowed), they've become used to "the rules." They sleep and relax a lot during normal times anyway, but there will be "moments" where they are restless and difficult. The results are worth it in the end.

It's important to think about what Sas's triggers are and what makes her react (jump up or down, run, get excited, etc) and eliminate those if at all possible. For us, a knock or doorbell makes Jez bolt to the front door, so we put a sign on the front door requesting no knocking or ringing the doorbell. It worked, several packages were left during that time without ringing / knocking and neighbors would call before coming over. At that time she never reacted to seeing birds outside but now when she sees them she goes into full terrier mode, so if we had to do this again today we would have to keep our blinds closed. And it helps a lot when they get to take their rehab walks.

Originally Posted by OwnedByJezebel

Actually I felt better that Jez stayed overnight at the surgery center. I knew someone experienced with this surgery was going to be with her all night, and they would be dealing with her pain control and know that was all working properly before I picked her up.

I totally understand the freaking out. I was a bundle of nerves until the stitches were out. It's very stressful. It's awesome that you work from home, we were lucky that Jez was never left alone for the 8 weeks of her recovery, one of us could be home at all times.

Saved me from typing a lot of stuff.!

[TNR]

Thank y'all so much for the words of encouragement! Sas had her surgery on Oct 31 and has been recovering well. The first couple days were scary for me because she was so out of it. I slept downstairs with her on a pallet at first, then basically turned the pallet into a "couch" on the floor for us so she won't jump on and off the actual couch. I've been sitting on our floor couch with her since the surgery (I hope she realizes how much I love her haha).

We kept her confined to an ex-pen for the first few weeks, and now we have her confined to just our small family room. I took your advice and put up a "No Knocking" sign and I think that helped a lot. We're going on 10-min walks twice a day now. Does this sound like the right amount of restriction/activity for a month out? I'm asking because she's lifting the leg more than usual lately. She had actually started trying to put weight on it almost immediately after surgery, and she's been walking well on it. It seems like at night or after she's been asleep for a while she picks it up. I'm hoping it just gets stiff? I guess I'm wondering if it gets messed up, would I know immediately - as in would she yelp or not be able to put any weight on it? I'm just concerned because it's been a month and she's still lifting it sometimes. And of course I really don't want her to have to go through surgery again. Thanks again for being so sweet and supportive!

[ladyjane]

That is great she is doing well. I think exercise should be more limited, but you need to speak with the surgeon about that! My surgeon did not allow "exercise" for at least 8 weeks.
They do lift their legs for a time after, so I would not worry too much unless it increases.

[OwnedByJezebel]

Originally Posted by TNR

Thank y'all so much for the words of encouragement! Sas had her surgery on Oct 31 and has been recovering well. The first couple days were scary for me because she was so out of it. I slept downstairs with her on a pallet at first, then basically turned the pallet into a "couch" on the floor for us so she won't jump on and off the actual couch. I've been sitting on our floor couch with her since the surgery (I hope she realizes how much I love her haha).

OMG I know just what you mean. Anxiety to the max at first.

Originally Posted by ladyjane

That is great she is doing well. I think exercise should be more limited, but you need to speak with the surgeon about that! My surgeon did not allow "exercise" for at least 8 weeks.
They do lift their legs for a time after, so I would not worry too much unless it increases.

+1

I can tell you what our experience was and what my surgeon recommended, but you definitely need to be going by the instructions that YOUR surgeon gave to you.

Compared to you at one month out, I had Jezebel more restricted, per the instructions of her surgeon. No walking except for potty breaks (during the first two weeks) and then from week 2-8 rehab walks were added, but confined at all other times.

We are lucky -- we could arrange our schedules so that she was never alone. She doesn't care for an ex-pen or a crate, so she was only in one after the first two weeks if I had to do something, such as cook dinner or go to the bathroom, where I could not give her the required attention to control her. When I could, she was out of the ex-pen but still totally restricted and tethered to me or the leg of a piece of furniture. So she didn't feel confined but was definitely controlled and restricted.

As far as rehab is concerned, after her stitches were out at two weeks, we were instructed to take 2-3 walks per day, starting at 5 minutes each on the first week and then increasing by 5 minutes per walk each week. So week one, 5 minutes 3x per day; week two, 10 minutes 3x per day; week three, 15 minutes 3x per day; etc. She was definitely not using her leg 100% normal during the rehab walks, but got better all the time. I think what it did for her mentally (she's crazy for the outdoors and walks) was incredible and made the times of restriction much more bearable.

After she was released to unrestricted activity at 8 weeks, she was still not at 100%, so don't expect perfection at that point. But you do need to allow them to do things within reason to build the muscles back up. They got built up in the first place by allowing them to do certain activities, and they won't get built up again to where they were previously without letting them to those things again.

I had one many years ago that started carrying her back leg and I took her to the vet. He said it was a torn ligament and to let her rest. He never mentioned surgery. Maybe the technique hadn't been developed, I don't know. Within about 6 months, she was lame. Every time I see Jezebel zoom across the back yard, you have no idea how GREAT that makes me feel, I'm sure she would have been lame by now.

Thread highjack:

I recall a rehab walk we took about 6 weeks after surgery at dusk. I tried to go different routes every day just to keep things interesting. We were walking on a sidewalk next to a main road and then turned to cross the road and walk next to a ditch. This was a very large, deep ditch (~60 feet wide and 30 feet deep) used for flood control and it had a sidewalk next to it for recreational walking, running, etc.

As we started walking next to the ditch I looked down and noticed that there was an animal in the bottom, sitting and staring at a pool of water. It was a cat, staring at the water as if it was hunting and waiting to pounce. At first I thought to myself "wow, that sure is a big cat." Then I realized "OH CRAP. That is a bobcat!"

We got the heck out of there and needless to say we never went that route again. Thankfully Jezebel never saw it and barked, because we are NO match for a bobcat.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by TNR

Thank y'all so much for the words of encouragement! Sas had her surgery on Oct 31 and has been recovering well. The first couple days were scary for me because she was so out of it. I slept downstairs with her on a pallet at first, then basically turned the pallet into a "couch" on the floor for us so she won't jump on and off the actual couch. I've been sitting on our floor couch with her since the surgery (I hope she realizes how much I love her haha).

We kept her confined to an ex-pen for the first few weeks, and now we have her confined to just our small family room. I took your advice and put up a "No Knocking" sign and I think that helped a lot. We're going on 10-min walks twice a day now. Does this sound like the right amount of restriction/activity for a month out? I'm asking because she's lifting the leg more than usual lately. She had actually started trying to put weight on it almost immediately after surgery, and she's been walking well on it. It seems like at night or after she's been asleep for a while she picks it up. I'm hoping it just gets stiff? I guess I'm wondering if it gets messed up, would I know immediately - as in would she yelp or not be able to put any weight on it? I'm just concerned because it's been a month and she's still lifting it sometimes. And of course I really don't want her to have to go through surgery again. Thanks again for being so sweet and supportive!

We started physical therapy at 4 months. It was 5 minute walks then the next week 10 minute walks and the week after that 15 minutes. I'm not sure I would give her a whole room especially if she is running or can jump. Jumping should not happen at all. We took turns sleeping in the living room with Callie until she was off of crate rest. Callie was putting hers down the day we picked her up from the vet. If we walked to fast she would pick her leg up so I had to make sure we were walking kinda slow. We had some limping until it was about a year after the surgery.