Patella Luxation
 

Hello Everyone,
I am new to your forum. I have been reading your letters for quite awhile and can see you all know a lot about Yorkies.
We have adopted a 5 month (my vet thinks thats how old she is) Yorkie that was wondering in our back yard. She is just the sweetest thing. We put a call out to the Police, Animal Rescue, vets all those kind of places to see if the owner was trying to find her. No one came forward.
The thing is, she has to go into the vets tomorrow to have her two back knees operated on for Patellar Luxation. We think that why she was thrown out. The left one is a grade 4 and the right one a grade 2 so she needs to have them done asap. It sounds a terrible thing for such a small dog to go through. Has anyone had this done? Do they suffer very much, and how long will it be before she will be able to walk properly.
Thanks for any help.

Hi,
Congrats on your little yorkie! I was wondering how she came about with this diagnosis? Was she is bad shape when she came to your home?
I have never wnet thru that surgery with a yorkie, so I cant answer your question with practical knowledge, I just know the book knowledge, but would like to commend you for taking such good care of your sweetie!
Welcome to yorkie talk, glad to have you!..........Where everyone learns from one another for the betterment of the breed!

My girl has it on one of her legs, but I chose not to get it done, because of the recovery period. I read that it is long and painful. Does she really need it? Can she walk; is she in pain? My girl walks and runs with a hop, and she doesn't seem to be in any pain.

I hope and pray that it all works out for you and your little one. How nice of you to take her on, and how terrible of the origional owner to just let her go like that.

Look on our forum search for the past reviews on this subject. And also look under a general search (google) for info on this, if you haven't already.

Good luck! :thumbup:

One of mine has a slight luxation on one side as well but I would get a second opinion if you haven't already because most vets wait until they are much older before doing surgery in case they "grow out of it" which can happen as they develop. At only 20 weeks old she could very well get better and avoid the surgery.

I am so surprised that this little yorkie was wandering in your backyard. Luxating patellas is usually not enough of a reason to "dump" a valuable yorkie. Did you check with your neighbors because she must have come from somewhere close by? Did you post "FOUND" signs around? I just know how heart broken someone might be that they lost their baby and you would be such a hero if you were able to find her owners.

How much does she weigh and does she have any other health issues or physical abnormalities?

I have noticed Sammi's back left leg is a lil shaky when she "trots"...Could it be Patella Luxation?? When she runs it does not shake at all...I have stretched it outwards and it seems to feel like her other leg...

Patellar Luxation
 

Thanks for all your answers.
Unfortunately Penny has to have this operation because she cant put her left paw to the ground, she has no strength in it and has difficulty with her balance when she "wee-wee's".
We asked all our neighbors if they knew anyone who had lost a Yorkie. Put a notice on the lamp post at the top of our road. My vet thinks she may have come from a puppy farm (these people should be shot)
I am just hoping and praying that she wont be in too much pain. We met a lady in Petco who's Maltese had to have the same operation, and she said she was fine. That has helped a bit. But I am still dreading it. Both my husband and I have really fallen in love with the little girl. I have never owned a small dog before. My dogs have always been Golden Retrievers, so I have had to make quite an adjustment, especially with the potty training. But this little girl wants to please us so much she is trying really hard.

Alex has had luxation in both knees since he was a baby. Every once in awile he will let out yip or walk holding his leg up. When I went to the vet the other day she recommend the surgery as well. She said since he was young it might be better to do it now. She asked how often the yip happened. I told her not that often. She said if it starts to occur at least once every month then he should have the surgery. So I am watching him for the time being to see how often it happens. I never knew there was a surgery like this. It scared the living daylights out of me. Plus, I guess then he could get arthritis badly too. I would hate to put them through surgery, but if it only gets worse....

My sister's Maltese Palbert had the surgery on his Grade 3 patella and he came through like a champ. It depends on how bad the knee is when they get in there that will determine the recovery time. Palbert's knee didn't need major work done so he did not need to be kept immobile while he recovered.. in fact the vet recommended he start using it as soon as he could. He didn't want to put pressure on it for a while but within about 2 weeks he was running around like normal. His knee is now totally perfect and he can do all the things he could do before the surgery without any pain or problems. The recovery can be rough, but it is SO worth it in the long run to not have to constantly worry about her being in pain.. Also dogs with severe luxating patellas can easily blow out their knee just by jumping off of something the wrong way or dancing around on their back legs... and that surgery is much more complicated, recovery harder and pain is much worse. And it's also MUCH better to have the surgery done when they are young because young dogs recovery a lot more quickly than adults do and are less likely to develop arthritis as a side effect of the surgery. Good luck and good wishes to you and your puppy. :)

Thanks for the info. It pains me to think that Alex would have to go through a surgery like that. Could they do it when they clean his teeth? Does anyone know how much the knee surgery is? The vet said is left patella doesn't even go in the little groove or socket. What level would something like that be?

They can do the surgery anytime the dog is put under for something, just talk it over with your vet. I would suggest having them do both the cleaning and the knee surgery at the same time so you don't have to have him put under twice. My sister's dog was kept overnight after his surgery and he came home the next day and he never complained or whined with pain so he felt fine after the surgery... he was super hungry though, he ate an entire bowl of food the second he got inside the house. Some vets will recommend a therapy or supplement before wanting to do surgery but for the most part knees that have a grade 3 and up require surgery. Palbert only had a few incidents where he had pain but for the most part he didn't complain.. but we knew his knee was a problem waiting to happen. With your dog's knee they may need to go in there and laser a groove into the bone so the patella will sit in the grove instead of floating around above it. I'm not a vet so I really have no idea what kind of grade it would be.. but with what you've said it probably is at least a 2. Also surgery prices vary wildly from city to city. Here in Lubbock the surgery ran about $600 for one knee, which is on the extremely low side. I've heard others quote around $1200-$2000 per knee but like I said, it totally depends on what area you are in.

Here's a great article about Luxating Patella.
http://www.thedogscene.co.uk/article...th/patella.htm

Thanks! The more I am reading, the more I think I am going to be talking to the vet again. Thinking I might have it done in the fall, when it is time for his teeth cleaning.

Thanks

Until you do have it done try to limit his jumping off of things.. especially high things like couches and beds just to make sure he doesn't blow a knee. He'll be fine just walking and running around though. Good luck!!

Thanks... He really isnt a jumper. He knows that he should be picked up to get on and off things if someone is there. He needs a beeper on his rump, because he backs up to you and looks at you like "okay, up please..." :)

Patellar Luxation
 

Thanks a lot for your help. You told me just what I wanted to hear. I feel a lot more at ease now.
The operation is going to be as you describe. Her left leg is very bad. The right one will get that way. So the vet is going to fix them both. The opertion will cost $1400. We want her to have a happy, healthy life. We think she was mistreated, because she still cowers down when we go to stroke her. Penny also.needs to be spayed. Her last owners didn't do anything for her. I am so glad she came to ourback yard.
Thanks again.

She is so lucky to have you!! Good luck with her surgery and she'll be better than new before you know it. :)

Patella Luxation
 

Hello Everyone,
:) My Penny has had her operation. Came through it really well. I think I was more upset than she was. The left knee was a grade 4 so was pretty bad. Right knee was grade 3. She didn't have a lot of pain after the operation. Didn't like the Elizabethan Collar at all. Wish someone would come up with something more humane. I took her to have the dressing removed from the left leg this morning. The vet who did the operation did a very good job. No swelling and only a little bruising. On Friday she will have all the stitches removed, thank goodness. Those are the only things that have given her any trouble. They must be picking her. The whole operation and drugs cost $1800
She sure is a little angel. Only trouble I have with her is, she is VERY fussy about her food. I have been reading this forum and it seems like a lot of people have that problem with their Yorkies. I think I have just about tried everything that has been suggested. Yes, she does like ground Turkey, but only if its not cooked to much "little madam".
So, all we have to have done to young Penny now is for her to be spayed, but I think I will leave that for a few weeks to let her get over this operation.
Not sure when Yorkies come into heat. She is nearly 6 months now, we think.

I'm glad to hear she did well with the surgery! :happyboun She'll back to normal in no time. Yorkies and other small dogs typically have a heat at about 7 months.

Knee Problems
 

Yorkies frequently have kee problems. Kodi is fine so far, but I bought some steps and have been training him to always use the steps to get on and off the couch and my bed which is very high. Even when he is big enough to get up and down himself I am going to have him use the steps to avoid any knee problesm.

What a brave lil girl....i hope she brings you lots of happiness for your family to share. She is really lucky to have found you and i bet she will show you just how thankful she is every single day!

Keep us updated on her recovery...