Limping 7 month old

[Cathy T]

Well...shoot. Not what we had hoped to hear. Let us know how it goes.

[Maggie's Mom]

We went to see the Orthopedist today-(a specialist who came highly recommended). Poor little Miss Maggie Mae has luxating patellas. Left side is worse, stage 1-2. Right minimal but there. He feels we should start with Glucosamine and chondroitin and watch her. If it progresses, he wants to proceed with surgery, but has stated that it could stay this stage for years and may never progress.

He did warn that surgery is $2600. per leg. OUCH!

For now we are going to go with the natural remedy and pray for the best. We also feel she will be better able to deal with the surgery and Post Op recovery when she is a little older. She is such a maniac now. Would be miserable in the crate for 6 weeks.

[WoodHaven]

We went to see the Orthopedist today-(a specialist who came highly recommended). Poor little Miss Maggie Mae has luxating patellas. Left side is worse, stage 1-2. Right minimal but there. He feels we should start with Glucosamine and chondroitin and watch her. If it progresses, he wants to proceed with surgery, but has stated that it could stay this stage for years and may never progress.

He did warn that surgery is $2600. per leg. OUCH!

For now we are going to go with the natural remedy and pray for the best. We also feel she will be better able to deal with the surgery and Post Op recovery when she is a little older. She is such a maniac now. Would be miserable in the crate for 6 weeks.

I would get other quotes. Here a knee is between 250-1600 USD.

[Cathy T]

Shop around!!! That's high! I paid $1500 (thereabouts) for Shelby's knee in California.

The good thing is that there are lots of us here who have been through this surgery and can really guide you along.

[cooper&fergus]

Don't know about US dollars. Here it cost about 1200 oz dollars per knee depending on how much work they have to do. Cooper was grade 3 both knees and had to go for surgery straight away. Hope the conservative management works. It sounds like even if surgery is needed you may only need 1 side done. If surgery happens, the confinement sucks but both you and your pup will get used to it pretty quick. We're in the midst of knee number1 and will need number 2 done too. It will be worth it in the end. I think that if surgery is necessary you get a better result if it's done earlier in life than later before any arthritis develops. Good luck!

[Cathy Moon]

Diane, I agree, that is very high! India's surgery cost between $800-900. The vet who did the surgery is part of a large practice, where each of the vets has regular patients, plus each has a specialty. His specialty is orthopedic surgery, but I don't know if he is a board certified orthopedic surgeon. Is there a similar practice anywhere near you? Or a Vet college?

[Maggie's Mom]

I think because we are in New York the vets feel they can charge much more than the rest of the country. I went to a local animal hospital where they each have a specialty. Although it seemed high, I felt very comfortable with the vet. He did not push me and said that Maggie only has between a grade 1 & 2. He said that if and when it progresses, he would do a triple repair. Deapening the creavice, ligament and tendon repair. She will be in the hospital for at least 3 days with pain management as the priority. He also said he has a 98% success rate. My vet only uses traveling surgeons, which I do not think is optimal.

I will watch her and hope she does not progress to grade 3. It has not impaired her at all. Today I needed to get the kids to the bus and she was running around the yard like a maniac. We could not catch her for 10 minutes and almost missed the bus. You could almost see her laughing at us. She usually has the typical Cavalier pouty face but she was actually smiling.

[Hannah&Lottie]

Hi, sorry to hear about Maggie. I hope all goes well. My Lottie is going in for the same surgery in 2 weeks time, so I know what you're going through. stay positive, she'll be fine

[Karlin]

Oh, that's great you got a firm diagnosis -- good to know what you are dealing with. I agree with others that that's a high cost for the surgery and would shop around.

A grade 2 isn't a mild luxation though, really -- it is borderline where most vets would say it needs correcting (a 3) and many would operate at a 2. Some vets woud feel a dog with a grade two that is left untreated over its life will have a strong risk of pain and serious arthritis when it gets older.

from Vetinfo, a respected reference site on vet information:

Luxating patellas are graded on a scale of 1 to 4 (some sources use 1
to 5).

Grade 1 are patella luxations that are found on physical exam by
looking for them when the dog shows little to no clinical signs -- the patella
can be luxated manually but doesn't do this much on its own.

Grade 2 luxations occur when there is occasional spontaneous lameness
but the patella returns to normal positioning easily enough that the dog
usually isn't pained much by it. This is typically the dog that
occasionally carries a rear leg for two or three steps on occasion but
then puts it back down and goes as if nothing was wrong.

Grade 3 luxations is usually used to describe dogs who are beginning to
have a loss of function due to the luxation of the patella. They have
more frequent "skipping" episodes, may not want to jump up onto things, they
may have pain and the patella doesn't always return to normal positioning
when it is deliberately pushed out of its groove during a physical
examination.

Grade 4 luxations are when the legs are painful enough that the dog
tries not to use them, when the leg can not be fully straightened manually
and the dog shows evidence of chronic pain or disability, including poor to
no ability to jump.

Grade 5 (or severe grade 4 depending on the grading scheme) is when the
dog won't use the legs or when the gait is stiff legged due to the patella
being underdeveloped or permanently dislocated and fixed in place
outside its normal position.

Most veterinary orthopedic surgeons recommend repairing dogs in Grade
3+ without question and advocate fixing grade 2 dogs frequently. So a 2.5
grade is probably one in which the examining veterinarian is leaning
towards thinking surgery is necessary. That is just my best guess on
the interpretation, though. It is better to ask the vet who made it.

I think that most dogs generally get worse over time and move from
Grade 1 to Grade 2 or from Grade 2 to 3, for example. The changes may not
happen until later in life, though. A lot of dogs with Grade 1 or Grade 2
patella luxation early in life will have pretty stiff knee joints when they are
14 or 15 years old that probably are at least partially this way due to
arthritis from the years of luxating patellae. There is a lot of other
wear and tear in a long life so this is only a partial contributor but I
know that some surgeons really feel that when the whole lifetime is looked
at early surgery looks better. On the other hand, there are dogs who have
bad outcomes from the surgery, too. I lean towards leaving knees alone
until the Grade 3 stage, personally.

Mike Richards, DVM
8/18/2001

http://www.vetinfo.com/dpatella.html

[PamH]

So sorry to hear that. I think we all of us worry about the babies having medical problems. I wish you the best of luck.
Pam