# Luxating Patella Surgery required



## malahusk (Mar 22, 2009)

Well, among my carpet being chewed this weekend(today was good BTW) , when Tawni was playing fetch with her ball Friday in the house, she let out a yip and hobbled a bit on her back leg. She is always going mach 1 thru the house so figured she sprained it or something mild, as she was ok 5 minutes later. Well, same thing happened about 10 x in the next 2 days, so off to the vet we went this morning.

Apparently, it is a medial luxating patella, vet could hear and feel it poping in & out as he moved her leg around. He said it is inflamed and put her on previcox for 14 days, but said she will need surgery soon after. Then he checked the other leg, and although it was ok now it looks like that one too will be a issue in the future. Our vet doesn't do this surgery so is sending me out of town to another vet, 100 miles away.

Couple of questions: there is the out of town vet who is quite qualified to do the surgery & has ortho skills, but is a veterinary orthopedic specialist better? The specialist price was doubled! But does double the cost mean better surgery skills or just because it is a speciallist?

Also, in anyones experience on here or opinion, is is ok to do both legs at the same time? Vets both said it was recommended, but I can't imagine her with both back legs basically imobilized, how is she to go potty??? 

Has anyone ever had this done? What was your experience in all this? And what was the post care proceedures / therapy?

They both said 6 -8 weeks of recovery time, 2 of that in a small cage. She's going to be stir crazy!


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## makettle29 (Nov 12, 2005)

My Herk had this surgery when he was about 18 months old. We could not be happier with the results. I found an orthopedic vet on a referral site and I would recommend you ask whomever you are considering how many of these surgeries they have done. Practice makes perfect IMO! The recovery wasn't too bad because Herk was really tired for the first few weeks anyway. It's toward the end of the recovery that you do not want them re-injuring when they think they ready to rumble. 

Herk hurt his leg going warp speed on the lawn and then ended up limping after about 6 months. Don't postpone it for too long. As for doing two at once, I don't know. Herk's other bad leg was a little loose but they did not recommend fixing it and it has not been any trouble in the 3 years since the surgery. I'd get a second opinion on wether the other leg is really bad enough to treat. There are those among us who have treated both legs at once, you can do a search for more info on that.

Good Luck, 

Mary Anna Herk and Theena


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## makettle29 (Nov 12, 2005)

ACVS....that the referral site, American College of Veternary Surgeons. 

bye, mary anna


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## malahusk (Mar 22, 2009)

Yes, I've been reading a lot of previous posts about this. I will go check out the website. Our regular vet refered me to the out of towner just because of that reason, he doesn't do many of these surgeries and the referal vet does them a lot.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

I don't have any experience with LP surgery yet, but London will need it on one leg in the future. She is a "grade 1" right now...no inflammation, but "skips" around if she walks fast or runs. Luckily, it doesn't hurt her (yet).

My vet also recommended doing both legs at once (if they need both done) because then there is only one recovery period, and they won't "baby" the leg that was operated on. Recovery is usually quicker she said in dogs who get both legs done at the same time because they are forced to walk somehow...rather than just hop 3-legged. Walking in the casts is good for them and keeps their muscles toned.

I think a couple of members on here have had both legs operated on at the same time. Some dogs on here only needed one done...so you should get lots of advice & tips here!


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## tamizami (May 1, 2007)

I had this surgery on my girl and did a photo diary of it here. The pictures are in reverse order, though, lol.

My advice is to get your baby used to being confined in a crate now - long before the surgery. There are great techniques online for crate training and getting dogs used to them. Mine are both crate trained, sleep in their crates at night and when we leave the house (we're in earthquake country). They love them and see them as a safe place. In fact, they run into their crates whenever they see me get the grooming caddy out. 

We used a board certified surgeon for the surgery, I wouldn't do it any other way. Additionally, I would only use a facility where they have a vet on staff 24x7 for the overnight. Shiva stayed over for 1 night only (the day of surgery), but my vet knew that I was capable of caring for her and giving her the meds. The night she got home I had pee pads ready for her to go potty, but she tried to take a step to go outside so I put her in the potty box and she went. I had a "cradle" made to help hold her up for potty, but she never needed it. Our surgeon wanted her walking as soon as possible.....I was amazed at how quickly she recovered, but as I mentioned, she was very used to being in a crate or carried around in the "basket" you see in the pictures. 

HTH, but feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.


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## lillykins (Oct 15, 2007)

Our Lilly had both knees repaired in a single surgery at the age of 4, which was in 2001. (our 1st appt was 9/11!!)

Lilly had gotten to the point where she was walking on only 3 legs, and the one back leg she DID use, was almost as bad as the one she held up all the time.

When we consulted with the Veterinary School, the dork we saw said he wanted to wait until Lilly blew out her ACL, and then he would repair only the one leg. We thought he was daft. Our surgeon was very upset at hearing about that "plan", because in addition to his private practice, he also held a post at the Veterinary School. Our surgeon, Dr David Edinger, could tell that we completely neurotic about Lilly, and I told him flat out that I would NEVER bring her back for a second surgery because she would be so upset after the first one. He laughed and said that with a small dog, repairing both knees at once is a very good idea because of the reduced fees (1 operating room charge, 1 anesthetic, 1 set of pain meds, 1 set of follow-up visits, etc) and less stress on the fluff.

We took Lilly home the same day as surgery, but he had JUST moved into a new facility and didn't even have waiting room furniture!! If we'd have left Lilly overnight, they'd have had to pay a vet to come in and spend the night. We figured we could do that, and the Emergency Clinic was only a phone call away.

Our surgeon wraps legs after surgery, so Lilly looked like she was wearing thigh-high purple boots, which extended from the tip of her toes to her upper thighs. The wraps gave her a LOT of support, and hid the stitches so that there was no need for an e-collar. However, there is potential danger, too. You need to watch for dampness, which could cause all types of woes. You also need to watch the toes, to be sure they don't swell, indicating the wrap(s) could be too tight.

The first night, NOBODY slept. We had to loop a towel under Lilly's belly for support each time she peed the first 48 hours, but after all the drugs wore off (and we took her off the Rimadyl, because it made her glassy-eyed), she could urinate and defecate just fine on her own.

We never crated her, but she was perfectly content to let us carry her around and plop her into whatever dog bed was closest to where we were.

Here's a link to a page about him: http://www.vetspecialtycare.com/davidEdinger.html
Here's a link to the surgical page of his web site: http://www.vetspecialtycare.com/surgery-service.html

The picture on the surgery page is Wilbur, one of our foster dogs, and his 'furever' family member Toni.

You may PM me too, if you wish. Ours was a very good experience.


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## malahusk (Mar 22, 2009)

Thanks everyone, I will keep in touch, I'm sure as things happen I will have more questions or be seeking advise. She has been scheduled for surgery on Tuesday, the 21st. 

She currently is quite calm since her vet visit yesterday morning, not sure if it's side effects of the previcox or not. You can hear the right knee popping when she does get up & trots around. She will go play with something for a few minutes and bounce around with the toy, then suddenly stop and just go off to her bed. I think it is really starting to bother her. The other leg wasn't an issue (no popping or limping, etc...) but vet said it was slightly loose and will be a problem later on. She is walking fine when we go outside to potty, so it is just during playing that she apparently feels it the most. I'm just going to keep her relaxed until next Tuesday.

I'm still open for more insight, especially on those who had both legs done at the same time. I know it is confirmed that doing both at the same time would be fine and she wouldn't have any problems, but I'm still a nervous basket case!


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## phesty (May 30, 2006)

Josie had both legs done back in October. She did really well through her recovery, even though it was sad to see her in the casts. I borrowed a "pack and play" from my sister to confine Josie during her recovery. Her normal crate was too small when she was wearing the e-collar, which I only put on her when I was gone and not able to watch her. 

A soon as the casts came off we started doing exercises religiously. You'd never know now that she ever had problems with her knees. I joke that she got her "springs" back. 

Here's a pic of Josie in her "boots."


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## malahusk (Mar 22, 2009)

OMG! My eyes are now watering. Poor baby, the casts are bigger than she is! 

Once this is done, there shouldn't be any more problems in the future right? Like this shouldn't have to be done again, sometime down the road?


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

QUOTE (malahusk @ Jul 15 2009, 07:44 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=805581


> OMG! My eyes are now watering. Poor baby, the casts are bigger than she is!
> 
> Once this is done, there shouldn't be any more problems in the future right? Like this shouldn't have to be done again, sometime down the road?[/B]


I believe that is correct, that once they have the surgery they basically have "new" knees...though I'm sure there is a small chance that they could suddenly re-injure the knee from a traumatizing fall, big jump, etc.


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## I found nemo (Feb 23, 2006)

Nemo also had the surgery in 2006, he was ok in about 4 weeks . He has been fine ever since. 
When you come home after the surgery she needs to not jump she needs just rest, that is the hard part. 
You can do it though. I also try to keep Nemo's weight down so it's less pressure on his knees.
Good Luck and sending good thoughts for you both. :grouphug:


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## lillykins (Oct 15, 2007)

QUOTE (malahusk @ Jul 15 2009, 09:44 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=805581


> OMG! My eyes are now watering. Poor baby, the casts are bigger than she is![/B]


Lilly's casts weren't quite this large.
She been fine since her 2001 surgery, although currrently age 13, it's quite apparent she's definitely lost fluidity in her joints.


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