My dog may need knee surgery - anyone been there?

[mamamary]

My lab may need surgery. I'm looking to see if anyone can contribute any info. to me or if you've been there and didn't do the surgery.

Baxter is approx. 4 yrs. old. About two weeks ago I notice he limped for about 2 seconds after lifting his leg to go to the bathroom. This happened twice. Then last week he was running in the yard and yelped in pain (it was horrible ). He limped into the house and I immed. brought him to the vet. They took xrays and said it was his knee. They gave me pain med. and anti-infl. pills and suggested we see a specialist.

Saw a specialist last Thurs. He thinks the knee pops out of the socket. He doesn't think Baxter is otherwise in any pain. He talked about the surgey (it is expensive and the rehabilitation is hard). We asked if he needed the surgery but he didn't say he def. needed it or not. We decided we would have Baxter rest and take it from there.

So...since Thurs. he only limped twice - once on Sat. morn. and today. Both limps last about 2 seconds (both after lifting his leg for potty).

I have a call in to my regular vet to get some advice from her. My neighbor said they told her that her dog needed the surgery. She rested him and he's been fine ever since.

I guess I'm just looking to see if anyone has had this done. The surgery is called Stiffle.

Thanks.

 

[golfgal]

Our dog had hip surgery about 4 years ago. She is little, only 12 lbs, so keeping her calm after the surgery was pretty easy. We did a lot of hydrotherapy with her-basically had her in our whirlpool tub and she would "swim" with DD supporting her. It helped her recover a lot faster. Even the vet said that she recovered better then he has ever seen with her type of surgery. She had Perth's Disease and had her hip joint removed and the ligaments/tendons reworked to support her leg.

 

[SC Minnie]

my cat had MPL (medial patella luxation) surgery on both her knees last year. her knees would pop out of the socket too. It was expensive ~$2000 plus physical therapy. She is doing fine now. The vet specialist told me it was more common in dogs than cats. I know cats are different than dogs but I had never heard of any animal having this until ours.

 

[horseshowmom]

My lab may need surgery. I'm looking to see if anyone can contribute any info. to me or if you've been there and didn't do the surgery.

Baxter is approx. 4 yrs. old. About two weeks ago I notice he limped for about 2 seconds after lifting his leg to go to the bathroom. This happened twice. Then last week he was running in the yard and yelped in pain (it was horrible ). He limped into the house and I immed. brought him to the vet. They took xrays and said it was his knee. They gave me pain med. and anti-infl. pills and suggested we see a specialist.

Saw a specialist last Thurs. He thinks the knee pops out of the socket. He doesn't think Baxter is otherwise in any pain. He talked about the surgey (it is expensive and the rehabilitation is hard). We asked if he needed the surgery but he didn't say he def. needed it or not. We decided we would have Baxter rest and take it from there.

So...since Thurs. he only limped twice - once on Sat. morn. and today. Both limps last about 2 seconds (both after lifting his leg for potty).

I have a call in to my regular vet to get some advice from her. My neighbor said they told her that her dog needed the surgery. She rested him and he's been fine ever since.
I guess I'm just looking to see if anyone has had this done. The surgery is called Stiffle.

Thanks.

In my dog's case, she had the horrible yelp. Our vet looked at her and said that surgery was a possibility, but he recommended letting her rest for awhile first to see how it did. A week or two later she got away from me while we were outside. Took off, same terrible yelp, she sat down and didn't get up. She had damaged the other leg too.

The vet looked at her again and said that while surgery was still an option he wanted to continue with the rest - just much more structured. She was kept in a playpen while she was in the house. I had to pick her up to carry her in and out to go to the bathroom, and I kept her on a short leash. Of course, at that point she couldn't really walk anyway. Sure enough, after about 6 to 8 weeks (it was a long time ago so my memory is a little fuzzy), she was fine. She lived to be 15 and never had another problem with it.

 

[crjack]

Unfortunately yes....we went through it last spring when our lab mix tore his ACL. Terrible yelp and then couldn't put any weight down on the back left leg.

Our dog did need the surgery and he had the TPLO procedure....I found several old threads from other posters on it and lots of info on the web.

The two hardest things were the unexpected cost scared1 and then keeping him quiet during the recovery. He is a lab/border collie/something else mix and even at 8 yrs old he is full of energy.

I ended up with lots of baby gates trying to keep him contained and area rugs down over our wood floors everywhere.

Honestly the first week to ten days were really hard and then he slowly healed and it got easier each week.

The main concern with good healing time if you do the surgery is to not put too much pressure on the other leg because some dogs can injure the opposite knee as a result.

Even now our dog will go fast sometimes and I cringe...the thought of paying again and more rehab is overwhelming! But he was just under 8 and in good health overall so we didn't hesitate to do it. We joke often though about his knee being our summer vacation so he better be a good dog.

 

[mamamary]

Unfortunately yes....we went through it last spring when our lab mix tore his ACL. Terrible yelp and then couldn't put any weight down on the back left leg.

Our dog did need the surgery and he had the TPLO procedure....I found several old threads from other posters on it and lots of info on the web.

The two hardest things were the unexpected cost scared1 and then keeping him quiet during the recovery. He is a lab/border collie/something else mix and even at 8 yrs old he is full of energy.

I ended up with lots of baby gates trying to keep him contained and area rugs down over our wood floors everywhere.

Honestly the first week to ten days were really hard and then he slowly healed and it got easier each week.

The main concern with good healing time if you do the surgery is to not put too much pressure on the other leg because some dogs can injure the opposite knee as a result.

Even now our dog will go fast sometimes and I cringe...the thought of paying again and more rehab is overwhelming! But he was just under 8 and in good health overall so we didn't hesitate to do it. We joke often though about his knee being our summer vacation so he better be a good dog.

I think the vet doesn't seem to think it is too serious because Baxter was fine at the visit. He said he would need to actually see him limp and look at his knee at that moment - like that would ever happen. Obviously if he wouldn't walk or was in obvious pain it would be a no brainer to do the surgery. I'm anxious to hear from my vet. Hoping she calls soon.

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories.

 

[crjack]

That's good....if you dont have to do the surgery all the better. I was amazed at how many labs were having ortho procedures at the same time as ours. It can definitely be an issue for larger breed dogs that are active or overweight.

One very large yellow lab came tearing out of the surgical room after his procedure and in his excitement literally crashed into a display and hit the wall. His poor owner was just cringing....it was like the Marley and me movie.

Good luck to Baxter...he is very cute.

 

[PlutoPony]

For relatively routine canine surgeries like ACL, you might investigate vet schools if there are good ones within a reasonable drive for you. Your own vet should know which ones are good for your dog's particular surgery and would be the one to write up the referring documentation, etc. They would also do the follow-up care after discharge. We know several who have gone down to VaTech for ACL repair and they saved ~40% from what it would have cost in the Northern VA area. Tech does a lot of these particular procedures and the residents are closely supervised in the OR. The downside is you might have to leave the dog for a couple days and drive back to get them, or do an overnight stay.

 

[mamamary]

That's good....if you dont have to do the surgery all the better. I was amazed at how many labs were having ortho procedures at the same time as ours. It can definitely be an issue for larger breed dogs that are active or overweight.

One very large yellow lab came tearing out of the surgical room after his procedure and in his excitement literally crashed into a display and hit the wall. His poor owner was just cringing....it was like the Marley and me movie.

Good luck to Baxter...he is very cute.

Thanks. Our vet said it was typical of small breeds and for some reason labs.

 

[CathrynRose]

Charley has this.

After speaking with his vet, we rest the heck out of him when he has an 'episode'.

We found after getting Hazel, from playing too much, it acts up. And when it does, we just limit his activity. He seems to know that he needs to take it easy, as well. Hazel gets yelled at a LOT, during this time. "Leave him alone!!!"

Once he rests, he's just fine again. Our vet mentioned that some dogs need surgery, some don't. We chose to go the let's wait and see, route.

The biggest thing our vet told us is the going "up", which is hardest on them. So be sure to limit you dog jumping onto bed, couch, stairs, etc.

Good luck. It's hard to see them in pain.

 

[mamamary]

Charley has this.

After speaking with his vet, we rest the heck out of him when he has an 'episode'.

We found after getting Hazel, from playing too much, it acts up. And when it does, we just limit his activity. He seems to know that he needs to take it easy, as well. Hazel gets yelled at a LOT, during this time. "Leave him alone!!!"

Once he rests, he's just fine again. Our vet mentioned that some dogs need surgery, some don't. We chose to go the let's wait and see, route.

The biggest thing our vet told us is the going "up", which is hardest on them. So be sure to limit you dog jumping onto bed, couch, stairs, etc.

Good luck. It's hard to see them in pain.

Thanks for responding. I just talked to my reg. vet and she thought it seemed promising that he has only had two episodes in 4 days. We are def. resting him. So we are in wait and see mode. I agree that it is hard to see them in pain but I don't want to do any surgery that isn't necessary.

Haven't seen you posting any pics of your dogs in a while - glad to see that they are well.

 

[TLuvsD]

Our Standard Poodle had a similar situation several years ago. She's a good size dog (54lbs or so). Our vet had recently retired, the "new" vet recommended TPLO. After some research on the net, I wanted a second opinion--in part because it was huge surgery, and in part because the dog had a toe removed due to bone cancer and I was concerned about the surgery/bone cancer.
The second opinion vet is WONDERFUL. He recommended against the TPLO procedure. We rested for a while, then did a more traditional repair (old fashioned), followed by a program of increased physical activity. The dog has fully recovered, she runs around, stands up, etc. We have moved to the second opinion vet full time, he is caring, avaliable and reasonable.
Really consider a second opinion. You might also do an internet search for a knee brace, etc. We considered that route for our Standard Poodle, but due to the amount of movement in her stiffle we went with the "old fashioned" surgery. The vet basically sutures the joint with a fishing line type material, then scar tissue forms to help hold the joint in place. If you have a VERY large dog, or do agility trials or something similar it may not be appropriate for your pet. Of course, you can do the traditional repair and then the TPLO if needed. You cannot do TPLO and then traditional repair.
I second the pp's advise: no "up" activity. No jumping on the couch, bed, etc. No standing up on people or just to look around, etc. Four on the floor at all times!

 

[momsully]

January 1st of this year our lab tore her ACL. We consulted with several vets and ultimately decided against surgery. We did get her a brace - www.orthopets.com and followed a conservative management protocol. There is a great group on yahoo for this - http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ConservativeManagement/

She is now fully recovered and able to do most things that she did before her injury. The only thing I do not let her do is fetch balls unless she is swimming for them. She injured her knee stopping short and I am still not confident with that one activity yet. The vet says her knee is stable but I am being cautious.

 

[Maleficient]

Our aussie has a subluxating patella on his hind leg - happened when he was turning to go after a thrown tennis ball. we didn't know at first what happened to him but we finally got it figured out when it went out on the tile floor at the vets office! We took him to the ortho specialist that trains the vet students at the Cornell Vet school in Ithaca, NY and he immediately recommended surgery (expensive and 3 months of keeping a herding 1 year old dog DOWN ) We finally asked if we could just try keeping him quiet (for him) and seeing if we could keep if from popping out - the longer they go between episodes the better - and he wasn't super optimistic, but said to give it a go. Since we knew we were moving to FLA in a few weeks after the appt. we really tried to keep him down - hid the balls, only went out on a leash, no playing with the kids, no unsupervised on the slippery floors, etc., and it worked. He went 3 weeks before it went out again and then another 2-3 weeks after that and now its been easily 6 weeks. We don't let him on the pool deck and we are careful how we throw the ball and how we toss things on the hardwood - he'll never be the agility king the aussies can be, but the surgery would have been awful for him and there's always the risk for complications. For a simple subluxation, pop it back in if it comes out and try to avoid the things that are triggers if you can! This was the better way for us - good luck!

 

[EeyoreEma]

My sweet yorkie had double knee surgery. She did great with it, but I noticed that she still limped some afterwards. Your dog is young, so I think if it continues it might be something you would want to do. When we were thinking about it, our vet told it would affect life quality later on if we didn't do it. But she did have subluxation on both patellas, so what your dog is going through might be somewhat different. Good luck with your decision.