The surgery consists of the vet exposing the knee joint and knee cap and shaving the bone until the knee cap fits....that is why getting the surgery done at Stage 1 is so important, less chipping of the joint which means less shaving of the bone. If left untreated the bone chips from the constant grinding of the knee cap and joint....and of course the more chips there are the more the vet has to shave. Now, I am going to speak in generalities...I have spoken to many people who had initially warned me not to get the surgery done...why, because their dogs limped but were overall just fine at stage 1. What they failed to realize is that this is progressive and if left untreated will only get worse with time. Worse also means more money to get fixed. I had many vets tell me that it had to be done "right now"...it was an "emergency", My vet gave us the summer to play and get the extra weight off...it is very very important that the dog weigh at the lighter end of their weight scale. Why? Less pressure on the joint, means less grinding of the bone, means easier and faster recovery time....it's like an overweight person having knee surgery....much harder for them to recover quickly because of the extra weight...the less weight, the less pressure, the faster the recovery. What you also have to be on the lookout for is arthritis...as that will go hand in hand. If Lillie could have been treated with anti-inflamatories believe me that is the route I would have taken, unfortunately that would not have helped at all as it would not have addressed the problem. The surgery itself is fairly standard as the diagnosis is fairly common in smaller dogs. Hope this sheds some light :) Marian
--- On Thu, 4/2/09, marian Lyall <[email protected]> wrote: From: marian Lyall <[email protected]> Subject: [eskiepeople:8979] Fw: Re: [eskiepeople:8974] Re: Subluxating Patella Diagnosis To: [email protected] Received: Thursday, April 2, 2009, 6:32 AM --- On Thu, 4/2/09, marian Lyall <[email protected]> wrote: From: marian Lyall <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [eskiepeople:8974] Re: Subluxating Patella Diagnosis To: [email protected] Received: Thursday, April 2, 2009, 5:48 AM In a true subluxating Patella (aka loose knee cap) the bone chips from wear and goes from stages 1 through 5 with 5 being the worst and 1 being the best and where surgery can do the most good and be the most beneficial. if left untreated the bone just chips away until the dog is lame. Many owners don't get their dog operated on until stages 2 or 3 or further. There is no relief for the pup if it's a true subluxating patellla. To add to the pups misery there can be calcium deposits in the knee joint as in Lil's case which only adds to their misery. You can google subluxating patella...there are some very good sites that are very informative. My vet was wonderful and explained in detail what happens at each stage, so I knew exactly what was occuring... Marian --- On Thu, 4/2/09, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: [eskiepeople:8974] Re: Subluxating Patella Diagnosis To: [email protected] Received: Thursday, April 2, 2009, 4:26 AM How many of these surgical procedures has your vet done, and what have been the outcomes? Research the surgery, the pros and cons. Panama was diagnosed with the same thing 3 years ago, when he began limping. They recommended surgery. He was given a round of anti- inflamitories and has been fine since. katb -------------- Original message from Cindy Capen <[email protected]>: -------------- #yiv654204204 #yiv133304340 #yiv2146772022 .hmmessage P { margin:0px;padding:0px;} #yiv654204204 #yiv133304340 #yiv2146772022 { font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;} Yesterday my concern was getting Kaiser eating, drinking and feeling better... Now the other info from the vet is sinking in today. The vet who checked Kaiser over yesterday to confirm he'd hurt his neck, said his left back leg has a subluxating patella. Anyone who had been through the surgery and recovery want to comment? It's not an emergency as he uses all his legs, but I think it could be something to be operated sometime this year. She said she'd want to do xrays of both back legs under light sedation to compare . She said also that would help her estimate cost of what needs to be done, but base estimate is $1100 to $1500. I will check around for prices and recommendations to compare. I am thinkig this is what Jan and marian have both gone through with one of their dogs. Cindy Yahoo! Canada Toolbar : Search from anywhere on the web and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now! Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to Yahoo! Answers.. __________________________________________________________________ Instant Messaging, free SMS, sharing photos and more... Try the new Yahoo! Canada Messenger at http://ca.beta.messenger.yahoo.com/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Eskiepeople" group. A list managed by American Eskimo Rescue and Sanctuary of Iowa http://www.eskiedog.org To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups-beta.google.com/group/eskiepeople?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
