# Experienced with Luxating Patella Surgery?



## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

If you saw my last health post about my pom (yes, sorry it's not about one of my poodles) you saw he had fallen off the couch and, like I thought, had jammed his knees out of place. We finally had an appt with an orthopedic surgeon. I thought he had been looking better the last week before the appt, though he was on x-pen rest so didn't move around much, but the surgeon said that the reason he looked better was because the knee wasn't popping in and out much, because it was now almost always out.  
She said he was grade 3 on his bad leg and grade 2 on his 'good' leg. So he needs surgery. Likely will only be able to do the worst leg during the first surgery due to how involved it will be. She will be deepening his groove, tightening the tendons/ligs on one side of the knee, loosening them on the other, and then likely a tibial transplant. Not sure if we don't have to do the tibial transplant if we can do both knees or not.
She wanted to wait till he was a year old due to his possibly growing a bit yet (he's 3.3ish pound right now) which will be September.
I'm of course nervous about surgery, especially after the trachea scare from when he had his baby teeth pulled.
Anyone have experience with luxating patella surgery? How long it took to recover? Crate rest or pen rest? Any info/experience at all?


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

So sorry that you are having this issue!
I don't have any personal experience with this, but from what I see, when the procedure is done by a skilled surgeon, folks seem to be very happy with the results and say that they are very happy that they did it. Occasionally you do hear about people who have had to have the surgery repeated, but I think those cases were probably done by a general vet the first time...


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

Firstly sorry you pom has to go through this. Seeing an orthopedic surgeon will give you better answers.
My Beatrice had surgery a year ago, luxating patellas grade 3 in her left knee and grade 3 in her right knee my vet said she had "poor" knees when I got her. She started skipping regularly around 8-9 months, roughly around 11 months her knee popped out for the first time on her left leg that is when she was diagnosed with grade 3 in that knee and 2 in the other. My vet didn't push for surgery right away instead we went with supplements and exercises.
Treatment Options For Your Dog's Luxating Patella - Dogs Naturally Magazine 

Beatrice was 16 months old when she had surgery, this was because she had not only popped her knee out but tore her cruciate ligament as well. I had her seen by an orthopedic surgeon roughly two weeks later and surgery was done the same day.

Bea came home with sutures and a bandage, bandages lasted a few days before partial tore them off. Sutures came out a week later. my girl was sequestered in the bathroom away from the other dogs to keep her quiet (the other dogs were sequestered in another room) . She also underwent laser therapy That was two months of rest, I had to give up on the bathroom though when Bea scaled the gate, if she wasn't in the there she was tethered to me. Lots of rehab exercises.

post op care
Medial Patellar Luxation | Hampden Family Pet Hospital

Her recovery went well until I stepped on her, yea that knee. 


A set back but after a round of heavy duty steroids she doing much better, running around like the puppy she is.

Sorry if I rambled, Beatrice's surgery and recovery occurred during a very bad time for me. My mom died two weeks before Bea's surgery and the company I worked for 23 years was in financial straits eventually closing.


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

My Italian Greyhound had the surgery on one of her legs. She was an Agility dog in the prime of her career, but every once in a while she would lift the leg and hop on it for a step or two. The vet identified the luxating patella, and she would be a good candidate for surgery. 

We had it done, and she had her leg all wrapped up and was crate-bound for a while, but soon made a full recovery and was back to doing Agility for many more years after that. I think she was about four years old when she had the surgery and missed maybe...four months or so of showing before she was back in the ring.

The vet surgeon did say that she would be more likely to be arthritic in that knee as she aged, and that had been true; she now (at age almost 14) limps on that leg sometimes, though she's still in great health and it doesn't bother her all the time.

I was glad I had it done. I bet people in the Agility world of your area would be able to recommend a good surgeon.

Good luck!

--Q


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Not a dog, but a Maine **** cat of mine. She was rather agoraphobic and when my apratment complex had window replacements done she hid under the wall unit in my living room for hours. She was very big for a girl (about 15 pounds) and wedged herself into a space not much more than 4" high. Who knows what kind of position she was stuck in. She came out very lame, so badly in fact that I though she had a spinal cord injury. We went to vet ER that night and the exam there really gave no definitive diagnosis other than soft tissue and a recommendation for rest. A couple of days later my regular vet diagnosed a patellar luxation and also recommended resting her. I carried her back and forth to work with me to keep her planted on the floor for several weeks. She seemed better so I figured she was okay to resume normal routines at home. After a few days she started hopping on three legs. At that time X rays at my regular vet showed that the medial patellar tendon had completely separated from the bone and her luxation was now total. She had essentially the same surgerical procedures in terms of pinning the tendon back in place and shaving down the spots on the tibia and femur that had filled in while the patella had been floating around. She was very young (three years) and had an easy recovery and a long life jumping back and forth across the tops of my kitchen cabinets and jumping the full height of my front storm door to knock bugs off the screen.


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

Thanks for all the experiences. Luckily I think my vet is pretty good. Here's her bio
Dr. Audrey Remedios (B.Sc, DVM, DACVS), even as a young child, always wanted to be a veterinarian. After finishing her veterinary degree, she completed a surgical residency and Master of Veterinary Science program at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In her residency, Dr. Remedios trained in all aspect of small animal surgery including orthopedics, soft tissue, and neurologic procedures. She joined the faculty of WVCM and successfully passed the certifying examinations to become a surgery specialist as designated by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1992. During an eight year academic career, she taught numerous courses on surgical principles and diseases to undergraduate and graduate veterinary students. She also developed the total hip replacement and minimally invasive surgery programs at WCVM. She was actively involved with research within the veterinary and human medical communities. As such, she has published many scientifically refereed journal articles, book reviews, and chapters in textbooks. In 1998, after achieving full professorship status at WCVM, she moved to Calgary and established the Western Veterinary Specialist Centre. She was an adjunct professor in the newly established School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Calgary. Today, Dr. Remedios devotes her time as lead veterinarian with the Alberta Spay Neuter Task Force. She also provides care for the animals of many rescue groups such as AARCS, ARF, Alberta Bulldog Rescue, Persian Dreams Rescue. She has also traveled to Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Ecuador, and Dominican Republican to provide animal health care in those areas.


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