Anyone with experience with luxating patella - Help appreciated!
Submitted by Lonna with Harl... on February 9, 2011 - 10:34pmMy son's 7 month old puppy recently started limping on and off. At first, because it wasn't severe and came and went we suspected he had either a sore paw or had strained something and hoped he it would get better on his own.
After a few weeks of a bit of limping a day or two here and there he took him to our vet who is a fabulous bulldog specialist.
He was diagnosed with a luxating patella and given anti-inflamatories, pain medications, and put on daily glucosomine. He is going to be re-checked in one month to see where he is at.
We have since been doing research and the hope that because he is still a growing puppy perhaps his patella would stabilize with growth seems remote. We have found in our research that many do not recommend surgery if the diagnosis is Grade 1 or 2.
If anyone has experience with luxating patella in a bulldog we have a lot of questions and would REALLY appreciate any input.
Has anyone had this diagnosis in a puppy and found that it does "correct" with growth?
Does anyone have a bulldog that has been diagnosed with luxating patella that has not had surgery? If so, how are they doing? Do they have problems with this rarely, sometimes, or often? Have you had to restrict their activity because of this condition?
If your bulldog had this surgery how difficult was the recovery? How long did recovery take? Do they have any recurring symptoms? Do you have to restrict/monitor their activity forever because of this surgery?
We are trying to gather as much info as we can.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Lonna & Harley
My Girl Winnie had it
At 6 mos she was diagnosed w/ grade 3or 4 (it wasthe highest level, I don't remember) LP on both knees. She was so lame she could hardly move and was in a lot of pain. I did the pain meds/ anti-inflamatories but to no avail. I wanted her to grow up so we waited to do the surgery when she was a little over a year. We decided to do the worse knee first. She had the surgery and we did the no/limited activity for the required 6-8 weeks. Once she recovered from the surgery it seemed to take the stress off the other knee and she hasn't had any lameness since. It was a hard call, the breeder kept telling me to wait and see if she grew out of it but I just couldn't stand the sight of such a young dog in so much pain when she moved. I'm glad we did it but also glad we didn't do both knees.
My advice to you is take your time and don't let the vet scare you into surgery. Keep the dog quiet (no jumping or running) for a while and see if it gets better.
I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
It really helps to hear from others that have been through the same thing when trying to make these kind of decisions. It is very promising to hear that your Winnie's second knee improved without surgery.
Maverick currently only limps part of the time and does not appear to be in pain so we are really hoping he gets better and doesn't need surgery.
Lonna & Harley
Question about Winnies surgery
Did Winnie have fluid build up on her knee at any time during her recovery and if so did it absorb on its own or did they drain it each time.
hope you don`t mind me answering
If you do a search "Mr. Higgins+seroma" you will see some of the issues he had after his patella surgery (and removal) About 2 weeks post op he suddenly developed a huge bulging seroma. Vet darined it, thankfully clear fluid. 130ml was drained off.
It was drained 5 times altogether, and came back each time. My vet tried a pressure bandage which fell off immediately. He applied another huge bandage and wrapped it all around his leg and belly and STAPLED it to his skin.
After all attempts failed, my vet gave up and said perhaps it is the body wanting to fill the space where the patella was.
The seroma was there for a year and very slowly went down on it`s own. My vet said he had never seen one so big or persistent.
I had tons of support from BDW and was so very grateful.
Luxating patella
if you do a "search" you will find other peoples` experiences. You should find out what grade it is. Usually a grade 1+2 do not require surgery, just watching if it worsens. Grades 3+4 will require surgery. Many bullies have had this surgery and are just fine. The outcome of surgery is directly related to strictly following the vet`s advice for activity restrictions post surgery.
My boy had luxating patella (left at 13 mos, right at 15 mos) and ended up with a patella removal on the left (rare) 3 years later. He now walks perfectly well, believe it or not. He had a ton of complications specific to him, and not an expected part of any dog`s recovery. I have him on lots of joint supplements as arthritis is expected down to road.
It is usually bilateral and also is a congenital hereditary defect of the knee joint. Any dog with this diagnosis should not be in a breeding program.
Best of luck, just find out as much as you can about it and, hopefully the vet is very experienced with bullies. A board certified surgeon does the surgery, not a vet. I ended up buying a stroller.
Thank goodness for pet insurance!
Tanks luxating patella surgery Re:
My 1 and 1/2 yr old bully had Luxating Patella Surgery on January 10th,2011.He was stage 3-4. We were his 3rd home when he came to be with us. I suspect this is the reason he was on his third home. Anyway, he had surgery with a surgeon that our vet recommended. It turned out his leg bone was grown to the side of his leg and wouldn't lay in the groove ever without surgery. He is proving very hard to keep restricted on exercise. He has had 2 followup visits so far. Lots of fluid and gunk in the fluid on the first visit. Vet drained it.He had to take another two week round of antibiotics, then return. More fluid but clear on the second visit. Vet drained it off, not as much in content either. He now has a bit more fluid and is due for a follow up again. Will post as soon as i find out the particulars of this visit. I cannot stress enough how much keeping him still is important to his recovery. I suspect this is why he had gunk in his fluid the first time but not sure. Husband doesn't like to keep him in his crate. The cost for Tanks surgery right now is at around 600.00. Thats a great deal according to what i have read. Our surgeon is awesome too.
stay tuned...
MY BULLDOG WAS DIAGONSED WITH IT & THIS IS HOW I AVOIDED SURGEY
Howdy there. Hope this helps. Dermax is awesome stuff to help with sore muscles and joints. But Key is don't let the happy dog fool you, if he has Patella issues, even though he seems happy and wanting to jump like a kangaroo don't let him do it..... Just play low to the ground. My Bueller is going on 8 years old, was diagnosed at year 1, he is fine now as long as I stay religious about no jumping.... and when he does get sore, I have to remember the Dermax is making him feel better his joints haven't really changed.