# luxating Patella experience please.



## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

Hello, has anyone any experience of this please, as Hector has just been provisionally diagnosed with it and will need to go and have x-rays next week to confirm it and see to what degree he has it. 

He was bouncing around in the garden yesterday evening when he landed he yelped and his rear left leg was stuck out ridgid to the side he then hopped about and yelped again and his leg returned to normal although he did get a little limpy/hoppy if he ran around so we then only took him out on a lead for a wee, but he did it again this morning just walking in the sitting room so we took him to the vets (ouch for out of hours bill) where she manipulated his leg and popped his kneecap again, so he's had a painkiller and anti-inflammatory and we've been told no walks and to keep him quiet  easier said than done with a bouncy 8 month old puppy but I'm just sad for my little pup.


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## shadowmare (Jul 7, 2013)

I'm sorry to hear that  I personally haven't had any experience with it but I knew a lady with a cav who had to have 2 surgeries due to this problem. All I know is that this is hereditary condition so you should contact your breeder in case it's confirmed and when you find out what grade it is. Were his both parents tested as it is common problem in cavs and bichons. 
Here's a couple of articles on patellar luxation that I've found:

Treatment Options For The Luxating Patella | Dogs Naturally Magazine

Patellar Luxation and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Hope it's just an accidental injury and not actual patellar luxation though!


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## rottiepointerhouse (Feb 9, 2014)

Indie my 2 yr old rottie was diagnosed with this back in January. It followed on from a few previous orthopaedic problems including bilateral TPLO's for cruciate rupture. She was playing on some wet grass and slid and got up yelping holding her back leg up then kicked out with it a few times (to get in to go back in place). She remained sore on it for a few days and while waiting to get to the orthopaedic vet it happened again a couple of times. She had surgery done straight away but already had arthritis developed behind the knee cap. Her surgery was a bit more complicated because the plate from the TPLO was where they would have moved the tendon attachment point to so they just deepened the groove the patella runs in and tightened up all the soft tissue. She recovered really well from the operation (although 6 weeks of not going out walking at all was tough) and so far the knee has stayed in place. If it does dislocate again they may have to remove her TPLO plate so that they can move the tendon attachment but we hope that will never be necessary.


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

Thank you both for your links SM and sadly for your experiences RPH, I hope your Rottie keeps her knee cap in place and that she fully recovers, I am going to try and get him x-rayed asap (hopefully tomorrow or tuesday) and try to see where go from here as he is a very sad little chap today as I don't think he tolerates Metcam very well as he is very spaced out and has been sick and is quite out of sorts really, he is sitting oddly today as well, but thinking on it he has always been a tad hoppy but I put it down to him stepping on thistles in the paddock as it is very thistley and he didn't/doesn't alway do it, but then it could be that he was stepping on thistles, arrrgghh my mind has gone all in a spin, life would be so much easier if they could talk and we had magic wands we could wave.


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## rottiepointerhouse (Feb 9, 2014)

Our own vet didn't even need to x-ray Indie, he could feel the knee cap moving about so just sent us straight back to the orthopaedic consultant who diagnosed luaxating patella just from examination, when she was lying down you could clearly see when he moved her leg the patella going in and out. Yuk. I know hopping and kicking out with the leg like a horse does are signs to look out for. Hope Hector gets sorted out and is feeling better soon. Its horrid watching them in distress.


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## Spockles (Jun 14, 2014)

MontyMaude said:


> Hello, has anyone any experience of this please, as Hector has just been provisionally diagnosed with it and will need to go and have x-rays next week to confirm it and see to what degree he has it.
> 
> He was bouncing around in the garden yesterday evening when he landed he yelped and his rear left leg was stuck out ridgid to the side he then hopped about and yelped again and his leg returned to normal although he did get a little limpy/hoppy if he ran around so we then only took him out on a lead for a wee, but he did it again this morning just walking in the sitting room so we took him to the vets (ouch for out of hours bill) where she manipulated his leg and popped his kneecap again, so he's had a painkiller and anti-inflammatory and we've been told no walks and to keep him quiet  easier said than done with a bouncy 8 month old puppy but I'm just sad for my little pup.


Oh yes, we've had experience with a luxating patella! When Chester, our l year old rat terrier displayed the same type of behavior as your Hector, we took him into the Vet, who told us that Chester needs to have surgery within the week to remedy this issue to which rat terriers are prone, BUT, I decided to get a second opinion, as well as, go online to research the issue a bit, first. Very good thing, that I sought that second opinion, since the second Vet reassured me that surgery does NOT have to be imminent, and, in fact, some dogs learn to avoid doing things that may 'throw' their patella out. If they do 'throw' it out, some manage to get it back to working order quickly. This has been the case with Chester, now 12 years later, with no surgery! Phew!! Chester quickly learned to move s-l-o-w-l-y on slippery floor surfaces, and would let it rip on carpeting instead. Unless Hector, is in continuous pain from this, surgery, after a second opinion would make sense. I immediately shyed away from that option, since the Vet told me the pup would need to avoid all stairs, jumping up on sofas, couches, etc., for weeks, otherwise, he would immediately undo the benefits of surgery. As with your Hector, a young pup, would have been impossible to keep calm, for weeks, without sedatives...therefore, I knew I needed that second opinion, and different option to surgery. Hope this long-winded missive helped. My best to you and Hector - keep the faith in workable options.


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## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

Rosie, my Jack Russell, has luxating patellas in both of her back legs and one of them is severe.

My vet is very reluctant to operate on LP cases, as he believes that most dogs adjust and learn to live with it.

Rosie is now 5 and the majority of the time, her legs don't appear to bother her. Sometimes she'll hop, but she never goes lame and doesn't show any sign of pain.


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## loubyfrog (Feb 29, 2012)

The exact same thing happened with Bubba last Feb,He slipped on the decking and started to limp.

X-rays showed Luxating Patella and also HD.

Bubs had surgery a week later on just one kneecap (they shaved a bit of the socket hole away and also broke and realigned his shin bone as his leg had grown a little wonky)

Bubs recoupertaed after the surgery really well,we built up his walks again,had physio and started his Hydrotherapy which he still goes to now because of his hips . He walks and runs a bit funny now but thats due to his hips not because of his surgery

I hope Hector will be okay and sorry to hear that he may have LP but if you opt for him to have surgery he'll be back on his feet in no time. Hope all goes as well as it can be for his X-Rays.


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

Thank you so much for all your experiences as I am trying hard not to google as that is a sure way to madness and panic for crazy ol' me who loves to catastrophise (I really don't love it but struggle not to )


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## PetloverJo (Nov 4, 2011)

I hope Hector is feeling better soon and his problem is sorted quickly.


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## Goldstar (Nov 12, 2011)

Lucky has an occasional hop in one of her back legs, it doesn't affect het mobility/comfort and she can go weeks without having a hop at all.
3 years ago her vet said it was likely to be a low grade LP but said that a lot of dogs don't need surgery. 
I keep a very close eye on it and if it ever starts to cause her problems then I'll consider the surgery route, currently though she's absolutely fine.

I hope you get good news with Hector.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

MontyMaude said:


> Hello, has anyone any experience of this please, as Hector has just been provisionally diagnosed with it and will need to go and have x-rays next week to confirm it and see to what degree he has it.
> 
> He was bouncing around in the garden yesterday evening when he landed he yelped and his rear left leg was stuck out ridgid to the side he then hopped about and yelped again and his leg returned to normal although he did get a little limpy/hoppy if he ran around so we then only took him out on a lead for a wee, but he did it again this morning just walking in the sitting room so we took him to the vets (ouch for out of hours bill) where she manipulated his leg and popped his kneecap again, so he's had a painkiller and anti-inflammatory and we've been told no walks and to keep him quiet  easier said than done with a bouncy 8 month old puppy but I'm just sad for my little pup.


Havent had experience myself but friends and fellow dog walkers have and after surgery they were fine.

Luxating patellas are graded in severity 1 to 4, 1 is the least 4 the worst.
A low grade usually pops itself out here and there the dog limps or holds the leg up and then it just pops back in itself. Usually on exam the vet can manipulate the knee out and when its released it pops itself back in again.
The worse grade is permanently out, the dog permanently walks oddly and has problems and on exam it can be felt and cant even be manually put back.
The other two grades fall between the two. Sometimes even with the lower grades especially if its happening often, they do sometimes advise surgery, because although they might not be causing problems at the moment it can cause arthritic changes later and cause more problems then.

They can usually tell a lot on exam and get an idea of the grade by that, but obviously x rays will tell more as to what exactly going on.


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## Dimwit (Nov 10, 2011)

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Our own vet didn't even need to x-ray Indie, he could feel the knee cap moving about


Same with my vet. My dog had low grade LP and initially I decided not to opt for surgery but just to keep an eye on him - vet recommended keeping him lean (he is naturally lean anyway) and fit to support the knee joint.
Last summer he started having more bouts of lameness and so we decided to go for surgery.
He had his op in september and recovered pretty well from it - he had hydrotherapy regularly and was doing really well.
Unfortunately he has been having problems with the leg since February this year, at the moment the specialist is not sure if it is osteoarthritis in the knee or if he has the start of cruciate problems 

If your dog does have LP (which is does sound like) it is really not the end of the world. The surgery is pretty straightforward and I think most dogs recover pretty well. One of my team-mates when we used to do flyball had a dog who had had surgery for LP and she was a great flyball dog.


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## loubyfrog (Feb 29, 2012)

Just wanting to pop on to say good luck with hectors X-rays if the vets can do them today and hope you're not worrying too much.

Also To say that I googled away too when Bubs was diagnosed and before he had his surgery ( I know I shouldn't have but wanted to be as clued up as I possibly could)

Honestly,the surgery isn't that bad....the worse thing for me was the long line of staples down Bubs leg but Bubba took every thing in his stride and he was toe touching the floor in less than 24 hrs after his op. 

bubs was 5 when he had the op and he was fine so if Hector does need surgery he is a young and healthy boy and will manage really well.

Good luck and please let us know how he gets on.


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## MiMiPosie (Sep 25, 2013)

My chihuahua pup has just been diagnosed with this she has a grade 2 in her right leg and she has it in her left leg too but thts not bad enough to be a grade 1!


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

Well I have a slight update in that we saw the specialist this morning and Hector is currently being operated on, she is using a new technique in that they screw a piece of very expensive plastic onto the knee to build up the shallow groove that the kneecap rides over to pop out, but the recovery time is hopefully significantly less than the traditional surgery of removing bone to create a deeper ridge, just hoping the the bone doesn't have to be cut to straighten the lie of the muscle, but she wouldn't know that until she got in there, so just have to wait for the 'phone call' now.


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## LOLcats (Jun 21, 2014)

Have just seen this thread, I really hope the op goes well, the gorgeous Hector will be in my thoughts x


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## rottiepointerhouse (Feb 9, 2014)

Hope all goes well for Hector. That sounds very interesting I'll be interested to hear how the new method works out as the moving bone bit was the part of Indie's surgery they had to miss out because of her existing TPLO plate. It would be nice to know there is an alternative if her patella should start messing about again. Is he coming home tonight or staying in?


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Hope all goes well for Hector. That sounds very interesting I'll be interested to hear how the new method works out as the moving bone bit was the part of Indie's surgery they had to miss out because of her existing TPLO plate. It would be nice to know there is an alternative if her patella should start messing about again. Is he coming home tonight or staying in?


Hopefully coming home, the Vet has just rung and he is out of surgery and standing up which she was really positive about, I think this maybe the first time she has used this technique from what she was saying as she had just been on a training seminar for it but the model she showed us and they way she described the op was just so much less traumatic sounding than the traditional surgery of deepening the existing groove, it is literally a strip of hard white plastic almost banana shaped that sat on the existing ridge and held in place by three screws into the bone, but he is about to have another round of painkillers and then be observed for a few hours and I can phone for an update at 5pm with the view to going and collecting him, I think they are also being cautious with the pain meds because I asked for him not to have Metacam as the injection of it he had the other week didn't agree with him, in that it made him sick and very flat and unresponsive.


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## shadowmare (Jul 7, 2013)

Wish Hector a swift recovery and hopefully this will fix him so you won't have to worry about him!  have you spoken to your breeder about this?


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

shadowmare said:


> Wish Hector a swift recovery and hopefully this will fix him so you won't have to worry about him!  have you spoken to your breeder about this?


Yes I did send her an email, but as it was a one of litter it won't be an issue for further litters


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## shadowmare (Jul 7, 2013)

MontyMaude said:


> Yes I did send her an email, but as it was a one of litter it won't be an issue for further litters


Ah that's good although I was thinking that she should probably inform other puppy owners just in case.


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

shadowmare said:


> Ah that's good although I was thinking that she should probably inform other puppy owners just in case.


I would imagine she will as two went to her neighbours and I think she is still in contact with the other puppies owner too.


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

He is home and fairly shell shocked I think but hopefully he will be brighter tomorrow.


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## shadowmare (Jul 7, 2013)

Aww bless him! He looks like a little baby! And I love the cute sheep:001_wub:


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Glad the surgery went well. He will probably feel a lot better once the anaesthetic has worn off completely. Wishing him a speedy recovery


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## LOLcats (Jun 21, 2014)

Oh God love him! Hope he has a speedy recovery, sending lots of get well soon vibes x


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

*Update*

It's been a week since Hector was operated on and he is doing amazingly, or at least I think he is, he is off all pain meds but does need to wear his buster collar as he is a serial nibbler when at home and not being watched, but we have started doing proper little walks and have discovered the wonders of a Stag bar to keep him amused as he is trying to play and have zoomies, the vets were pleased with his progress but we get to see the specialist next tuesday so I hope she is as pleased with him as I am.

Anyway picture from todays walk.


Links to videos of him walking

Day after surgery

Day two

Day four

Day seven


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## rottiepointerhouse (Feb 9, 2014)

:thumbup::thumbup: He looks to be doing really well. Indie was not allowed out for even a short lead walk until 6 weeks so I'm very impressed.


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## PetloverJo (Nov 4, 2011)

Wow amazing, didn't expect him to be walking like this in a week.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

rottiepointerhouse said:


> :thumbup::thumbup: He looks to be doing really well. Indie was not allowed out for even a short lead walk until 6 weeks so I'm very impressed.





PetloverJo said:


> Wow amazing, didn't expect him to be walking like this in a week.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


I think it's because of the new technique she used, I am so so pleased with it's just getting harder to keep him quiet as he has definitely got his bounce back and his tail is up and waggy. He is only allowed a 20-30 minutes on lead walk on flat ground preferably grass and he can have a couple of 20-30 minute lead walks round the garden too, he is stiff in the morning but his leg improves over the day the more he uses it. Several of the nurses popped over to see him when we went in for the check up and they were all amazed at how quickly he was up on his feet after surgery and how well he was walking that day so I think he has a little fan base at the vets


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

So glad and pleased for you that the operation looks a complete success and he is doing so well with his recovery.


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## 8tansox (Jan 29, 2010)

Oh I've just watched your videos as my terrier is more than likely going to have to have surgery for LP sadly. I'm dreading it but, your videos and this thread have given me some ideas to discuss with our vet this afternoon when we take him in.


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

8tansox said:


> Oh I've just watched your videos as my terrier is more than likely going to have to have surgery for LP sadly. I'm dreading it but, your videos and this thread have given me some ideas to discuss with our vet this afternoon when we take him in.


I have to say I sometimes forget he had a problem as he bombs about like a hooligan with no limp or issues at all really apart from some mornings if he has done way to much the day before he can be stiff for the first two minutes when he gets up but it doesn't trouble him at all, it's a horribly worrying time though waiting for the diagnosis and the op, but fingers crossed your little one will bounce right back


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