Cavalier With Luxating Patella

[Meeka17]

My 14 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel recently slipped over and started limping. She was seen to by the vet and given an anti-inflammatory injection. This did not seem to help so she was put on a week's worth of oral anit-inflammtories. I have rested her well however when I play with her she occasionally limps. The vet seen her this morning and she has a grade 2 luxating patella (knee cap slips out of place). The option is for her to have surgery to correct this. I need some advice whether to go through with the surgery. I'm worried she is too young for this sort of surgery and I don't want it to cause further complications. I'm not sure what to do. It breaks my heart to see her limping because she is so playful and full of energy. I just want to do what is best for her.

Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

[poodlefan]

At 14 months, I'd do the surgery. The sooner the kneecap is put in place, the less the joint will be damaged.

[Lowenhart]

If you go with the surgery, she will be confined in a crate for an extended amount of time - no play or running. Then only limited exercise until the joint can be stabilised.

At Grade 2, I'd take a more conservative approach. No jumping/leaping, no stairs, crate rest and on lead walking only. When the limp lessens and her pain levels improve, then slowly increase the gentle exercise. Swimming could be beneficial.

I've heard of plenty of dogs with grade 2 who live normal lives without surgery . I've also seen a post operative puppy and it broke my heart, made me rethink the leap to surgery. I think his knees were grade 3/4.

[poodlefan]

If you go with the surgery, she will be confined in a crate for an extended amount of time - no play or running. Then only limited exercise until the joint can be stabilised.

At Grade 2, I'd take a more conservative approach. No jumping/leaping, no stairs, crate rest and on lead walking only. When the limp lessens and her pain levels improve, then slowly increase the gentle exercise. Swimming could be beneficial.

I've heard of plenty of dogs with grade 2 who live normal lives without surgery . I've also seen a post operative puppy and it broke my heart, made me rethink the leap to surgery. I think his knees were grade 3/4.

One of my dogs has had a patella op. He was not restricted in this manner. On vets orders, he was allowed to walk from the word go - on lead. He healed fine.

Talk to your vet Meeka about what the op will involve and how recovery will need to be managed. Clearly different vets take different approaches.

[Gretel]

Different vets do the op different ways and they require different post op care. I would give Lowenhearts suggestion a go and see how she goes. It's worth a try. I've had several dogs done over the years and they all healed well

[Meeka17]

Thanks for all of the replies. I'm very undecided on what to do. My vet said recovery time would be 6 weeks. That's fine with me and restricting her to a confined area is no problems. I'm happy to nurse her as much as possible. My main concerns are what she will be like post op but then I agree with Poodlefan and the sooner the operation is done the better so there is less wear and tear on the joint. I've started her on Sasha's Blend capsules (marine based blend designed to aid arthritis formation).

Gretel - You've obviously had this op done on your Cavalier's? How many Cavvy's have you had this operation performed on and were they all positive outcomes? How old were the dogs when they had the operation? Appreciate your advice.

Cheers,

Tameka

[Georgie-boy]

penny174, Kissindra, Benji&Cuddles and pmiller have all got Cavaliers that have had their knees operated on - they have all recovered well and I'm sure if you PM'd them - they would be more than happy to chat with you. Gretel will be able to give you some good advice too - I know pennyw74's dog Izzy had her knees done at the vet recommended by Gretel with great success.

[Gretel]

I'm not quite sure how many Cavs I've had done... My first ever had his knee done nearly 30 years ago. Over time I've had a few of my own dogs need surgery and several rescues. One did need a second op but all the rest were very successful. I have a five year old here who had good knees as a pup but when she was a year old the vet checked and they were both loose. She'd never shown any sign of a problem. In the following few months one knee would slip out every now and then but she didn't seem too worried by it. It's been years since she had any problem. Possibly she may be more affected with arthritis as she gets older. The last time I asked the vet to check her knees one was still a little loose but the other had tightened up and was fine.

[Meeka17]

I'm not quite sure how many Cavs I've had done... My first ever had his knee done nearly 30 years ago. Over time I've had a few of my own dogs need surgery and several rescues. One did need a second op but all the rest were very successful. I have a five year old here who had good knees as a pup but when she was a year old the vet checked and they were both loose. She'd never shown any sign of a problem. In the following few months one knee would slip out every now and then but she didn't seem too worried by it. It's been years since she had any problem. Possibly she may be more affected with arthritis as she gets older. The last time I asked the vet to check her knees one was still a little loose but the other had tightened up and was fine.

Hmmm.... that's the hard part to decide. Whether to leave it and hope that it will get better over time. We only noticed it once she slipped over and seemed to have caused a bit of trauma to it. The vet suggested the impact of the slide might have scraped/ abraised some of the cartilage. That's a good sign that the majority of dogs that have had the surgery done have turned out successful.

[Akay]

I'd recommend the surgery.

We had our Cav done and he has been fantastic ever since. The post op care wasn't as onerous as some are making out and I don't really understand the comment about the person that would rethink it seeing a dog post op. My brother looked after him after the operation and everything went fine, he was kept in the bathroom and carried outside to go to the toilet. It all went really smoothly.

He was only about a couple of years old when he had it done and he's 12 now and has not had one single problem.

[poodlefan]

Hmmm.... that's the hard part to decide. Whether to leave it and hope that it will get better over time. We only noticed it once she slipped over and seemed to have caused a bit of trauma to it. The vet suggested the impact of the slide might have scraped/ abraised some of the cartilage. That's a good sign that the majority of dogs that have had the surgery done have turned out successful.

What sort of muscle condition does she have? Is she lean and fit?

[Meeka17]

I'd recommend the surgery.

We had our Cav done and he has been fantastic ever since. The post op care wasn't as onerous as some are making out and I don't really understand the comment about the person that would rethink it seeing a dog post op. My brother looked after him after the operation and everything went fine, he was kept in the bathroom and carried outside to go to the toilet. It all went really smoothly.

He was only about a couple of years old when he had it done and he's 12 now and has not had one single problem.

That sounds very positive. I'm leaning more towards opting for the surgery. Hopefully my Cavvy can live a long and healthy life once she has the operation. The vet did say she has grade 1 in the other knee but I'm hoping it will be okay if we fix the other knee up. Sounds like your experience went very smoothly which is very promising for me. Did you have a normal vet conduct the surgery or a orthopedic specialist? My vet quoted me roughly $1000 for him to do it or it would cost me $3000 for the specialist to do it. He's done about 20 of these operations in his career but doesn't mind doing my Cav but he did say he would probably lead me in the direction of a specialist to do the operation if the dog was over 30kg.

[Meeka17]

Hmmm.... that's the hard part to decide. Whether to leave it and hope that it will get better over time. We only noticed it once she slipped over and seemed to have caused a bit of trauma to it. The vet suggested the impact of the slide might have scraped/ abraised some of the cartilage. That's a good sign that the majority of dogs that have had the surgery done have turned out successful.

What sort of muscle condition does she have? Is she lean and fit?

She is very lean and fit and she can run like a greyhound! She has lost some muscle mass though since she initially slipped over as we haven't taken her for her normal daily walk. She's been doing a lot of resting.

[poodlefan]

She is very lean and fit and she can run like a greyhound! She has lost some muscle mass though since she initially slipped over as we haven't taken her for her normal daily walk. She's been doing a lot of resting.

Sometimes increased muscle can stabilise the joint. It doesn't sound like that's a likelihood here.

You could always ask for a specialist orthopedic consult.

[Kissindra]

PM sent

[Akay]

I'd recommend the surgery.

We had our Cav done and he has been fantastic ever since. The post op care wasn't as onerous as some are making out and I don't really understand the comment about the person that would rethink it seeing a dog post op. My brother looked after him after the operation and everything went fine, he was kept in the bathroom and carried outside to go to the toilet. It all went really smoothly.

He was only about a couple of years old when he had it done and he's 12 now and has not had one single problem.

That sounds very positive. I'm leaning more towards opting for the surgery. Hopefully my Cavvy can live a long and healthy life once she has the operation. The vet did say she has grade 1 in the other knee but I'm hoping it will be okay if we fix the other knee up. Sounds like your experience went very smoothly which is very promising for me. Did you have a normal vet conduct the surgery or a orthopedic specialist? My vet quoted me roughly $1000 for him to do it or it would cost me $3000 for the specialist to do it. He's done about 20 of these operations in his career but doesn't mind doing my Cav but he did say he would probably lead me in the direction of a specialist to do the operation if the dog was over 30kg.

Hi, it was a normal vet that did the operation and she did a wonderful job. I think if he's done 20 already he should do a good job you'd think.

[Kelly_Louise]

My dogs haven't had this type of surgery, but one did have 2 cruciate surgeries and I support surgery if it's necessary. She went from a dog that was fairly consistentle lame and having issues - to (after recovery) a dog that could be normal again, who we didn't have to overly worry about nor wrap in cotton wool.

Just like if a human was to have surgery, of course they don't come bounding out of it - and they are sore and sorry and odd/sad looking for a while (surprisingly shorter than what you would think though ) - however most dogs adapt really well with it all, and are much tougher than we give them credit for.

I can't recommend a specialist orthapedic surgeon enough though... but I guess it depends on the vet and how confident you are with them, hopefully you are happy with your vet and trust them to do the surgery. I didn't trust mine as far as I'd throw them, and had her referred to a specialist who I felt comfortable with and I could trust.

There are pros and cons on both sides... it's about what you think will give your dog the best chance at quality of life, and considering that (hopefully) she has quite a long life ahead of her yet.

[Pawfect]

According to our vet surgery should be a last option because it leads to scar tissue, which causes arthritis later in life.

My girl has luxating patellas also (one knee is Grade 2 and the other is Grade 3) as well as elbow dyplasia. She was diagnosed 18mths-2yrs ago. With cartrophen injections every 6 mths and joint guard daily in her food she's been symptom free for about a year. I know it'll likely get worse with time (she's almost 5yo), and she may need surgery in the future but surgery advances get better and better over time so i'd rather wait until it it gets more sore and unmanagable.

The main thing for the meantime is to limit jumping, sharp turns, etc which will aggrevate the knees (which is more easily said than done!).

[Jed]

Before I had any surgery done, I would have a TOP chiropractor check her out, and perhaps another vet who is used to Cavaliers.

Two of my pups (in new homes) was misdiagnosed with LP - one by 2 separate vets. One's back was out, was fixed by the chiro, and has been ok ever since. The other one didn't have anything wrong with him. Cavaliers from some lines go a bit high in the rump at 11 - 13 months, and they either "walk funny" or appear to be limping and sometimes this is diagnosed as LP by some vets. Not saying this is the case with yours, but worth checking.

Not saying yours is wrong, but worth another opinion. LP can be caused by trauma (ie, slipping over), but it is usually lateral rather than medial LP

I'd also speak to the breeder, if you bought your pup from a breeder. They might have some insights for you. LP can occur in the progeny of parents with LP themselves, but it can also occur in the progeny of parents without LP.

[Kelly_Louise]

According to our vet surgery should be a last option because it leads to scar tissue, which causes arthritis later in life.

My girl has luxating patellas also (one knee is Grade 2 and the other is Grade 3) as well as elbow dyplasia. She was diagnosed 18mths-2yrs ago. With cartrophen injections every 6 mths and joint guard daily in her food she's been symptom free for about a year. I know it'll likely get worse with time (she's almost 5yo), and she may need surgery in the future but surgery advances get better and better over time so i'd rather wait until it it gets more sore and unmanagable.

The main thing for the meantime is to limit jumping, sharp turns, etc which will aggrevate the knees (which is more easily said than done!).

Untreated joint problems can cause premature arthritis and further damage to set in much faster in many cases.

Whether surgery is performed or not, arthritis will rear it's ugly head earlier.

What is important is what will give a dog the best chance at a quality of life. If we hadn't put Chloe through surgery, she would without doubt have been crippled much sooner and I'm also under no doubt we would have had her pts by now. Thanks to surgery, it gave her many good years... however, due to her condition not being diagnosed early (and not allowing us to move quickly to correct), arthritic changes and DJD had already set in. In our case, surgery slowed down the natural progression of the severity of her arthritis.