Michelleva Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 My sheltie had patella surgery almost 3 months ago, she still wasn't walking properly and the vet wanted to put her under again to remove the pins. She's been operated on today and he's just rung to let me know the bad news. He said she's torn a ligament around the patella or something, it was all a bit of a blur. He doesn't know how on earth she did it and said he's never seen this happen before. So now she has her leg in a splint and he wants to keep her in over the weekend. This was supposed to fix her but now he says she'll likely have a limp for the rest of her life, she's only 1. My heart is breaking and I can't stop crying. I just want my little girl to have a long happy life, not be in pain and uncomfortable. This is so not fair, and i regret doing the surgery at all. But when 3 different vets tell you she needs it, what are you to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 So sorry Hope she's home again soon What was wrong with her patella? One of my dogs had surgery for a slipping patella .. there were no pins- just lots of bandage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadesamara Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 My heart is breaking and I can't stop crying. I just want my little girl to have a long happy life, not be in pain and uncomfortable. This is so not fair, and i regret doing the surgery at all.But when 3 different vets tell you she needs it, what are you to do? You did the right thing, Michelleva. I know it's awful when your babies are in pain (either skinkids or furkids), and sometimes things don't always go as planned. Dogs are so resilient - I've even seen dogs with amputations who run faster than 4 legged ones! If she does have a limp, I'm sure she won't even notice it - it certainly won't stop her doing anything. Your little girl will have a long, happy life with such a caring and responsible owner, (limp or no limp), so don't you worry I trust the vet will be keeping her comfortable and pain-free over the weekend anyway. She'll be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Animals have a remarkable ability to adapt to handicaps. My hare was in a cast for weeks when he broke his leg and once the pain subsided he was getting around plenty fast enough, thanks. His leg was crooked when the cast came off and still looks not quite straight, but he doesn't favour it at all and it has actually straightened a bit since the cast first came off. Or maybe he just built up more muscle tone so it's not as noticeable. Anyway, my point is, there's not much you can do for a hare but bind it up and hope for the best. With a dog you can get them doing physio and help them condition their muscles to best overcome the injury. Without knowing anything about what has happened to your girl, I think it is fair to expect that she will be pain-free soon enough even if she does still limp. There was a 3-legged dog I knew that could jump 6 ft fences with no worries. I think it's actually better that this has happened when your dog is young, as her muscles will be more adaptable. You just wait, one day you'll look back and wonder how you could have ever thought it would have a long-term impact on her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelleva Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Thanks so much everyone. What you're saying is echoing what my dear Mum just said. I've cried bucket loads and you are all right, dogs live in the moment and make the best of whatever the situation is. I need to learn some of that, but at the moment I'm in shock. In regards to the surgery she initially had, she had a luxating patella, it was graded at 3 to 4 and was slipping to the inside of her leg. She couldn't even walk on lead in the yard without it coming out, so we felt we didn't have much choice but to go down the surgery road. Thanks for being there when I needed some reassurance. I'll keep you posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Thanks so much everyone. What you're saying is echoing what my dear Mum just said. I've cried bucket loads and you are all right, dogs live in the moment and make the best of whatever the situation is. I need to learn some of that, but at the moment I'm in shock.In regards to the surgery she initially had, she had a luxating patella, it was graded at 3 to 4 and was slipping to the inside of her leg. She couldn't even walk on lead in the yard without it coming out, so we felt we didn't have much choice but to go down the surgery road. Thanks for being there when I needed some reassurance. I'll keep you posted. At that grade, I don't think you did have much choice. Corvus is right. A carnivore like a dog moves or it starves. She will adapt and it may be with good physio you get a better recovery than you are expecting. Take it day by day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 and sending healing vibes to your sheltie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owned by Shelties Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Michelle, Georgia is in the best possible hands at the vet over the weekend, U have done the right thing with what the vets have told you..... Animals are pretty tough and will adapt to what life throws there way. I am sure it will take some time for yourself, your family and of course little Georgia to heal together, know you do have support in friends and family. Please give our special girl a big hug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkycat Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 So sorry to hear your girl is still having problems but as the others have said they do heal and the best thing you can do is give her lots of TLC when she comes home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 This is just the worst bad luck. So many dogs have this operation & it is usually so successful. Do not feel it is your fault or that you should not have had this done. The prognosis had you left her the way she was would have been awful given the degree of luxation. She would have not only had a limp but put her whole back out & risked affecting her whole skeleton with problems. A limp though not desirable is still a better outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Did your girl tear her cruciate ligament? If so, are they unable to fix it? I'm not sure if it would be affected by the previous surgery? Is your girl with a specialist orthaepedic surgeon? If not, I would consider taking her to one. She is so young, you want to give her the best chance at a long and normal life. Surgery, if done correctly - isn't a bad thing, it can give great quality of life to those who otherwise wouldn't have... I know, my girl had cruciate surgery done on both her legs and it has given her a good extra 5 years of relative pain free and normal movement (and everyone told me at the beginning it was the wrong thing to do). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr_inoz Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 MIchelleva Am thinking of you and your family. I am glad the vet is keeping her in and making sure she is ok. As everybody has said, dogs are such adaptable things, and she'll adapt to her injury. The good news is that she will be pain free. I think all a sheltie wants is to be with us, and part of our families, and georgia will definitely get that with you all. She is a well looked after girl and will be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelleva Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 I just thought I'd post an update on my girl. We went to visit her at the vet yesterday and took in some treats and her favourite toys. She was really happy to see us, but I can still see sadness in her eyes. Even my 5yo picked it up. We spent quite a bit of time with her and even took her outside to sit in the sun for a while, I'm sure we perked her up a bit. She's much loved by all the staff there, Georgia's busy wooing them all, she's not silly she knows who hands out the food. I asked the nurse to explain again what the vet told me after the surgery, because to be honest it was a really big blur and it was hard to take in. So she showed me a model of a dogs knee and she showed me the ligament that was torn. There is a ligament which runs in front of the knee cap from top to bottom, that was torn at the top, which is really bad. And she confirmed the news i was dreading, we're back to square one with her rehab. So that means 100% rest with only walking to the toilet again initially. Far out, this is like a nightmare I can't wake up from. Last time I borrowed two bigger crates and joined them together, I can't do that again because that friend has a new pup who is using them. So I think I'll go to Bunnings and get one of those compost crates I've heard mentioned on here, plus she has her own crate. Thanks for being so compassionate to me when I was nearly having a breakdown the other day. I'm still worried about my girl, but we'll make the best of what life throws at us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Glad you had a nice visit re:the bunnings pen.. good idea...but I have one concern. A pen so high will allow her to stand on hind legs up against the fence... a big NO NO after knee surgery make sure the roof of the pen is just high enough for her to sit comfortably ...NOT be able to ry & stand two legged . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelleva Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 Glad you had a nice visit re:the bunnings pen.. good idea...but I have one concern. A pen so high will allow her to stand on hind legs up against the fence... a big NO NO after knee surgery make sure the roof of the pen is just high enough for her to sit comfortably ...NOT be able to ry & stand two legged . Thats a good point, maybe I could rig up a roof onto it? I'm not sure how tall they actually are. We have our old shade sail sitting here, I could cut a piece of that and connect with cable ties. I'm not rushing into getting a pen anyway, certainly not before i've spoken to the vet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 I would initially just crate her. She can move around a little later but in the beginning you need her very quiet. You needed to do the surgery and I am very sorry that this has happened, you couldn't have left her how she was. DOgs are resilient little creatures and although she will look sad for a little while when you keep her very confined, on the scheme of things weeks in a crate is only a very small portion of her lifetime. Send Whippet cuddles to you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liath Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 My cav had her operation last October and intially she was just crated. She is a jumper so we had to be careful. After the first couple of weeks we hooked up the bunnings compast bin panel and watched her closely but she didnt jump. At the intial consult the vet thought her crucial ligment was damaged as well but luck was with us on that one. Her leg still isnt good and she is still on pain medication. Last time i took her to the vet for a checkup he said it could take upto a year for her to recover properly. She has pins in her knee and her bone was deformed so they had trouble pinning it, so now she walks funny which causes her pain. Sometimes I think she would have been better off without the surgery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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