Hip surgery.. Knee problem.. what can I do?

[chrystel]

I feel bad.. very bad...

Snatch is 6 years old and is a petite Boxer. He only weighs 48 lbs.
Since last year, he has started limping from his right rear leg. First after playing with his boxer brother Oxford... then after long walks..

I started the regimen glucosamine, chondroitin, msm, fish oil....

He is now limping all the time. He can not jump on our low bed anymore, nor jump on the couch. We did x-rays and the vet noticed a dysplasia from his right hip.

We hate seeing him in pain so we decided to do the surgery. He loves to play, and it's not fair to keep him inside all the time, preventing any play time. I decided to see a second vet, just to get a second opinion.

Now comes the surprise! The vet #2 asked me if Snatch got hit by a car (??!!) Never. He never leaves my sight.... then i recalled 2 possibilities...
*1: as i was in Europe last summer, our cousin kept him and Snatch ran away in the neighborhood. He found him after 20min in a park.. did he get hit by a car then?
*2: last september, as he was playing with Oxford outside in a courtyard, they were running, full speed, looking into eachother's eyes (dummies! LOL) and Snatch ran into a poll. He got hurt... he was trembling and lay there for the longest 30 seconds in my life :(

After he hit the poll, I thought he was ok. He acted normal after that. He was limping a little more, but i thought he hit his bad hip..

Anyway.. i feel horrible, now vet #2 is telling me that Snatch's knee was probably broken previously and he has lots of scarred tissu that are in this knee..

He refered me to a different surgeon than vet#1 (who never saw the knee issue)

Anyway.. now i have 2 options:
vet #1 refered me to a surgeon facility that has rehabilitation stuff (underwater treadmill and all)
vet #2 refered me to a surgeon facility that doesn't have rehabilitation stuff and of course, vet #2 has them, so i would have to go back to him.. (so did he refered me to them to get the business? i don't know vet #2, i just went to see him for 2nd opinion)

I am going to see both surgeon places and get quotes.

I am worried i won't be able to pay for both knee and hip repair.. my poor little Snatchoo.. i feel horrible for not noticing his knee last year :*(

 

[Gatorblu]

I'm so sorry to hear about Snatch. The poor little guy. Many of us have gone thru something similar of thinking there is one thing wrong with your baby, just to find out it is something else and something worse. One vet told me Thor had a cyst 2nd vet aspirated it and it was a mct. I left a cancerous lump on my dog for 5-6 months. Just check with the vets to see if they have payment plans. There is also a credit card out there that is designed for such things. You can put the vet bill on that and you would have a year to pay it off interest free, after that year the interest starts. Some vets have pamphlets for it in their offices. Fortunately I haven't had to use one so I'm not speaking from experience on the card just what I've been told. Good luck and we're sending ((healthy healing vibes)) to Snatch!

 

[chrystel]

Thank you so much I think i have this card from my dentist and Surgeon #1 said they accept it! hooray!

Alright... Surgeon #1 said:
Hip is OK - he wouldn't do surgery. Snatch doesn't show any pain when he pulls his leg all the way back. He said hip looks great for a 6.5year old dog.

Knee is NOT OK. Torn ACL. recommend TPLO ($2900) + a cardiac evaluation ($500) because Snatch has a heart murmur.

I am mad.. mad at my regular vet. Snatch has been limping for 1.5 years and after x-rays, my vet told me "it's his hip - common hip dysplasia".

Surgeon #1 tells me than the torn ACL is very clear on the X-ray my vet took 1.5 years ago.

hmpf! pretty mad :(

 

[Hunnys Folks]

Hunny tore her acl and she is ok now I had her on some stuff to help it heal and had to keep her limited in excercise for 8 weeks or better . But if it is torn really bad from what I understand they do need surgery . My vet told me if it can bear weight it is worth trying to fix with rest an antinflamitories . I have also heard that there is 2 different surgeries that can be done , maybe someone will have more info on that part than I do . I hope all works out for you guys .

 

[Jan]

Surgeon #1 tells me than the torn ACL is very clear on the X-ray my vet took 1.5 years ago.

(

I didn't think that torn ACL's can be see on x-rays? :( From what I have heard previously, a torn ACL can only be diagnosed, be putting the dog to sleep. They can then determine that there is a problem by the looseness in the joint.

It seems that someone is not quite telling the truth. I think you need another opinion.

 

[crazychopper]

My dog has severe bilateral hip dysplasia he had hip surgery then a year later tore his acl on the same leg he then had a tplo. You can determine a acl tear on x-ray in combination with physical exam, You can not see the ligament on x-ray but you can see the misalignment of the joint and fluid that builds up because of the misalignment. Unfortunatley my dog had complications post tplo and needed physical therapy post op but his hip dysplasia is severe ( in the other hip) Why are they suggesting a tplo verses the more tradition acl repair? Studies have shown ANY dog post acl repair recovers quicker and better with physical therapy. Hope it helps

 

[chrystel]

Thank you everyone!

right, the surgeon says that the 1st signs of a torn ACL on x-ray is the pockets of fluids. Plus, Snatch's knee is bigger on the inside.

i think my regular vet just rulled it from the beginning as "hip problem": the x-rays he took are labelled "Snatch Hip" so i am sure they just looked at the hip.

I am seeing another surgeon on Wednesday. I can't wait to see what he says!

Surgeon #1 recommended a tplo because snatch is very high energy and jumps, leaps.. and he said that because he has a boxer brother (young Oxford) they would play even at home during the day.
he said the tplo is better for energetic dogs...

 

[EAO76]

Crazychopper is correct; there is a lot a skilled specialist can see on the x-ray. I am going through something similar with my foster dog. He came to us limping. We took him to general practice the vet that the rescue uses. The GP vet took x-rays & did a physical exam. He determined there wasn’t anything seriously wrong and sent Rowdy home with some anti-inflammatory and told us to rest him. After a month or more of no improvement I took him to a specialist. The specialist took one look at Rowdy & said “I think both knees are blown”. Then he looked at the x-rays and from the angle, the inflammation, fluid etc he was able to confirm his initial thought.

Specialists deal with this stuff all the time. They are much more skilled at diagnosing these problems then a regular vet.

Have you asked about the tightrope procedure? It’s a newer procedure that I have heard good things about. It’s less invasive & less expensive. The specialist I saw doesn’t do them so I am going to get a second opinion to see if Rowdy would be a candidate for that procedure. But the surgeons that specialize in TPLO are very biased. It seems they all think TPLO is the way to go. However I have also heard many nightmare stories about horrible recoveries and complications with TPLO. It’s such a hard decision.

 

[darwinsmom]

Hello Chrystel,

So sorry to hear you are dealing with this. Darwin (7 years) had TPLO done at the end of July and has had a very good outcome. His recovery was prolonged a bit from a adverse reaction to Deramaxx prescribed after surgery (also older dogs tend to take a little longer for the bones to heal) but we had no problems with infections or hardware failure. He did develop patellar tendonitis (relatively common complication) at 6 weeks post-op but it cleared up within 2 weeks without use of anti-inflammatories. The tendonitis probably occurred because Darwin was a bit too active during early stages of recovery. Darwin was also diagnosed at the time with bilateral hip dysplasia (from physical exam, the hips were not x-rayed) but he has been generally asymptomatic. So we are just treating by keeping his weight down, frequent regular exercise, and joint supplements (all things that are good for the knees as well).

TPLO may sound extreme but it has a high success rate. The traditional surgery is also still popular, although less so for bigger, more active dogs. It also has good long term results but is more likely to fail during the early stages if the dog's activity is not restricted (i.e., crated or leashed, no walks). It is good that you are getting multiple opinions. Your dog may be a better candidate for one surgery over the other because of the delay in diagnosis and the unfortunate but inevitable arthritis and scar tissue development. You will also want a surgeon who is experienced with whatever technique you choose.

As I have recommended on BW before, consider joining orthodogs : Discussion of canine orthopedic issues, a Yahoo discussion group. I found it to be invaluable in helping me prepare for the recovery period and the members provide emotional support as well. There are many helpful and experienced members and lots of files filled with info. There has been some interesting information over the last few months regarding the newer Tightrope surgery and its complications. I think you probably won't find many supporters of that repair there, simply because it is not proven with time the way the TPLO and extracapsular (traditional) repairs are.

Best of luck to you and Snatch.

-Karlyn

 

[chrystel]

Thank you so much!
I took snatch on a walk today, while oxford was running around.. He was glad to leave the house and see a field.. but it's so hard to have him not play. I really want him to have a fun life

I will ask about the tighrope procedure, thanks!

The best surgeon of the office i was reocmmended is coming wednesday from vacations, so i have an appointment that day
i will let you know his opinion

I am lucky that Snatch is laid back and will be ok in the crate the first couple of month I am thinking of giving Oxford away for 2 month to our cousin, to keep Snatch calm. But surgeon #1 said that he thinks Oxy will be good moral support and thinks that separating them could stress Snatch.. what do you think?