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so, we’ve had a few hard weeks this past bit over here! my japanese chin, Miso, was diagnosed friday with mild hip dysplasia in her right hip, a grade 2-3 luxating patella in her right hind leg and a permanently luxated patella in her left leg, which has fused to the other bones on the inside side of her knee joint and has even started to decalcify. the doctor thinks she grew this way from the beginning, and that the vet who i saw prior wasn’t paying attention when he checked her knees and missed it. ( my old vet rushed you in and out like the building was on fire) 😕 my new vet is great ( yet he said he had never is his career seen the kneecap fused to the inside side of the joint) and the three surgeons he is consulting are the best in the state and then some. 🙂
miso did gain weight this winter, which seemed to bring this condition to the surface (as she was basically fine prior) despite us trying to exercise her and give joint supplements. she is now on strict bed rest in a small carpeted room and is on a more intense diet regimen, plus rimadyl as needed. we are waiting on the game plan from the orthopedic surgeons on possible surgery options or if surgery would even be successful for her. we will then also know how much it may cost, if they would accept payments, etc., but i am dreading the estimate, as the x-rays alone were 300 bucks. my family wants me to put her down and spend the money on fixing myself, but she isn’t even three years old and a deserves a chance at life. her quality of life is my responsiblity. worst case scenario we and the surgeons are considering a wheelchair if the surgery looks like it would only be partially successful. again, i really look forward to later in the week when i will know more; the surgeons’ prognosis will tell us alot, but i needed to get cracking on this now. what do i do? where is the line, if the is one, of what one should spend to save a life? anyone with tales of patellar luxation surgery? anyone experienced with wheelchairs? this site/making has great reviews and is near me:
http://www.eddieswheels.com/
thanks for any input you guys might have- i know there are alot of pet folks on here that have gone through alot with their pets. thanks. here is miso 🙂
Aww she’s such a cutie! Sorry to hear she is having such joint problems at an early age. I’ve never had to deal with any thing like that. Good luck with the sugical prognosis.
From my experiences as a vet tech, and watching a vet orthepedic surgeon in action, not to mention seen the estimates…this surgery averages about $2000 to $3000 per knee!
I would opt to deal with the most dehabilitating problem and then consider just living with the other for as long as she is not in any serious discomfort.
Though personally, I could never afford to spend that much on anything, my cars didn’t even cost that much! Not that I wouldn’t want to, but that kind of money just isn’t something I can pull, so my dog would have to live with it with the help of pain meds, diet and reduced activity.
Definately explore all your options. Good luck!
Kyrin
Patellas luxate in and out usually because the groove in fibula is too shallow. When they do the surgery to correct it, they deepen that groove (I’ll spare you the details). Luxating patellas are also a congenital defect.
I’m not sure what they would do for a fused one, I’ve never seen it before!
Kyrin is correct in that the surgery can be pretty expensive depending on where you live and what vet you go to. Around here it’d probably run you $1000 at certain clinics, $700 at others. We are also a low income area, however.
If you can afford it, and you think the surgery could help her and is worth it, go for it.
i’d love to get the surgery done for her on that bad leg and then hope through exercise and weight control that the better leg will not get worse, if not get better with time and care. i have read up on the surgery through online, etc. but i am waiting to hear how that attached kneecap is going to effect things. he said there is NO arthritis in the joints which is a blessing, but the patella in question is degenerating because it has been off track so long apparently and has no longer been receiving nutrients. that may compromise the effectiveness of the surgery if the patella is brittle and unstable. that’s the wildcard factor we are waiting on. gulp! i could only then imagine if they want to fashion a new kneecap through bone material harvesting or other crazy stuff! 😯
my hope is that the surgery won’t be “too” expensive if they’d be charitable with me and give me a little break ( i only make $200 a week, plus whenever i sell a pyo), have my mom with her better credit apply for a surgery payment plan, then have me pay it off instead to her. i can hope. this will be tough though, as my dad didn’t even want me to pay for her x-rays- he thought that was a waste of money. 🙁I don’t know anything about the surgery, but I just wanted to say that I really hope things work out for Chin, he’s really adorable. I have been a client of my vet for several years and they will work out a payment plan if you need it, maybe yours could do the same? Hopefully the surgery will end up being the lowest estimate on here 🙁
I would do the surgery – the most urgent first – and deal with the rest later. I think pets are like children and should be treated as such. If you had a bad knee would your dad put you down? No, he would get you the surgery. The same should be done for your dog.
Good luck! I hope things work out okay. Keep us posted.
thats exactly how i feel emerald!! she is such a sweet n spunky girl with such a super sense of humor, i just can’t throw her away at age 3, per my family. i bought her and took it upon myself to take responsiblity for her – its a commitment thru good AND bad- and that is what i have to make happen.
everyone at the vets fell in love with her and they actually thanked ME for bringing her there so they all could have the day with her. i totally trust the vet i have and i have seen the knee surgeries done by this place in dogs that come in my store and they just buzz around like nothing ever happened. its really successful. its very encouraging in that regard that with any luck ( save the degenerated kneecap thing) she could be her totally wild hell-raising self again before too too long.Best of luck, tf. I hope your baby turns out just fine:) Personally, I would rather live with the loan payments, than live without the dog (or other pet).
I hope Miso gets OK and the surgery or whatever the outcome is is effective. I feel the same way you do about her being the owner’s responsibility and seeing for her welfare. I know how expensive healthcare for a dog can be because last Sept. my chow chow had an inverted stomach (before that I had never heard of such a thing) the vets at the emergency clinic where I rushed him late on Sat. night said I had two choices – put him down or do the surgery which is very expensive. I elected to do the surgery ($6,000) but he came thru it with flying colors and is OK today. I thank God and the vets for him everyday I don’t care what it cost I would have found a way to pay for it – the main thing is I got a live dog back. Best of luck.
As everyone has said, tf, the choice is yours. But having been through five dogs myself (two of those dogs we’ve had to destroy) I can understand doing everything you can for the safety and welfare of your pets. I have no surgery experiences on this level, but if your dog is healthy and spunky she should be okay. As for you, I can understand your family not wanting to spend that kind of money on a dog (it’s the “pets are not human, don’t treat them like it” argument) but if Miso means that much to you and you can find a way to do the surgery, do it! As you said, she is only three, and no new dog will replace her. I wish you the best of luck and hope you can get Miso into at least some of the surgery she needs.
I had something similar happen..
I was in college, living in a travel trailer, making hardly anything. I had bought a small min pin puppy, as company for my 10 year old male. My boyfriend, now hubby, let my 3 month old pup out of the trailer on a cold wet day, she slipped and shattered her radial (forearm/elbow) condyle into many pieces.
My vet could not fix this 2 pound pup. I had to go to Louisiana State Univ Vet school. At the time, it was gonna cost $500 (15 years ago). I had NO money. I was actually faced with the dilemma to euthanize her or take out a loan or use a credit card…which I could not afford. The vets said they could not promise the surgery would help and she might have to have her leg amputated.
Fortunately my husband stepped up and paid for the surgery, even though we were only dating.
That dear, sweet dog lived with us for 14 years.
The moral of the story for me…is that, had I euthanized that sweet puppy, I would have missed out on 14 years worth of love. I held her as they put her to sleep last year.
After looking back, I would have paid any price in the whole world to have the joy Taz brought to us for 14 years. I can’t believe I actually thought about euthanizing her.
Things always look different in hind sight.
You must do whatever you have to do, and sometimes the finances make our decisions for us. In retrospect, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Good luck, I know it is a hard decision. I will be thinking of you and if you ever need a shoulder…I know what you are going through!!! Hugs and my thoughts and prayers are with you and your pup!
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