And the next one up for luxating patella surgery is one-yr old Cadie! :(

[Acadia]

We met with the ortho vet today and X-rays etc... show luxating patellas in each knee, the left is a one, the right a two, (4 most severe). She (the vet) is going to look over everything and get back to me with her plan. I guess there a few different ways this could be handled based on certain things/measurements etc... We would start with the right knee and depending on how that goes and the status of the left later on,but she is thinking both knees within the year.

I am so, so, so sad and heartbroken for Cadie at the thought of her having to be confined to a tiny area for such a long time. We LOVE our neighborhood walks and visits to the beach. Plus I'm the only person in the house so I'm stressing about taking care of her by myself. She is only 80 lbs, but still too big for just me.

I am concerned about her going absolutely bonkers being so confined for such a long period of time. And it will break my heart to see it.

I do have Petplan insurance, hopefully they will come through for me! Insured at 9 weeks of age.

 

[lmfoltyn]

Oh....sorry to hear this! Good luck to you both!

 

[YorkvilleNewfie]

Did her sire and dam get OFA'd for their patellas? Either way, I would let her breeder and the other puppy buyers from that litter know about it. So sorry to hear about this

 

[victoria1140]

make sure you have plenty of rubber backed mats for the house, a safe area with ramp for her to potty after surgery, we used huge paving slabs supported by bricks to make our steps smaller .

also as max wasnt allowed out to potty on his own and he wouldnt do it on a leash we got a human incontinence pad (washable) + placed a puppy pad on top. It means at 9 months old he has to start learning to go back outside but it saved us a lot of issues. Obviously baby gates and there are pens that can be put up inside if needs be as Max hates crates with a passion.

Another must that helped us tremendously was ruffwear harness's we have the web master and the doubleback climbing harness as if you are struggling helping them do anything or control them then the strap on top helps tremendously.

I dont know if it helps but we supplement Max heavily at the moment to help him get over sedation issues and also to improve his joint recovery.

I have also slept downstairs on the sofa next to him for the last three months so make sure your couch is comfortable, keep Acadia lean as it helps .If you are worried about being the only person in the house then talk to your vet about the possibility of tranquilisers, we relied heavily on these for the first two surgeries and also if we had to go out we sedated initially to minimise risks.

sorry you are having to go through this but better while young now in some ways and good job you are insured though when you talk to the ortho surgeon make sure he includes aftercare costs on top as well so you dont get caught out like we did with our specialist.

best wishs and good luck, its a stressful time so make sure you look after yourself as well

 

[Acadia]

Thank you for such great information! Any tips and things I need to think about to prepare for this are very appreciated.

 

[shellyk]

Is luxating patella due to an accident/injury or is it an inherited condition? It almost sounds like both.

 

[NewfieMama]

Hi there, not much time at the moment but feel free to PM me as you know I have btdt with this surgery. I have to say that the one thing could not have done this without is the help me up harness. Seriously. I'm married but my husband travels and works long hours so it is mostly me and there is just no way I could have supported her correctly for short potty trips or lifts into the car for the vet and pt without it.

Mary

 

[ElvisTheNewf]

I don't know anything about this type of surgery, but for Elvis' TPLO we already had him on strict rest and built him a ramp off our deck. We're lucky in that he LOVES his cage and has slept in it every night of his life. We haven't shut the door in years, so we started shutting it for short periods to get him used to it. He never noticed! His cage is on the main floor of our house, where we spend all our time too, so we didn't have to worry about him trying to go upstairs (he's not allowed) or in the basement. The ramp was needed because he has three steps off the porch to get into the backyard. We just bought some plywood, trim trailing, and outdoor carpet at Lowes and built the thing for about $30. We had the ramp finished about two weeks before his repair so he had plenty of time to get used to it before he was post-op.

Basically, we tried to get him used to doing everything he'd have to do AFTER surgery as far in advance BEFORE surgery as we could. Our only huge obstacle was getting him out of the SUV when we got home. We ended up having my husband get in with him and then lowering him down with his harness. I'm sure we looked hysterical, but it worked and luckily Elvis trusted us enough to not freak during the process.

Oh - Elvis had his surgery on a Wednesday. He could have come home on Friday, but my husband was out of town that night and I was too scared to drive three hours with Elvis in the car. Plus, there's no way I would have been able to get him out of the car once we got home. We paid extra for OSU to keep him there until Sunday and it was soooo worth it. By then he was already bearing full weight on that leg, so aside from getting out of the car, he never needed his sling. Again, that was for a TPLO though.

 

[ElvisTheNewf]

Oh! I forgot, we also had Elvis start to wear his traction booties. We started on all four, but after his surgery we only put them on his back feet. He's worn them ever since. In fact, I've got 3 pairs soaking in our sink right now. They work so well but boy, do they make his feet stink!

 

[Elizabeth]

Sorry to hear this.. I would definitely contact the breeder, luxating patellas can be hereditary. Fosters and Smith has slings too, I used theirs for Gracie- for a long time. If I could lift Gracie and help her walk, you can lift Cadie
If no ones mentioned it, puzzle toys are great. Working the brain is tiring!

E

 

[luvmynwfy]

I am so sorry you'll both be going through a tough time. You can and will get through it and we will be here to listen whenever you need. I would feel the same as you as it is alot to take in and prepare for. I wish I had some useful advice but I am sending positive thoughts your way. Chin up
Marina

 

[R Taft]

Sorry to hear this.. I would definitely contact the breeder, luxating patellas can be hereditary. Fosters and Smith has slings too, I used theirs for Gracie- for a long time. If I could lift Gracie and help her walk, you can lift Cadie
If no ones mentioned it, puzzle toys are great. Working the brain is tiring!

E

When Katy had her TPLO, puzzles were her sanity, she loved them and they entertained her. I also used to go in her pen with her and just read, aloud to her..Made no sense, but she loved it. We made a huge crate and it was 5'x5' so there was lots of room. We were very lucky, because katy's surgery went so well, she could walk for 10 minutes hourly during the daylight times and we never had to use a sling. But I did get her used to using a sling/harness before the surgery. I thought if we had issues, it was better to have them pre-surgery.......It is a lot of work, but you will be OK. I did Katy mostly by myself as my hubby was away a lot too. Katy is about 145lbs..I also got her very lean pre-surgery. She was very thin and I have kept her that way. She is fine now and does all her water training.I still make sure she does not make a lot of effort when she is tired, but I think that is just my paranoia. I am so waorried about the other knee ...Wishing all goes well for you and thinking of you

 

[victoria1140]

also just because they are acting great dont make the mistake of letting them do too much normally as they hide a lot of pain

also look into after surgery rehab like hydrotherapy and we built a mini assault course for ours afterwards to help them as part of their pt.we have also used tens and neuro muscle stimulators on him to stop too much muscle atrophy

also talk to your friends to see if anyone can help out.my partner wasnt much help as he left most of it to me but if one of your friends could watch her if you need to shop or check out internet shopping as it is easier for a while.

definetly look at harnesses though as they can be a real backsaver and take a lot of worry out of it.

 

[Acadia]

Great ideas and advice. - thank you SO much!! And I appreciate the words of encouragement as well,

 

[Milliejb]

So sorry to hear this news Its not the easiest thing to keep the young ones quiet, and there were times I felt I was being mean, for keeping Millie from runninig too early, but it is for the best. Wishing you both a simply surgery, and a quick and easy recovery!!

 

[Ivoryudx]

Personally I would not do surgery on a grade 1 luxated patella unless there was some major pain being shown. The grade 2 is probably needed, but recovery should go fairly easy if there is nothing else happening, and since she is young. An exercise pen, works great to keep them confined and you may want to discuss with your Vet about some sort of support on the other leg while recovering from the first surgery so it doesn't get worse until the surgical leg recovers enough to start weight bearing. You do not want to get a crutiate involved on top of the patella problem, so be very strict and do not allow her to do things she shouldn't.

Most luxated patellas are hereditary, so your breeder needs to know everything that is going on. Littermates should be checked, and this breeding should not be repeated together.

 

[ajcooksey]

O no! I am so sorry that she has to go through it too. I will be thinking of you guys and wishing you luck through the recovery process.

 

[janices]

Are these medial or lateral luxations? Generally don't do surgery on grade 1's so wondering why unless thinks the grade will change as get older. Surgery from grade 2 should go pretty routine. In past had surgery done on a lateral grade 3-4 on 1 side and other than long term arthritis did well. Use a really good arthritis supplement like Joint Strong or Cosequin, etc.

And can be either inherited or injury. Should contact the breeder and inform them. It's never recommended to repeat combo a luxating patella comes out of.

 

[takemebacktotulsa]

I'm so sorry to hear about Cadie. Confinement is hard, but puzzles helped us cope. I hated giving up walks and fun outings too, but just keep reminding yourself it's what you have to do to make sure she heals and she'll be better before you know it.

 

[Acadia]

Are these medial or lateral luxations? Generally don't do surgery on grade 1's so wondering why unless thinks the grade will change as get older. Surgery from grade 2 should go pretty routine. In past had surgery done on a lateral grade 3-4 on 1 side and other than long term arthritis did well. Use a really good arthritis supplement like Joint Strong or Cosequin, etc.

And can be either inherited or injury. Should contact the breeder and inform them. It's never recommended to repeat combo a luxating patella comes out of.

A lateral luxating, plus the vet said, today, that her femur is also twisted. The degree of it is in the "gray area of whether or not to break it and reset during the surgery. That will probably be a decision made during surgery