cedarvalleynewfoundlands
New member
Hi All
Today I went with one of my "puppy people" to see an ortho doc for a second opinion on her year old male.
He is a large guy and currently weighs in at 144 pounds.
According to his owner, when he was approx 5-6 months old he started limping on a front leg, switching from leg to leg. Her vet put him on calcium supplements (dont even ask....I am FURIOUS!!) to see if they helped him improve. Nothing improved, so they cut him down from 3 calcium tabs (1500 mg) daily to one after several months. Last week, at 13 months old, her vet did an XRAY and diagnosed severe arthritis. She opted to take him to a very respected Veterinary Specialty practice in our area for a consultation. They looked over the XRAYS and diagnosed elbow dysplasia (ununited alconeal process) as well as severe arthritis. In addition, there is a lot of fluid buildup around each elbow.I saw the XRAYS and the arthritis is indeed horrible. The surgeon said the actual placement of the elbow joint isnt the main problem, but the ununited anconeal process is causing most of the problem.I truly wish she would have contacted me when all this started, but last week was the first i had heard of it. They are recommending cutting the ulna to relieve some of the stress, as well as surgery on the ununited anconeal process.
The surgeon has said they cant "fix" this due to his age, but it may help make him more comfortable . From my understanding, had he went in for this surgery when he was 5-6 months old, cutting the ulna may have relieved enough stress to let the anconeal process unite and actually correct the problem. My question to you is this:
Has anyone had any experience with this surgery, or heard of outcomes?
It is going to be $2000 +/- for each arm. My main concern is that with the amount of arthritis he has at such a young age, is it going to really help? The surgeon says they dont really know. When I asked the question, the answer was to the effect that "if you dont do the surgery, you'll never know if it would have helped or not". While I understand that, it still doesnt help his owner to make a decision on such an expensive surgery. His owner is devastated, and seemed somewhat "in shock" during the appointment, so i was the one asking a lot of the questions.
When I asked if medical management was an option, they said yes, but couldnt say how much it would help. Also, when I asked if there was an upper age limit for the surgery they are proposing, they said no, so he does have time, although the surgeon said the sooner the better for surgery.
So....Has anyone ever tried medication vs surgery and what were the results?
If he didnt have the severe arthritis at such a young age, I would say go for the surgery with no problem, but to me, the arthritis really complicates things.
As I explained to his owner, the surgery cant "fix" the arthritis, which is progressive, so will only get worse as he gets older.
He doesnt appear heavy, just large, but I also recommended that she get him on the really lean side, like down into the 130's if possible. I explained that from this point one he will fill out, and she wants him as thin as possible from here on out. Much better to be "skinny" with the condition of his elbows.
His owner said Previcox does seem to help quite a bit with the pain, and seems to make him comfortable.
Any suggestions, etc would be greatly appreciated by both myself and his owner.
Mary
Today I went with one of my "puppy people" to see an ortho doc for a second opinion on her year old male.
He is a large guy and currently weighs in at 144 pounds.
According to his owner, when he was approx 5-6 months old he started limping on a front leg, switching from leg to leg. Her vet put him on calcium supplements (dont even ask....I am FURIOUS!!) to see if they helped him improve. Nothing improved, so they cut him down from 3 calcium tabs (1500 mg) daily to one after several months. Last week, at 13 months old, her vet did an XRAY and diagnosed severe arthritis. She opted to take him to a very respected Veterinary Specialty practice in our area for a consultation. They looked over the XRAYS and diagnosed elbow dysplasia (ununited alconeal process) as well as severe arthritis. In addition, there is a lot of fluid buildup around each elbow.I saw the XRAYS and the arthritis is indeed horrible. The surgeon said the actual placement of the elbow joint isnt the main problem, but the ununited anconeal process is causing most of the problem.I truly wish she would have contacted me when all this started, but last week was the first i had heard of it. They are recommending cutting the ulna to relieve some of the stress, as well as surgery on the ununited anconeal process.
The surgeon has said they cant "fix" this due to his age, but it may help make him more comfortable . From my understanding, had he went in for this surgery when he was 5-6 months old, cutting the ulna may have relieved enough stress to let the anconeal process unite and actually correct the problem. My question to you is this:
Has anyone had any experience with this surgery, or heard of outcomes?
It is going to be $2000 +/- for each arm. My main concern is that with the amount of arthritis he has at such a young age, is it going to really help? The surgeon says they dont really know. When I asked the question, the answer was to the effect that "if you dont do the surgery, you'll never know if it would have helped or not". While I understand that, it still doesnt help his owner to make a decision on such an expensive surgery. His owner is devastated, and seemed somewhat "in shock" during the appointment, so i was the one asking a lot of the questions.
When I asked if medical management was an option, they said yes, but couldnt say how much it would help. Also, when I asked if there was an upper age limit for the surgery they are proposing, they said no, so he does have time, although the surgeon said the sooner the better for surgery.
So....Has anyone ever tried medication vs surgery and what were the results?
If he didnt have the severe arthritis at such a young age, I would say go for the surgery with no problem, but to me, the arthritis really complicates things.
As I explained to his owner, the surgery cant "fix" the arthritis, which is progressive, so will only get worse as he gets older.
He doesnt appear heavy, just large, but I also recommended that she get him on the really lean side, like down into the 130's if possible. I explained that from this point one he will fill out, and she wants him as thin as possible from here on out. Much better to be "skinny" with the condition of his elbows.
His owner said Previcox does seem to help quite a bit with the pain, and seems to make him comfortable.
Any suggestions, etc would be greatly appreciated by both myself and his owner.
Mary
