# Ginger diagnosis Grade 3/4 luxation



## snakel (Apr 28, 2008)

Went to the pet emergency referral center for our area today, and the vet on call did his physical exam palpating the ligaments and watching her walk. He thinks it is bad enough to do surgery, as his opinion is that grade of luxation benefits more surgically. I will consult with a pet orthopedist on Tuesday to get their expert opinion and confirm the general vet's opinion. 
They gave her a shot of narcotics and we have meds filled tramodol and an antiinflammatory for pain as needed. Of course we are to limit her activity.
He said the surgery has different techniques and they generally do well. At their center they even do physical therapy including water therapy for their motion.


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## Annie Clark (Nov 6, 2008)

So glad you got in. I love that they have aquatic therapy! That is fantastic.

Annie


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

Sorry to hear that Ginger may need surgery. Cody was a grade 4. He has come through the surgery beautifully - he doesn't limp at all and there are no signs of the surgery. The orthopedic surgeon told me he can even resume agility (*** we'll see...***)


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## snakel (Apr 28, 2008)

Thanks great news Jill. We have such a fiesty active girl who lives to run whether it is chase inside or wide circle runs outside. The way she is now is is very upsetting as you probably know. If you could post the technique used for your surgery that would be great....


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I'm sorry to hear about Ginger. Does she have a lot of days where she limps? My Freddie has luxating patellas. His one knee is a 3 and the other a 4. I went to an Orthopedic surgeon and he told me not to do surgery, until he had more bad days than good, in a month. When Fred was younger, he would have a few bad days a month. I gave him supplements and lots of daily hikes. He is almost 5 years old now and has not had an episode in over 2 years. I know his knees are still loose, but I think all the exercise may have strengthen the ligaments around his knees. He runs like a mad man and hike up mountains off leash! You definitely should get another opinion.
Good luck!


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Sorry for your bad diagnosis. It seems to be something I keep hearing more and more of in this breed.

One thing you may want to talk to your vet about is the other patella as well. Every dog that I know that has surgery on one, had to have surgery on the other within a year or two. My Isabelle (maltese) has a grade 2 patella and since I started feeding her raw, I honestly can't hear/feel it pop. About a year ago, I saw her running and she stuck her leg out and I saw her put it in place but she is almost 7 now and never had problems when younger. I think the raw has really helped her in that area though.


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## marb42 (Oct 19, 2008)

Sorry about Ginger's diagnosis. I hope the second vet says she can avoid surgery.


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## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

ama0722 said:


> Sorry for your bad diagnosis. It seems to be something I keep hearing more and more of in this breed.


Gryff has it as well in one knee. Right now, we are just giving glucosomine.

I'm sorry to hear about Ginger. Definitely get a second opinion before doing any kind of surgery. I hope she will be okay.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

ivyagogo said:


> Right now, we are just giving glucosomine.
> 
> .


I'd try this first. One of mine got her patella tromped and messed up and the glucosomine and a few months of healing time got her all better.
Good luck with her!


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## snakel (Apr 28, 2008)

Past 2 days she has been toe tapping, raising up leg , not putting much pressure on her hind leg. She has not eaten very well also so today's recommendation by the specialist was not suprising that of reparative surgery for the grade 3 luxation. These have a good prognostic surgical outcome as compared to grade 4.
She will go under in am and home on thursday if everything ok. Will need to be confined for 4 weeks with no running or jumping. She will need a collar cone to prevent biting at staples also.


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

Sorry I didn't respond sooner... Cody had a left medial patellar luxation. They deepened the groove and then tightened the tissue around the knee. Ginger's recovery plan might be different than Cody's but you might want to be prepared for closer to 10 weeks of very limited activity, not 4-5. Cody was in a cast (although they swore it wasn't a cast) for the first 3 days, the stitches came out after 10 days and he was only allowed to walk as far as it took him to pee/poop for the first 4 weeks. Then for the next 4 weeks he was allowed very limited mobility and then another 2-3 weeks building his endurance but still not being allowed to run, jump, play, etc. I had to keep him on a leash, inside & out, during the entire recovery period. 

I tried the inflatable collar but Cody was able to get the stitches in his knee. The collar was the only thing that restricted his ability to get at the incision. Cody was pretty drugged for the first few days which definitely helped.

I'll be saying prayers for you and Ginger on Thursday.


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## snakel (Apr 28, 2008)

No problem at all, I would not be suprised if it took that long, maybe he was just being positive with us. I believe he mentioned those 2 techniques as well as moving part of the bone over (???) for it to lay in a better postion. He did not think PT would be necessary but who knows, all I know was that she clearly was limited/hurting and hopefully this gives us a shot at her normalcy, albeit it might take awhile.....


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

I'll be thinking good thoughts for Ginger tomorrow. I hope her surgery goes well and her recovery is smooth!


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

snakel said:


> No problem at all, I would not be suprised if it took that long, maybe he was just being positive with us. I believe he mentioned those 2 techniques as well as moving part of the bone over (???) for it to lay in a better postion. He did not think PT would be necessary but who knows, all I know was that she clearly was limited/hurting and hopefully this gives us a shot at her normalcy, albeit it might take awhile.....


Cody didn't have to have the bone moved. How I understood the need for that was that one of the ligaments is supposed to attach to the front of the fibula, just below the kneecap. Sometimes they find a deformity where the ligament is attached off to the side - which then leads to a "loose" kneecap. If this is the case, they cut out the section of the fibula with the ligament still attached, move it over into the correct position and anchor it with screws.

I was really torn, not knowing whether I should have the surgery done or wait like people suggested to see if it healed on it's own. It sounds like our situations were very similar - Cody could walk a little bit but then the leg would just go limp and drag until the knee went back into place for another few steps. And it was just getting worse. Like you, I decided to go ahead with the surgery. I know Cody will have some arthritis as a result of the surgery since there is some bone on bone but I wanted to limit the damage to the cartilage and I couldn't see Cody not being able to walk properly for the rest of his life. It's a tough decision to make, a tough process to go through but I'm glad I had it done. I still get nervous whenever he's running or playing but you'd never know he'd had surger. I hope you get the best results possible.

If you need any morale support or encouragement, especially around week 5 - feel free to send me a personal message - at any time.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Sending good thoughts to Ginger and a hug your way.

Amanda


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## snakel (Apr 28, 2008)

Surgeon used words as routine, boring surgery and that everything went smooth according to plan. He felt that the patella was in a stable position and everything looked good on post op x rays . They did place an epidural for post op pain management also.
He expects her to be home thurs pm. Then the challenge for a good recovery begins....
Thanks to all of the prayers and moral support from the Hav forum community.


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

snakel said:


> Surgeon used words as routine, boring surgery and that everything went smooth according to plan. He felt that the patella was in a stable position and everything looked good on post op x rays . They did place an epidural for post op pain management also.
> He expects her to be home thurs pm. Then the challenge for a good recovery begins....
> Thanks to all of the prayers and moral support from the Hav forum community.


Hey "smooth" "boring" and "according to plan" is exactly what we want to hear! I bet you can't wait to get her home!


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

I'm sorry I just found this thread. Hope Ginger is coming home today. You are a good Havamom.


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