Post by Paula on Apr 2, 2011 19:14:56 GMT
Thanks so much Amy, Shon, and Sarah. 
I got told last year Lola would need surgery for her back leg but after a few weeks it settled down and they re-graded it to a 1. The thought of surgery made me cry for days
How bad was Roo before her surgery?
Lola`s leg pops when shes on my lap and shes circling to sit down it makes me cringe She never looks like shes in pain and only limps some cold mornings when shes a bit stiff..
Roo is such a brave little girl, im so happy that shes going to feel so much better when she has recovered!
Keep us updated with her photos aswell, its nice to see her making good progress!
Hopefully time will fly and Pip can have his best friend back
I hope so too. I know what you mean about the thought of surgery, believe me. I was incredibly distraught over the whole thing. The anesthesia, and her being under that long, is what I feared the most.
Both of Roo's back legs were a grade 3. Her left leg was graded a 2 previously, but it had become worse although she did use it normally almost all of the time, but due to her right leg being worse, it was the lesser of two evils, I'd guess. I only saw her lift it 3 times recently before the surgery, but that was enough to really scare me. It would also come out sometimes when she was turning, same as you mentioned for your Lola. I relate to your cringing, I would cringe too when Roo's legs would do it.
For her right leg she was to the point where she rarely used the leg outside, she mainly carried it. She used it outside only for very slow walking, and fast running, and even walking slowly I could see it slipping out of the groove. It was fine inside for the most part, and would stay in (probably due to the level ground inside) but would come out when she would turn or change direction walking sometimes.
I got varying opinions on her legs which made it harder for me to decide what to do. From the day I got Roo (she was 2 years old when I got her, she's 3 now) her legs were bad. She would lift the right leg up fairly often. Both legs made clicking sounds and would slip out easily if you manipulated her leg.
My vet deepened the groove on her right leg (she was born with very shallow grooves) saying that would be enough to keep it in place, but that wasn't the case. The rotation and pinning is what should hopefully keep them in place now. Lesson learned, only let a a board certified orthopedic surgeon touch your dogs legs for this type of surgery. I was not terribly knowledgeable about LP at the time, unfortunately.
My vet actually offered to do the rotation and pinning of her legs free of charge since the first surgery didn't work out for her, but there was no way I going to let anyone but an orthopedic surgeon touch them at this point.
The first ortho I saw actually did not feel she needed the 2nd surgery. He said you are with her daily so you would know best how much it affects her quality of life. He was a bit down on LP surgery in general and felt it was an overdone surgery. So hmmm. Was confused by his response and sat on it for months.
The second ortho I went to this March disagreed and felt she was young and should definitely have the surgery now. His opinion was grade 3 and 4's should be corrected. She had has no arthritis which helps her prognosis. He also felt I should have both legs done because he felt her left leg was only going to get worse and likely when her right leg was better she would then possibly lift her left. So I decided to have them both done at once for one recovery, one time going under anesthesia etc.
I'm cautiously hopeful, but because of my experience with the first surgery, and because her legs are just so fragile and have always been so wonky, it's a little hard for me to imagine her using them normally. I can only hope for the best. So far they both seem very tight and solid so fingers crossed everything goes smoothly for her. I will definitely keep everyone updated.
Good luck with your Lola. I'm glad she is doing better now, that's wonderful.
Apr 2, 2011 18:00:59 GMT Amy said:
Hi Paula, just read through your thread about dear little Roo`s aftercare.. Thanks for keeping us all up to date with her progress I got told last year Lola would need surgery for her back leg but after a few weeks it settled down and they re-graded it to a 1. The thought of surgery made me cry for days
How bad was Roo before her surgery?
Lola`s leg pops when shes on my lap and shes circling to sit down it makes me cringe
She never looks like shes in pain and only limps some cold mornings when shes a bit stiff..Roo is such a brave little girl, im so happy that shes going to feel so much better when she has recovered!
Keep us updated with her photos aswell, its nice to see her making good progress!
Hopefully time will fly and Pip can have his best friend back
I hope so too.
I know what you mean about the thought of surgery, believe me. I was incredibly distraught over the whole thing. The anesthesia, and her being under that long, is what I feared the most. Both of Roo's back legs were a grade 3. Her left leg was graded a 2 previously, but it had become worse although she did use it normally almost all of the time, but due to her right leg being worse, it was the lesser of two evils, I'd guess. I only saw her lift it 3 times recently before the surgery, but that was enough to really scare me. It would also come out sometimes when she was turning, same as you mentioned for your Lola. I relate to your cringing, I would cringe too when Roo's legs would do it.
For her right leg she was to the point where she rarely used the leg outside, she mainly carried it. She used it outside only for very slow walking, and fast running, and even walking slowly I could see it slipping out of the groove. It was fine inside for the most part, and would stay in (probably due to the level ground inside) but would come out when she would turn or change direction walking sometimes.
I got varying opinions on her legs which made it harder for me to decide what to do. From the day I got Roo (she was 2 years old when I got her, she's 3 now) her legs were bad. She would lift the right leg up fairly often. Both legs made clicking sounds and would slip out easily if you manipulated her leg.
My vet deepened the groove on her right leg (she was born with very shallow grooves) saying that would be enough to keep it in place, but that wasn't the case. The rotation and pinning is what should hopefully keep them in place now. Lesson learned, only let a a board certified orthopedic surgeon touch your dogs legs for this type of surgery. I was not terribly knowledgeable about LP at the time, unfortunately.
My vet actually offered to do the rotation and pinning of her legs free of charge since the first surgery didn't work out for her, but there was no way I going to let anyone but an orthopedic surgeon touch them at this point.
The first ortho I saw actually did not feel she needed the 2nd surgery. He said you are with her daily so you would know best how much it affects her quality of life. He was a bit down on LP surgery in general and felt it was an overdone surgery. So hmmm. Was confused by his response and sat on it for months.
The second ortho I went to this March disagreed and felt she was young and should definitely have the surgery now. His opinion was grade 3 and 4's should be corrected. She had has no arthritis which helps her prognosis. He also felt I should have both legs done because he felt her left leg was only going to get worse and likely when her right leg was better she would then possibly lift her left. So I decided to have them both done at once for one recovery, one time going under anesthesia etc.
I'm cautiously hopeful, but because of my experience with the first surgery, and because her legs are just so fragile and have always been so wonky, it's a little hard for me to imagine her using them normally. I can only hope for the best. So far they both seem very tight and solid so fingers crossed everything goes smoothly for her. I will definitely keep everyone updated.
Good luck with your Lola. I'm glad she is doing better now, that's wonderful.
