Nyota and
the Knee...
While
playing in the yard, Nyota fell to the grass and started shrieking in horror. I
followed suit and cradled her. She had her leg extended, so I checked it and
could not find any visible injuries. I picked her up, carried her into the
house, laid her gently on my bed, and got a flashlight to thoroughly examine
her. (I keep a flashlight next to me bed for this very purpose ever since I
found a ‘bump’ in her fur and saw that it had legs…eek! It was a tick!)
Nyota at the dog park.
I could not
find any injury on Nyota and she began moving around, cautiously. I put her
bowl of water on the bed next to her and offered her a drink. Then, I did what
any overly-paranoid pet parent would do—I called the vet. As with most of my phone calls to the vet, they
were calm and they asked a serious of questions, then they determined it wasn’t
an emergency, but since I insisted, they agreed to make an appointment for the
next day.
"She takes me to the vet for everything...bug bites, diarrhea, you name it. It's annoying."
In the
meantime, Nyota limped a little, but was walking relatively fine and continued
to ignore her pet steps and leap onto the bed/ couch/ chair. By the time the
next day arrived, I was doubting if I needed to take her to the vet, but the
hysterical, over-protective pet parent in me knew I should take her.
The vet
quickly diagnosed her problem—Luxating Patella http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2084&aid=457
Basically,
my vet described it as shallow knee joints, but you can click that link to read
a more medically correct definition. The vet said she’d been born with it, so
running in the yard had just caused her knee joint to pop out, and then back
in, and it wasn’t injury-specific in her case.
The vet did
this really interesting exam where she rotated all of Nyota’s joints from behind.
I think it might have felt good, because Nyota seemed to enjoy it. The vet said she could feel her knee joints
popping in and out, that it was fairly common, and they could try laser therapy
and Rimadyl (doggie pain killer/ anti-inflamatory). There is also a numerical
system she used to rate Nyota’s Luxating Patella. I’m sorry that I don’t
remember it, but her score was relatively good and the doctor said she felt
like Nyota would not need surgery. The surgery she would suggest to correct
this disorder deepens the joint bone so the femur can sit more securely.
Over the
next month, Nyota would limp periodically and her trips outside seemed joyless—she
wasn’t running around anymore, but rather strolling and exploring. I returned to the vet and the doctor
suggested surgery. She said her dog had it, and they didn’t do the procedure in
our area, so I’d have to take Nyota about an hour and a half away to a vet
surgical center. I had a lot of
questions:
How long is
the recovery?
About 30
days. The initial hospital stay is over night.
Can I stay
with her in the hospital overnight?
No.
Can I ask to
stay with her overnight? She really can’t be apart from me.
You can ask,
but it might be best to leave her rest. Someone will be with her around the
clock while she receives IV pain medication, but she will go home with oral pain
medication.
Will it be
extremely painful for her?
My dog
seemed to be fine after a day or so. She was moving around and adjusted well.
What is the
risk of death?
All
surgeries carry the risk of death.
At this
point, I opted for the ‘last ditch’ non-surgical option of three weeks of laser
surgery. I came to this decision because
I felt like I needed to try absolutely everything before I’d put Nyota at risk
for a surgery.
Nyota went
to laser therapy three times that week, two times the next week, and once the
following week. Basically, it looked like a bar-code scanner gun that they use
in grocery stores. They held it to her knee, in several places, for a few
seconds at each location, and then she was done. It was warm, but didn’t cause
her any pain or discomfort. By the end of the second week, she was running
around the yard. I realize this will be a life-long problem for her, and as the
vet advised, she’ll probably have the surgery at some point in the future, but
for now, she is doing quite well.
Because I foresee that Nyota will have to live with
this issue, I decided to explore other non-surgical options via google. I felt
like if there was only ‘some way’ I could wrap her leg with an Ace bandage to
secure the joint, it would help immensely. (A very tiny Ace bandage!) This led
me to several sites that sell doggie knee braces! I am in the process of ordering Nyota a knee
brace. This is not to be worn all of the time, but for periods of activity
(a.k.a. yard play/ walks). I chose the Mutt Knee brace http://muttkneebrace.com/index.html (click for their website) because some of the
other braces have metal parts and frankly, at 15 pounds (yes, she’s gained two
pounds!!!), I don’t think she needs to be impaired by the additional weight of
metal anything.
A doggie with a knee brace.
The website
gives a lot of information about the product/ ordering/ how to measure. I’m so very glad to have found an alternative
to surgery and I will post updates after we’ve used the device enough to
evaluate it!
Measuring for a knee brace might be hard with all of this fur! If I need help, I will go to my vet!
"My FurMom doesn't worry about medical costs because she bought doggie health insurance for me long ago!"
"Know why I'm sitting down? Because my butt is cold! Scroll down to read about why my FurParent shaves my butt!"
I love the ♥ on her head.
This scarf is for photos only! Read below about why you shouldn't collar your ChiSpaniel!
