Luxating Patella in My Chihuahua

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!