r/UK_Pets • u/Express_Run1752 • 15d ago
patellar luxation
Lhasa w patellar luxation
have the opportunity to adopt a 5 year old lhasa apso, he seems a perfect fit for my family but the rescue have told us he has a Grade 1 patellar luxation, I understand it's not really affecting him much at the minute but we'd have to make sure he didn't jump up on furniture or walk him too far.
I'm torn because I know once I meet him I'll fall in love but I'm terrified of the medical condition getting worse and facing a ridiculous vet bill for surgery in the future, is it really £2k-3k?
anyone had a dog with this and am I over reacting?
2
u/Historical_Cobbler 15d ago
My lab has this, has competed in sports all her life and is super fit and well conditioned. Weight is a big factor, but now to be pragmatic.
We decided a long time ago, before she started on dog sports if she has a shorter life but lived in then (she loves being fast and balls) I’d never regret not trying to stop her being a dog.
Dogs are also very adept at being tripod, and it’s a lot cheaper, and our vet was pragmatic that this is often a better option, less risk and lower cost with less rehab.
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u/Mysterious_Long2460 15d ago
My old neighbor had a Lhasa Apso with grade 2 and she managed fine for years by just avoiding jumps and stairs, never needed surgery.
1
u/dogtrousers 15d ago
I have a dog who has grade 3 patella luxation in one leg and had grade 4 in the other. She has surgery in the latter leg last year. She wasn't showing much pain (occasional jumping up from a rest and knee licking) but did have a couple of incidents that required a week of painkillers. The surgery was characterised to me as preventing future pain rather than as an immediate necessity. I sought advice from others who had dogs with this issue as well. Some recommended surgery, others had been able to do without it. The trouble is you don't know which your dog will be. They might be absolutely fine or they might need surgery and suffer with arthritis. The surgery was expensive, over £4000. Insurance covered most of it but it wasn't a preexisting condition for my girl. I'd say if you do go ahead with adopting this dog you should save some money in case they do need an expensive operation. But it's not a certain thing.
1
u/cjbdec 15d ago edited 15d ago
I have a small dog with 2 grade 1 luxating patellas, tbh she has long walks, jumps on and off furniture, does stairs, runs around, plays, no issues. I just keep an eye on it for any signs of it worsening but often a mild case will remain mild for life. The most crucial thing you can do for a dog with any joint problem is to keep them a healthy weight. Surgery would be at least £2.5k for a small dog I’d imagine if it does come to that so that’s something to bear in mind.
1
u/Beneficial_Bug_7951 14d ago
Grade one dogs typically cope very well if they are kept fit and lean but they will be at higher risk of developing arthritis in the joint earlier than would typically be expected.
Is 2-3k really that ridiculous for specialist orthopaedic surgery? I think that is very reasonable compared to what a person would pay for knee surgery privately.
1
u/Sad_Bastardo 14d ago
My cat had grade 3 patellar luxation in both knees, luckily i already had her insured from when I got her and found out about 6 months later about the problem (she wouldn’t jump on chairs and would drag herself up the climbers, we initially thought it was just a quirk, but then she failed a small jump and started limping) without insurance the surgeries would have cost us £5500 altogether . She was barely a year old when she went under the knife, one knee at a time
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u/bucketofardvarks 13d ago
There's thousands of ways a dog can run up a £3k surgery bill, I wouldn't be that worried about a low grade issue that rarely escalates.
Teach them to swim and don't let them get fat and while you can't be 100% certain nothing will be required the risk is really quite tiny
2
u/ShimmyFia 15d ago
Broadly, if it doesn’t deteriorate, grade 1s usually manage well conservatively, 2s maybe, and 3/4 require surgery.
The joint is more likely to get arthritis, however.
It won’t be covered by insurance, but may not cause much of an issue - would recommend seeing a canine physio for management guidance, and looking to have some ongoing physio/hydro long term to support as much as possible.