Canine Patellar Luxation

Patellar luxation is foreign to most people. When Stella was diagnosed with it I went highballing around the internet looking for information. There were definitions of it everywhere but very little from the general public about the reality of the condition. The after effects, as it were. I found more than one discussion group with people asking questions and some who occasionally answered but always it seemed, with the same lifeless information. "Get the surgery. asap", "It's expensive." etc. Few offered any results or follow-up which is part of why I chose to detail her experience here. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place so if you have your own experience, please feel free to speak up or put a link in the comments below.

Stella stayed two days in the hospital and came home yesterday morning. She slept most of the day. Her entire leg is shaved high enough and in such a way, that it looks like she's wearing half a thong; I so meant to ask them to shave her a whole one this time and forgot all about it. I just thought what with sixteen staples in your leg, you should at least get to be ridiculously cute in the short-term. But I digress (wildly).

Yesterday, two days after the surgery, her leg was puffy and looks like it's been insulted. It has been. Today it is less so, by half. Same as last time. She's putting regular weight on it just not in every situation (obviously, it's still sore) She's eating, drinking and using the bathroom outside on a short leash. The staples look like a long zipper on the front of her knee. They'll be taken out in two weeks whereupon the funnel collar will be removed. Five minutes from then she will have licked at it until it threatens to bleed and I in turn, will lecture her on the importance of the Leave it command.

It's been nine weeks since her first surgery, the scar from it is hardly noticeable. Her movement is restricted, as it was last time, for the next eight weeks, the first three being the most critical. Any jumping running or playing could muck up the repair or loosen the pins. Keeping a sixty pound, eleven-and-a-half month old dog still is a challenge I wouldn't wish on anyone. The better she feels the harder it gets. It's set up so that seven weeks and six days from right now, one or both of us will be certifiably insane.

(Note: Anyone looking for more information on the subject of tricky dog knees, is invited to begin here. Definitely worth reading but certainly a much pithier version, can be found here. As I said earlier, I welcome your experience, links, or advice in the comments section below.