Archived Message

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Ronnie

As luck would have it I was searching the net for information on Malteses. My guy is 7 years old and stopped walking on his hind leg Saturday. A trip to the vet today yeilded a recommendation for surgery to heal a torn ligament. He is still favoring the leg. I am concerned about the surgery, is it necessary. Options are that he will heal with a deformed leg and will need 12 weeks of limited activity and possibly injure the other back leg due to over use. Any info would be appreciated. He is scheduled to see the surgeon tomorrow and may stay for the surgery if the surgeon feels so. Thanks for any advise. Ronnie.

DISCUSSION:

Ronnie, I've never come across this particular problem but did want to wish you and your little guy Good Luck. By today i'm sure you've been to the vet and perhaps a decision has been made. I hope he's o.k. and recuperates quickly. Just give him lots of love and he'll be fine. Let us know how it went - Best of Luck!
-Robin

Ronnie....by now your little guy should have seen the surgeon. I had a cocker spaniel that required knee /ligament surgery. One knee went out as she was just running in the yard. The vet was fantastic but when the second knee went out, I left her overnight because she was in a lot of pain and they were able to medicate as necessary. After the surgery she seemed to recover very well. Actually she would walk on three legs and held the other one up until the healing allowed her to put it down. More stress for me than I think for the dog. She had stitches all the way up her leg. Not a pretty sight. Let me know how things go. Good luck and I'll be thinking about you
-sandy b.