Knee and Back Problems
by Vincent
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Our 8 year old Maltese, Brandie just recently went limp in her left hind leg. We took her to our vet who said that her knee went out and she had a possible torn ligament. Our vet put her on an anti-inflamatory and pain killer and told us to keep her well rested. Soon she was not able to get up on either of her hind legs. We were recommeded to a specialist\surgeon who said that Brandie had severe luxation of her left knee. And when her knee went out, it caused back problems. He recommended surgery on her knee with the hope that the knee correction would correct the back problem. Brandie went through surgery on Saturday, July 11th. The surgery was sucessful and now we must keep her "quiet" for 3-4 weeks to rest her knee and back. The surgeon did extensive x-rays of her back and noticed some slipping of the 13th thorasic disc. He is hoping that rest will correct the problem, but says there is 50-50 chance she will need back surgery. He said this knee problem is common on small dogs. He also stated that with Brandie she was carrying 75-80% of her weight on her front legs which caused her to put pressure on her back. We are very concerned about Brandie's back problem. Has anyone been through these problems and what is the outlook?
DISCUSSION:
Vincent, While I have not had any experience with the problems you are having with Brandie, I just wanted to say I'll be praying for her recovery. I know this must be very hard on you. I think I would get a second opinion though before I'd let them do any more surgery. Hopefully, that won't be necessary. There are people on this site that say they have had great results with doggie chiropractic treatments. That is something you may want to consider.
Sandee
My Cody is 6 years old and has a slight luxation in both knees. He also has a slipped disc in his lower back that has not yet required special treatment. I treat his discomfort with baby aspirin. I don't have any answers, but when I posted a similar question, most responses involved chiropractic treatment, and I think I would consider it if Cody's discomfort worsens or becomes more frequent. Best of luck.
MB & Cody
I am so sorry to hear that you are having this problem with your Maltese. This is an example of the type of thing that responsible breeders try to NOT breed. Unfortunately try as we may to breed sound Maltese sometimes something not good shows up. While the 'slipped stifle' does not have a specific gene, the structure of the hind leg IS an hereditary factor that can lead to the condition you describe. Usually it is not so severe but causes the dog to 'hop' when he pulls his leg up and then cannot immediately put it down. If you are in contact with his breeder you should let her know of the problem.
Mary Lou
Vincent, thank God so far we have not had any experience with the problems you are describing. But I just wanted to tell you that I hope Brandy recovery fast. Have a great day!
Zeyneb, Munchkin and Amber
Vincent looks like we have a few things in common with our fur-babies....see my post "Prayers for Sugar". Hope everything goes well for you will be checking on you and your baby. Prayers and best wishes.
Zee & BGirls
Right on, Mary Lou. The improper structure of the hind legs usually predisposes a dog to patellar luzation (slipping stiffles). while chiropractic treatment may alleviate the back pain and allow for back surgery to be avoided, the surgury required to correct the patellar luxation is probably required - and it may be required again - and again - depending on the actual structure of the rear legs. When the rear legs (or a single rear leg) has a cow-hocked look to it - where the dogs toes point out away from the body as opposed to straight ahead toward the front legs, patellar luxation is eminent - it is only a factor of weight carried by the dog, the level of physical activity of the dog (jumping onto and off of furniture, etc.) and how refined the bone structure of the leg is that combine to determine at what age this problem manifests itself to the degree that surgury is required. There is a lot of discussion regarding this issue on the Archived list of posts that Jay has maintained from the past years. I haven't looked to see if they are still there, but they most likely are.
Larry S Divine maltese
Recently my Maltese has been having back problems, so we've just started the whole ordeal. The vet mentioned surgery right away, which I'm not sure I liked because I think there could be other options, like losing weight. Originally I got my Maltese from a vet who found her on the side of the road, beaten and starved. She is still very frightened of people that she doesn't know. We
think that her earlier beatings could have contributed to her back problems, but it was almost three years later when she started having problems. I was wondering if the anti-inflammatory has upset your dogs stomach at all because ours
can't seem to get anything down. If you have any helpful things
to say on your dogs back problems, my family would really appreciate it! Thanks! If we learn anything, I'll try to keep it posted.
Nikole
| Please bear in mind when reading topics pertaining to health issues, that most of these questions were answered by helpful Maltese owners with no formal education in veterinary medicine. When in doubt seek a professionals advise. |
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