I apologize for doing this but for today's blog I'm going to refer to another blog. This week has been weird and crazy and since my best friend's wedding is Saturday and I am IN it, I've been a bit off my mental game with educational topics here.
Medial luxating patellas are a common condition - often congenital - in small/toy breed dogs. I always evaluate whether a new puppy has this regardless of breed BUT definitely in those most prone to it: Yorkshire Terriers, Maltese, Italian Greyhounds, etc. Lateral luxating patellas are more commonly seen in larger dogs but are still really not commonly seen at all. They can both be caused by trauma too though.
I saw a severe case in a 5 month old Yorkie about 2 months ago. It was so bad that the patella was actually permanently moved to the inside of the knee - there was so much scar tissue and contraction and the dog did NOT have a normal gait. The dog needed referral to an orthopedic surgeon ASAP. This dog could potentially live 12-15yrs so we wanted to get him moving as normally as possible in a short time. I don't know if this dog was ever properly evaluated by a vet but the owners bought it from a breeder in Florida.
The blog I'm referring to has a nice anatomical drawing of the stifle (knee) in a dog. It is written by a board certified veterinary surgeon out of the Seattle area. He answers a few commonly asked questions about what this is and what it means for your dog, how it's handled, etc.
Here's the Link
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