Patellar luxation surgery for pomeranian?

Dr. Marie replied:

It sounds like what your dog has is something called a luxating patella. This is very common in little dogs. What it means is that the kneecap does not sit properly in its groove and can pop out from time to time.

There are different grades of luxating patellae. In some cases it can be quite mild. But, if the kneecap pops out really easily or is naturally out more than it is in, then I usually do recommend surgery for these dogs. The surgery is one that dogs recover from very quickly and it really should help to prevent future problems.

Do dogs with a Grade 1 luxating patella get arthritis if no surgery is done? This is really debatable. A lot of vets do believe that this is the case. However, I am not aware of any studies that show that this is true. It is true though that dogs with a luxating patella are more likely to need cruciate ligament surgery later on in life, but this is really only common with large dogs.

If the luxation was a grade 2, 3 or 4 then I would likely be considering surgery. Otherwise I'd probably be advising you to monitor things for now. With that being said, I would always trust your vet's advice as they can determine a lot more with Skye being right in front of them.

Hope that helps,
Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

The grade is determined by feeling the kneecap. If it pops in and out easily it's a grade 1. If it's permanently fused out of the groove then it's a grade 4 and then there are two grades in between.

No one really knows if not doing surgery will cause arthritis but I have definitely seen dogs with unrepaired patellar luxations that end up with arthritis in their knees later on in life. I wouldn't wait until later on down the line because if there is already arthritis there then doing surgery won't repair the damage that is done.

If your vet is recommending surgery then this is likely what the best option is. However, if you are not sure, then it's not a bad idea to have another vet take a look and give a second opinion.