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by njmomto3 on 13 September 2012 - 19:09
Well my girl saw the orthopedic surgeon at University of Pennsylvania Veterinary this morning and they kept her in order to do all of the blood work, tests, and visit with the anesthesiologist so that surgery can be first thing in the morning tomorrow.
The did their pokey proddy routine and I was so proud of my girl she did so well. Only at the end did she say enough was enough, she grabbed oh so gently onto the doctors hand while giving me a look that said "Mom make her stop". Sasha was very talkative but that is her normal and I have just learned to live with it. Thankfully she quiets on command...usually the first time sometimes it takes a few tries but we are working on it. Distraction with treats while practicing "wait" helped too ;) With all the other animals of every variety I was really nervous but she just picked a spot to lay down and for the most part
sat there like a good girl and ignored them once I told her to "leave it" each time someone new came over.
I felt so bad at the end though when it was time to leave, the student took her leash and she walked down the hall so nicely. Then it was time for her to turn off and we were going straight..she just kept on walking with me. Poor girl remembers me leaving her at the vet last week for the xrays I think and she didn't want anything to do with that.
Anyway, they are doing both legs, removing the anconeal process entirely, cleaning out the joint of any bone fragments, cleaning up the cartlidge, and then taking a look at the medial coronoid process on both sides because she feels that they are both fragmented too. The plan is to do just one incision on each leg but the surgeon warned me that it could be two. There is a chance we can bring her home tomorrow night since she will be first up for surgery but if not on Saturday at the latest. The cost was also much lower than I was expecting, it's estimated at $3500. I was expecting close to that for each leg.
The surgeon was pretty optimistic saying that with as bad as her elbows are she wouldn't be surprised if in three weeks we have a very "wild" puppy on our hands. The pain relief should (crossing my fingers here) be apparent after two to three weeks. I was warned that this is only a short term fix but that could mean two months, two years, or ten years they just don't know.
Thanks for listening,
Cindy
The did their pokey proddy routine and I was so proud of my girl she did so well. Only at the end did she say enough was enough, she grabbed oh so gently onto the doctors hand while giving me a look that said "Mom make her stop". Sasha was very talkative but that is her normal and I have just learned to live with it. Thankfully she quiets on command...usually the first time sometimes it takes a few tries but we are working on it. Distraction with treats while practicing "wait" helped too ;) With all the other animals of every variety I was really nervous but she just picked a spot to lay down and for the most part
sat there like a good girl and ignored them once I told her to "leave it" each time someone new came over.
I felt so bad at the end though when it was time to leave, the student took her leash and she walked down the hall so nicely. Then it was time for her to turn off and we were going straight..she just kept on walking with me. Poor girl remembers me leaving her at the vet last week for the xrays I think and she didn't want anything to do with that.
Anyway, they are doing both legs, removing the anconeal process entirely, cleaning out the joint of any bone fragments, cleaning up the cartlidge, and then taking a look at the medial coronoid process on both sides because she feels that they are both fragmented too. The plan is to do just one incision on each leg but the surgeon warned me that it could be two. There is a chance we can bring her home tomorrow night since she will be first up for surgery but if not on Saturday at the latest. The cost was also much lower than I was expecting, it's estimated at $3500. I was expecting close to that for each leg.
The surgeon was pretty optimistic saying that with as bad as her elbows are she wouldn't be surprised if in three weeks we have a very "wild" puppy on our hands. The pain relief should (crossing my fingers here) be apparent after two to three weeks. I was warned that this is only a short term fix but that could mean two months, two years, or ten years they just don't know.
Thanks for listening,
Cindy
by clc29 on 13 September 2012 - 20:09
Keeping my fingers crossed for a successful surgery, speedy recovery and long short term fix for Sasha.
by DebiSue on 13 September 2012 - 21:09
Keep us updated! We're all pulling for Sasha. What a good girl!
by Red Sable on 13 September 2012 - 22:09
Aww, it must have been tough to leave her there, for her and for you! Praying everything goes well.
I'm sorry you both have to go through this. How old is she?
I'm sorry you both have to go through this. How old is she?
by Abby Normal on 13 September 2012 - 23:09
Good luck Sasha
Hoping for the 10 years !
by marjorie on 14 September 2012 - 03:09
Hope everything goes well! I bet she will recover quickly. It was hard to keep Casey James quiet just a few days after his sugery. Hopefully Sasha will respond the same way, as it sounds like she is having the same surgery he had. Will be thinking of you. I will n ot be able to be at my puter for a few days so I will keep her in my prayers.
Marjorie
http://www.gsdbbr.org The German Shepherd Dog Breed Betterment Registry (a health registry for registered German Shepherds)
BE PROACTIVE!
http://mzjf.com --> The Degenerative Myelopathy Support Group http://www.mzjf.info/hgate Heaven's Gate
Marjorie
http://www.gsdbbr.org The German Shepherd Dog Breed Betterment Registry (a health registry for registered German Shepherds)
BE PROACTIVE!
http://mzjf.com --> The Degenerative Myelopathy Support Group http://www.mzjf.info/hgate Heaven's Gate
by marjorie on 14 September 2012 - 04:09
Hope everything goes well! I bet she will recover quickly. It was hard to keep Casey James quiet just a few days after his sugery. Hopefully Sasha will respond the same way, as it sounds like she is having the same surgery he had. Will be thinking of you. I will not be able to be at my puter for a few days so I will keep her in my prayers.
Marjorie
http://www.gsdbbr.org The German Shepherd Dog Breed Betterment Registry (a health registry for registered German Shepherds)
BE PROACTIVE!
http://mzjf.com --> The Degenerative Myelopathy Support Group http://www.mzjf.info/hgate Heaven's Gate
Marjorie
http://www.gsdbbr.org The German Shepherd Dog Breed Betterment Registry (a health registry for registered German Shepherds)
BE PROACTIVE!
http://mzjf.com --> The Degenerative Myelopathy Support Group http://www.mzjf.info/hgate Heaven's Gate
by njmomto3 on 14 September 2012 - 14:09
The surgery went very well. The left side they were able to remove the UAP with a larger incision which we knew was a possibility. The good news is that the coronoid process looked good despite what was showing on the xrays AND the
cartlidge damage was contained to the non weight bearing area. WOOO HOOO! This gives Sasha a very good prognosis going forward. The surgeon told me that she was expecting the left side to be much worse than it was based on the xrays.
The right side when she went to remove the UAP it held firm. The surgeon said that it is fusing on it's own so she left it alone for now. We will just keep an eye on it going forward.
Sasha is in for several months of PT to strengthen her front legs but the doctors expects a nice recovery.
Cindy
cartlidge damage was contained to the non weight bearing area. WOOO HOOO! This gives Sasha a very good prognosis going forward. The surgeon told me that she was expecting the left side to be much worse than it was based on the xrays.
The right side when she went to remove the UAP it held firm. The surgeon said that it is fusing on it's own so she left it alone for now. We will just keep an eye on it going forward.
Sasha is in for several months of PT to strengthen her front legs but the doctors expects a nice recovery.
Cindy
by fawndallas on 14 September 2012 - 14:09
If you do not mind, what happend to Sasha that resulted in all of this?
by njmomto3 on 14 September 2012 - 18:09
Sorry about that I seperated out the post but I guess I should have kept it together. Sasha was diagnosed with bilateral elbow dysplasia last week. On 8/26 after playing with my parents dog in the back yard for about a half hour she started limping later in the night. I figured that she must have pulled something but after a couple of days it was no better so we saw the vet. The vet said it could be pano, a shoulder issue, or an elbow issue. Xrays last week showed left side ununited anconeal process and possible fragmented coronoid process. The right side showed incomplete fusion of the anconeal process and possible fragmented coronoid process.
Sasha is 11 months old and though my first German Shepherd I am not new to larger dogs, they have been in the family all my life from Great Danes, to Rotweillers, to Labs. I did research the breeder here, with the OFA, the AKC, and the Better Business Bureau ahead of purchasing Sasha from her. I looked at both parents on the OFA website and both showed clean but I didn't go in and search the lines farther back. I asked about hip dysplasia specifically and if there were any other medical problems in either line but took her word for it that everything was fine farther back. The breeder was great with us answering every question I had stupid or otherwise and talked to us a lot about the breed and things to expect and giving her a job and food and anything else we could think of. I mean really she spent time with us and I trusted her. Shame on me...buyer beware and all that stuff. The grandfather whom the breeder had in her home has elbow dysplasia, the same UAP issue. Neither my husband or I recall him limping or anything when we were there either time but we were obviously paying more attention to the puppies and the mom.
In prior questions or concerns I have emailed the breeder and she got back to me within a few hours so I tried emailing the breeder when we took Sasha to the regular vet once the xrays were done on 9/6. The final report wasn't in from the specialist but my vet gave me her opinion and I really thought that the breeder would want to know. My vet suggested sending everything in to the OFA and I felt like I should let the breeder know, it just seemed like the right thing to do. Well fast forward to this week and I still haven't gotten a reply which is odd for her. I guess I am suspicious by nature and decided to do some digging around and found the grandfathers registration number listed on her website so I searched that on the OFA...BINGO elbow dysplasia. Now knowing this in all liklihood wouldn't have changed my decision to buy her because there was no guarantee that Sasha would have a problem. I had no intention of breeding Sasha and didn't see protection work in her future - agility yes but that may not happen now.
What me knowing would have done though is changed how I handled her exercise and we could have done xrays at 6 months old. I could have kept her off pavement even longer (we didn't start until 6 months and only worked up to 20 minutes once a day) and kept the focus this summer on swimming. The xrays at 6 months would have shown the problem and we could have done a minor procedure to relieve the pressure on each UAP and allowed for a natural fusion. Sasha would also not have to be going through all of the physical therapy that we are in for. Not to mention the pain.
I truly want nothing from the breeder because I know that there are no guarantees no matter what anyone says but knowing would have really made a difference in my dogs life.
Cindy
Sasha is 11 months old and though my first German Shepherd I am not new to larger dogs, they have been in the family all my life from Great Danes, to Rotweillers, to Labs. I did research the breeder here, with the OFA, the AKC, and the Better Business Bureau ahead of purchasing Sasha from her. I looked at both parents on the OFA website and both showed clean but I didn't go in and search the lines farther back. I asked about hip dysplasia specifically and if there were any other medical problems in either line but took her word for it that everything was fine farther back. The breeder was great with us answering every question I had stupid or otherwise and talked to us a lot about the breed and things to expect and giving her a job and food and anything else we could think of. I mean really she spent time with us and I trusted her. Shame on me...buyer beware and all that stuff. The grandfather whom the breeder had in her home has elbow dysplasia, the same UAP issue. Neither my husband or I recall him limping or anything when we were there either time but we were obviously paying more attention to the puppies and the mom.
In prior questions or concerns I have emailed the breeder and she got back to me within a few hours so I tried emailing the breeder when we took Sasha to the regular vet once the xrays were done on 9/6. The final report wasn't in from the specialist but my vet gave me her opinion and I really thought that the breeder would want to know. My vet suggested sending everything in to the OFA and I felt like I should let the breeder know, it just seemed like the right thing to do. Well fast forward to this week and I still haven't gotten a reply which is odd for her. I guess I am suspicious by nature and decided to do some digging around and found the grandfathers registration number listed on her website so I searched that on the OFA...BINGO elbow dysplasia. Now knowing this in all liklihood wouldn't have changed my decision to buy her because there was no guarantee that Sasha would have a problem. I had no intention of breeding Sasha and didn't see protection work in her future - agility yes but that may not happen now.
What me knowing would have done though is changed how I handled her exercise and we could have done xrays at 6 months old. I could have kept her off pavement even longer (we didn't start until 6 months and only worked up to 20 minutes once a day) and kept the focus this summer on swimming. The xrays at 6 months would have shown the problem and we could have done a minor procedure to relieve the pressure on each UAP and allowed for a natural fusion. Sasha would also not have to be going through all of the physical therapy that we are in for. Not to mention the pain.
I truly want nothing from the breeder because I know that there are no guarantees no matter what anyone says but knowing would have really made a difference in my dogs life.
Cindy
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