[Anonymous]

Claire, my 18 month old basset, has been having a bit of trouble with her front right leg. It seems to be "knuckling over" or bending outward when she is both standing and walking. She does not appear to be in any pain what so ever, and it's more of an annoyance thing, especially when she falls from her leg giving. Well, I took her to the vet anyway, and he stated that she most likely needs surgery, and he referred me to a specialist.
My concerns are as follows:
1. This specialist basically diagnosed and came up with her treatment without even seeing her. My vet spoke with him over the phone, and he was told that she needed surgery and that it would be at least $1100.00
2. The procedure involves breaking the bone and placing some sort of pin there to help keep the bone straight... I guess. I do not want to put her through this kind of pain unless it is absolutely necessary.
3. He also stated that although she may not be experiencing pain now, she would more than likely develop arthritis at that joint as she ages. And THAT is the rational for the surgery.

I have been giving her MSM since she was a puppy on the advise of a breeder friend of mine. And I was also told that giving her Glycoflex would help her.
What do you all think? Has anyone had this issue? Has anyone given their babies Glycoflex?
Any advise would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!
Annie

 

[Elvismom]

Elvis came to us with a similar bowing of his front legs. We noticed him limping and had a x-ray done that showed the bowing was staring to dislocate his elbow. The vet told me the name of the condition, which is (unfortunatley) a potential probelm with bassets.

We had surgery done on him, but it only involved cutting the non-weight bearing bone in his front leg and not putting a pin in it. There were several other surgical option but this one made the most sense to us. He had no trouble with the surgery and in about 6 weeks you'd never know that he'd had trouble with his leg. We expect we'll have to do the other leg later this year, but we'll wait and see what the x-rays show at that point. The vet also put him on Glycoflex because of the probablity of arthritis from this condition when he gets older.

We don't know Elvis' age because we found him as a stray, but the vet puts him between 1 - 2 years which sounds very close to Clair.

I certainly can't help you make a decision but I will tell you that the surgery we had done really helped Elvis.

Healing drool to Clair and please let us know what decide.

Elvis, his human and his tribe.

 

[Anonymous]

i don't know about this, but when my dog had cancer, i spoke to many vets, with different ideas and backgrounds i would get some other opinions and see what you feel comfortable with good luck

 

[Cynthia Swearingen]

I don't know if I'd trust a diagnosis over the phone, Annie. I'd want a specialist to actually see her, before he began sharpening his instruments. I think I'd recommend a second opinion, before making a decision as monumental as surgery...JMO, of course...

 

[shallhb]

What happened? What did the specialist say?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice everyone!
After speaking with several people that have experienced this with their bassets, I have elected to closely monitor her and watch for any signs of worsening, pain, etc. If she maintains how she is now, I don't think surgery is necessary. I'll continue with the MSM and look into getting glygo flex as well. However, if it does worsen, I will do whatever I need to do.
I also spoke with people from this area that have had terrible experiences with this particular vet, and even if she does need surgery, I will take her somewhere else!
I appreciat the concern, and will update if things change!

 

[Nicole510]

Good for you for doing your own research. Vets aren't Gods, they make mistakes and sometimes let their wallets rule their brains. I made the mistake of not getting a second opinion and ended up with a dead dog.

 

[cheryl]

Annie, we had the exact same situation with our bassett, Angel, when she was one year old. My vet recommended the surgery (it cost $1500.00) and that was 9 years ago. They told me that if I did not get the surgery, she would possibly not be able to walk when she got older. Now that we look back, we wished we would have gotten a second opinion before the surgery, because I just don't think it was as bad as they were saying it was. They wanted to do both legs (they felt one was worse than the other) They did the right leg. This was a really bad surgery and my dog was in a lot of pain after. We did NOT get the other leg done. Today, she is almost 10 years old. She walks around fine....sometimes she does trip a little. She has some arthritis, but I think she has more arthritis in the leg that she had the surgery on. I would NOT do anything right now. We cried after we had the surgery, because it was so painful for her. I wish I would have known about a website back then to check into. I think you are making the right decision for now. Good luck with your little baby!