Does anyone have any experience of elbow joint replacement in dogs?

This is posted for a dear friend who is having trouble and heartbreak with her Akita

Bruce had a limp for a week and we took him to the vets and with his joint problems before got fast tracked for an xray. The vet phoned today with this news. Bruce's problem is similar to arthritis where there are fragments of bone trapped in the cartiledge at the joints. Normally, surgery could be undergone whereby the joint is 'flushed' to remove the bone, however, it has progressed too far on his right leg. His left leg would benefit from the 'flushing procedure' but it would be unlikely to completely rectify the problem.

The Royal Veterinary College can carry out an elbow joint replacement. His right leg will need this now as 'flushing' would be unlikely to help. It is highly likely that following his right elbow joint being replaced his left elbow joint will also need to be replaced.

It is dependant upon cost, operation risk / success rates, insurance cover, recovery time for each leg and the overall benefit after surgery (will he be a new dog again? - or will he always be unable to walk and run without impedement?) waiting on the vets to come back with the answers to our questions, mainly is the operation going to fix my baby or are we buying a bit of time and he will always be in pain, I don't know what to do for the best, he is only 4 years old and has already had a major operation on his back leg, and is likely to get this in his remaining leg. Has anyone had experience of this? I just don't know what to do for the best, I don't want him hurting, we are devastated.

Sorry to hear about Bruce, and so young, your friend must be devastated.

I have no experience of elbow replacements but my mum's lab has had both hips replaced. Following surgery for the first hip he was on limited exercise and painkillers but he was back up on his feet and racing about again in no time. It made a huge difference to his life. My mum recognised when the other hip started to go the same way and again surgery and recovery went very well. I know that she never regretted having them done. Not sure if elbows are more or less complicated or about the same?

There are different forms of ED i have some experience but by far no an expert.
My dog had FCP was operated on in 08 where she had bone removed in 1 and biceps release in both.
On Friday she went in and had even more major surgery on the left she has had the ulna cut right through.
Tell her to have a look here this is where my dog goes it's The bionic vet who had a series on TV a while ago. http://www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.u...ery/conditions

Price wise for a complete replacelment i'd say she will be looking at £6-£7,000. I paid £2,600 for procedures 3 and 4 under the ED1 section.

Sorry to hear about your friend's dog

I had a look into this earlier in the year, as my dog has severe athritis in his elbows and it is probably too late for the 'flushing out' to have any effect.
As far as I could find out, total elbow replacement is still fairly new in this country and the recovery rate looks to be very long. Also the success rate is not that high yet - nowhere near the success rate of a hip replacement. I think the elbow joint is much more complicated in movement than a hip, plus most dogs carry a high percentage of their weight on the front.
I decided against it, having discussed with my vet & a specialist due to the low success rate, and his age (he was 4.5 at the time).
He is now on metacam daily for the rest of his life....however long that may be....but at least he is enjoying life for now. Heartbreaking really.

I have no experience and can't help with any information but didn't want to read and run. I hope all goes well x

That is interesting to hear, I remember watching one of the vet programmes a while back and they were considering amputation for a dog with a badly damaged front leg and they mentioned it was more difficult for the dog to manage because of the distribution of the weight, so that combined with the mechanics of the elbow I guess makes sense why it is not as succesful as hip surgery can be.

Akitagirl, please let us know how Bruce gets on.

Thanks for all your replies so far guys, have passed them over and hoping for some more. I agree re: the elbow being so much more a difficult joint. Seems a very new untried and tested procedure, risky xxx I will do Majuka xxx

Hi,

Thank you for posting on my behalf Lucy - I am Bruces mum.

We are devastated and I don't know what to do for the best. The risk of the operation seems very high and he is going to need it done twice, perhaps a third time.

I am popping by the vets after work to see if they can answer all the questions I have.

I have to do what is best for him but I don't know what it is

I am so heartbroken - He is my world

Hi Sarah and welcome to Dogsey

I hope that the vets appointment is helpful for you.

Tokiayla has already mentioned metacam, which my mum's dog got on very well with. He also really benefited from both hydrotherapy and accupuncture. Not sure if Bruce is insured but my mum's insurance policy covered Ollie for both of those treatments, if you vet feels that they would be as effective for elbows as they are for hips?

Best of luck, keep us posted.

Hi Sarah

Is Bruce on any pain meds at the moment?

Stone is pretty much leading a normal life now, on metacam - I just have to make sure he doesn't jump off things and over things - we have had to give up agility - he will have blood tests every 6 months to check for organ damage, but potentially he could live to old age, who knows.

It took me a while to get my head round the fact that I can't just 'buy' him new elbows easily, I just hope he at least gets a couple of quality years in.

Fingers crossed you get some answers at the vet