A pup from my last litter, now 10 months old, has been diagnosed with probable bilateral FMCP so I am getting her back. Can anyone give any ideas on surgical cost in the Northeast and outcomes? TIA.

I had a youngster diagnosed with this years ago, just one , not both. I choose not to do surgery. She was put on crate rest, given supportive meds, and lived to be 15 , a pampered house dog , of course , and she was fine. I do believe it was an injury, and all my fault as well , as I was being stupid with excercise with her as a youngster. She became a wonderful obediece demo dog, and loved her job . No jumping of course, but still she lived a long and comfortable life. Good Luck to you and your pup.

I have a boy with FCP of both elbows, grade 2 and 3. No surgery and running master level hunt tests at 9 years of age. He's been on Dasuquin MSM, fish oil and Adequan since he was two. He's doing great. A little short strided ,Sometimes stiff, sometimes gets Rimadyl, but loving life. No regrets here.

Keeping them fit and trim is key.

Sue Puff

I have a 10 year old bitch that had bilateral surgery for FCP when she was a year. Today, although on good supplements, you would never know she has elbow problems. She is my obedience and hunting dog with many titles... Her problem was our fault too. Over exercising at a young age, but she was always a super active dog, no holding her back.

Just curious, was this a show pup with a breeder? Why is the dog coming back...the condition isn't so dire that a pet family can't deal with this. Just curious, no criticism.

How sad is that. Like throwing out the trash. Good she is coming back to you.

I hear it can cost around $2,000 (per elbow, give or take, depending on where you go, follow up visits, and pups activity level after surgery. Best of Luck.

FYI, stiffness can be a sign of pain. Just because our dogs don't cry out doesn't mean they don't feel it. Arthritis of any kind is painful. Don't kid yourselves. I've done the surgery and I think it makes a huge difference (twice, and I'd do it again).

I had a boy diagnosed with bilateral FCP at 6 months. Vet opted to do surgery on one side (where lameness was evident) planning to do second side after recovery. It was a many years ago so the price would not be relevant for today. It was a long 8 week recovery as the vet did not want him in the crate but did not want him to play at all either. After the enforced 8-week rest and new x-rays the vet opted not to do the second surgery. I read about studies that showed enforced rest without surgery was often as good as enforced rest after surgery and that's what the doctor thought had worked for us. It took my boy many months to get truly sound and fit again. Running as fast as he could was always his favorite thing. He lived to 15 yrs and it was arthritis that let him down in the end. He was helped by some drugs but could not tolerate NSAIDs. Mostly he had a long happy life doing what he loved.

This would not be the first time some vet scared the bejeezus out of puppy buyers. Do not blame those people.

My keeper pup last year developed FCP when she was around 6-8 months old. She was on rimadyl for a week and crate rested for a month. It did not help. I ended up having the arthroscopic surgery done. The recovery period is around 3 - 5 months, depending on how good you are about keeping the puppy confined. If you increase walks too early or let them loose too soon, it can double the time needed to regrow cartilage. Periods of activity can destroy the cartilage as soon as it starts to grow back.

After the surgery, the surgeon saved the fragments he removed, put them in a small vial and gave them to me. It didn't take a whole lot of imagination to see the piece of bone could cause pain and swelling in the joint. The surgery will not reverse the FCP. The joint will never be 100% normal. The goal of the surgery is to lessen arthritis over the dog's lifetime.

What was the diagnosis for your pup? My report says the pup has mild lameness at a walk and trot (grade 1).

I first took the pup in because of the lameness. My regular vet examined her and took x-rays and thought they did not look quite right. After the course of rimadyl and month of crate rest showed no improvement, we consulted the ortho vet. Physical exam, more x-rays and evaluation of the lameness all pointed to FCP.

I have a 7 year old male who had bilateral FCP, arthroscopy at 14 months, bilateral.. Dr. Kurt Shulz, our surgeon said, let him be a dog, and I have, and he competes in Rally, agility, obedience, hunt tests and is very very sound, no sign of arthritis yet.. he will continue to be a dog, without worry...

Cartilage does not GROW back. Be fantastic for all if it could.

Well, the orthopedic surgeon says there is cartilage regrowth. It is a very slow process and the new growth is fragile, which is why they must be kept quiet for so long.