I'm looking for feedback on your experience with the Arthroscopic procedure for FCP.
I'm interested to know about lameness prior and after the 6-8wk recovery time frame. Age of the dog who had arthroscopic surgery and did the lameness resolve fully? Did you find a need for long term use of NSAIDs, pain meds, etc? Would you recommend the procedure?
My experience is almost 10 years ago. Bitch at nearly a year had intermittent lameness on both front legs. Sometimes there was no lameness. We did three independent opinions, no one related to surgeon, and in each case, the advice was the same. With FCP, the bone chips stay in the joint and wear away the cartilage. They may shift one day so there is no limping, and then shift again the next day so that the dog can't walk. The wearing of the cartilage will only get worse the longer you wait.
We opted for arthroscopic surgery. Bitch remained in clinic for 2 day, was on restricted activity for 6 weeks. Put on pain relief initially, put on a Adequan plan for 2 months. Had been on supplements since.
Over the years this bitch has been active in performance events. If I ran her too much, she would be lame for a day or so. We had to find a fine tune balance with her weight and exercise and later when she gained weight, found out there was a thyroid issue. I am also thinking that it took me years to fine tune what supplements worked for her. I may never have given her the right dosages. I found something about 3 years ago...she NEVER limps now due to exercise...still runs like a freak retrieving balls.
I think her quality of life the way she enjoys it would have been severely impacted had we not done the surgery. All her titles are post-surgery.
She's turning 11 at the end of this year. STILL ACTIVE. I would do the surgery again in a heartbeat.
