Met with the specialist in Calgary today, Kryten does not like long car rides (especially the second time). She confirmed the diagnosis of UAP and is 95% certain he also has FCP. He does not have OCD. His DJD is very mild except that you typically don’t see any until dogs are over 2yo so that is what makes it really notable. She is going down to someplace in the states during the middle of the month to learn how to perform CUE (Canine Unicompartmental Elbow Resurfacing) surgery and believes that this procedure is the best option for him due to age and size. Currently no one in at least southern Alberta is performing this surgery.
The game plan right now (no fixed date until after she has the training) is to do a CT scan on both legs to confirm the presence of FCP. While still under anesthesia she will correct the UAP using lag screw fixation and dynamic proximal ulnar osteotomy (cut the ulna to release pressure of the fixation site). If FCP is confirmed she will also do the CUE on that leg. Once he has healed sufficiently, we will do the second leg.
In the meantime he is going onto a conservative pain management approach. This means I need to try and limit his weight gain, daily painkillers, anti-inflammatory and supplements to help maintain joint health.
I once again was made to realize that not everybody looks at Kryten and just sees a dog like I do. Every person's first words, both inside and out of the clinic, was 'that's a big dog'. This also included the couple who had their EM in for a check up and yeah he had a couple of inches and over 30lbs on her.
These are links describing the surgeries in case you are interested (not graphic)
http://www.peakveterinaryreferral.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/VLP0006A-CUE-Client-brochure.pdf
Orthopedics (figure 1 shows what is planed only he'll get 2 screws)
All worn out from his adventure. By the way does he look like a Newfoundland to you?
