knee issue/patella luxation

Question
I have a 2.5 year old English bulldog. She is on the small side, 43 pounds and super fit so she runs around a lot (and fast!). I try to keep her from going too crazy up and down stairs but it's hard. About a year ago (Sep. 05) I noticed she was limping on one of her hind legs. I took her to our vet who pretty much specializes in bulldogs. He said it was patella luxation which many purebred bulldogs have, but it wasn't too bad and if it were his dog he wouldn't operate on it. He said if I wanted to explore surgery and other options, I should see an orthopedic specialist. A few weeks later, though she'd stopped limping, I visited the orthopedic. He really made it sound bad saying we needed to operate soon and she'd need several special additions to the surgery and would have to be confined for months after. It just sounded horrible and I didn't have a great feeling about him. Well, I never got her the surgery and my dog has never limped since.  I give her glucosamine every day now too. If it was as bad as he said do you think she would have started limping or favoring one leg sicne then? If she hasn't limped in a year, is she healed or will this come back? Any other advice? Thanks.  

Answer
You did the right thing.  Good for you. There's no need to rush to surgery unless there is a torn ACL. Luxated patellas often will resolve themselves with rest and monitored exercise. This is not to say it may not return, but if you keep the weight down and continue with the supplements, chances are she'll be fine for a long time. Trying to keep her for over doing it is an obvious plus too.

If you have surgery on one hind leg to do this repair, almost always the other side will break down as well. Vet's plan their next vacation around a Bulldog client. I always see surgery as a last resort not matter what the condition is.

Good luck.