Complications that can deprive an animal of the ability to move are now treatable

Dogs are associated with agility and playfulness. None of us want to see one curled up in a corner whimpering in pain, but sometimes muscle injuries or age-related joint changes inevitably affect our family friends’ ability to move. The only option left is to perform a relatively new procedure that can help – joint replacement.

Chronic joint diseases, when a dog starts feeling pain and favoring a leg by not putting weight on it, or has difficulty getting up after lying down for a long time, already signal that it’s time to visit a veterinary clinic.

Here, by palpation, and if necessary by performing an X-ray, it is possible to timely detect osteoarthritis – chronic diseases affecting joint surfaces, injuries, or congenital pathologies of dogs’ hip joints, such as dysplasia, which cause pain and discomfort to the animal.

“Without surgical treatment, if the indications are appropriate, medication is also possible – limiting physical activity, giving painkillers,” says Vytautas Siaurys, founder of the veterinary clinic ‘Siaurio Šnauceris.’ “If medication proves effective – great, but if the lameness persists, one still has to go for joint replacement surgery, because the pet experiences pain and discomfort, starts protecting the painful leg by shifting weight onto the other three legs, which is anatomically incorrect, leading to painful changes there as well.”

V. Siaurys says that in the past, joint replacement surgery was something out of the realm of science fiction, even for humans. However, medicine and science are advancing, and for the past five years, joint replacement surgeries for dogs have been performed at clinics established by this doctor. So far, these are the only clinics offering this service.

“In the past, we could only make life a little easier for our patients with medication, which was a very short-term solution. It’s painful when a large, essentially healthy 8-10 year old dog is brought in, but the joint changes are, unfortunately, already very advanced, and there’s nothing you can offer. Yes, sometimes we would operate and remove bone spurs that caused the dog significant pain, but they would grow back quite quickly. Seeing the suffering and apathy of the animals, owners were left with the only possible humane solution – euthanasia,” says V. Siaurys.

A happy animal is the owner’s joy

An animal is happy and devoted to its owner only when it can move without pain, and to prevent it from feeling pain, it must be able to move freely.

“Of course, conscious owners who assess the conditions at home are very important. For example, if there is a wooden floor or stairs, and toys are constantly thrown for the animal or it is encouraged to move, injuries are very likely, because the dog does not protect itself, it plays and gives its love to the owner with all its strength. And then, when ligaments tear and the pet starts to limp, they come to the clinic.

I have to point out that it is rare, really rare, for the owner to capture the split second when their pet accidentally missteps and gets injured. This is normal, you can’t catch everything, but I emphasize once again that it is very important to contact a veterinarian as soon as you notice that your pet is no longer using its leg normally, is limping,” says V. Siaurys.

If treatment is started in time, surgery can be avoided; in some cases, it is enough to simply remove the head of the hip joint. This is especially suitable for small dog breeds. The muscles then compensate for the function of the joint head, and the dog lives without pain, because if there is no joint – there is no pain, no pain – no problem. In more serious cases, when dogs are large, weighing 20–30 kg or more, hip and knee joint surgeries dominate in veterinary practice.

“However, the knee joint needs to be considered separately – it has a meniscus and a ligament system. It is a complex joint, and very often severe injuries occur specifically to it. In global practice, and also in Lithuania, this has not been a problem for quite some time; everything is handled neatly and quickly by replacing the joint with a new, lightweight titanium implant that fully performs the function of the real joint and lasts for the lifetime of the animal,” says the veterinarian.

Joint replacement surgery is often the only way for an animal suffering from chronic degenerative joint diseases to return to a life where it can move freely without pain and enjoy itself.