What Options are Available for Treating Patellar Luxation?
Patellar luxations that do not cause any clinical sign should be monitored but do not typically warrant surgical correction, especially in small dogs. Surgery is considered in grades 2 and over (See above). One or several of the following strategies may be required to correct patella luxation: • Reconstruction of soft tissues surrounding the knee cap to loosen the side toward which the patella is riding and tighten the opposite side • Deepening of the femoral groove so that the knee cap can seat deeply in its normal position • Transposing the tibial crest, bony prominence onto which the tendon of the patella attaches below the knee. This will help realign the quadriceps, the patella and its tendon • Correction of abnormally shaped femurs where the knee cap rides outside of its groove most or all the time. This procedure involves cutting the bone, correcting its deformation and immobilizing it with a bone plate . The procedures that will best address the problem are selected on an indiv
