Re: You've GOT to be kidding me! (quick update)
OK, so I just had a lengthy conversation with a new vet we're trying to discuss all of the options for getting an accurate diagnosis on the ACL. I mentioned MRI to him and he said I could definitely decide to go the MRI route but they are very expensive and are actually not needed to diagnose a torn ACL in a canine. He said that ACL tears can be diagnosed with very good accuracy using their hands and fingers to manipulate the knee. He said that this can also be done in humans but most docs order an MRI becuase it's easy and insurance usually pays for it. I then explained to him how this has happened twice before and each time he was over it in a matter of days and back to normal. This got him thinking as he said that typically with a torn ACL you'll always see some sort of limping and a the dog won't typically run around full speed leaping over couches which is what chase is back to doing. It's weird that he'll hold his leg completely off the ground for a day or two and then a day later he's running through the house like a madman. When I explained this to the vet he said that what it really sounds like isn't an ACL tear but rather a luxating patella (sliding kneecap). He said that this is extremely common in small dogs (yorkies, pomeranians etc..) and in most cases it never bothers this type of dog. He said that you can literally at times just slide the kneecap in and out and the dog has no idea as long as they live. However, he said when the dogs start getting a little bigger a sliding kneecap can be quite painful when it slides out. He has hunted over dogs and continues to own hunting dogs and said he has seen dogs running already and yelp and start going on three legs. Then, a short while later they yelp again and they're back on four. This is the kneecap sliding in and out of place. He said that he now thinks Chase has a luxating patella that is sliding out when he rough houses with buster. He then has to wait for it to slide back in and the inflamation to go down and he's back to normal until the next time he dislocates it. If this is the case then he won't need surgery and it can be managed with meds (keep your fingers crossed). He said he does still want to take an x-ray and put him under minor sedation to diagnose it 100%. The x-ray will let him look at the kneecap and look for early stage arthritis from the injury and the minor sedation will allow him to properly manipulate the leg to evaluate the ACL. He said he prefers to do this in smaller dogs because if his knee is in fact out of place then all it would take is a small sliding of the femur to really tear the ACL. Also, if he has a partial tear then any sudden moves while he's manipulating the leg could completely tear it in a dog chase's size. I must say that I feel super confident in this vet after talking to him as he really sounded like he knew what he was doing and steered me in the right direction to make the right decision without letting me waste a ton of money without reason.