Hi, just wondered what everyone thinks of this. A friend of mine has a border terrier pup and she jumped from the sofa and has been lame, she was taken to the vet after it happened (yesterday) and went back today as still lame. The vet kept the pup in and took x-rays of the leg (hind). The vet has decided that the pup needs an operation to pin and wire the joint but wants another vet to do the procedure (he said he would have done it had it been a lab!?). I have seen the x-ray and the bones are not broken but there is a very slight difference in the gap around the tibia crest. I am not convinced that an operation in a young pup is necessary for this injury and cannot help wondering if insurance is playing a part in this. Any thoughts?

I would get a second opinion, and maybe a referal to a specialist. If your friend is covered by insurance, then use it :)

Hi not sure if its the same thing, but my yorkie when she was a pup jumped from a chair and damaged her leg. She too needed an operation. My own vet wouldn't do the op as because she was so small he felt it needed specialist care. She had  damaged the joint ( a salter-harris fracture). Apparently these fractures need treating with care especially if the growth plate is involved. The vet who performed the op put a 5p coin next to her leg on the x-ray to show us just how tiny the bones are. They are also very soft as they are still developing. There is also a concern that she will almost definitely develop arthiritis as she gets older. She needed 3 pins to hold the joint. She was screaming with pain when she did the damage and it was obvious she was in pain afterwards. I agree about the insurance and I must admit to thinking at the time whether the treatment would have been the same had she not been insured. But  because of her obvious discomfort I just did whatever was needed to get her better. In hindsight I now feel that because of the insurance she was able to have the best treatment available and despite worries that she may not do very well as it was a very serious break, she has made an excellent recovery, beyond expectations. Hope your friends pup recovers well.
jane

My thoughts would be to have the operation done a.s.a.p

Although I entirely agree that vets take full advantage of insurance with unnecessary testing etc, which makes my blood boil.

In this inst I tend to think the vet is doing what is best for the pup.

After all he is not even doing the op himself, obviously very intrequet with a much smaller dog! And I doubt any vet would really wish to pin and wire a dogs leg for no reason.

But by all means tell your friend to get a second opinion before the op, if you really are worried, but if it saves her dog having a permanent limp or major problems in later life it should be done.

Get a referral to an orthopeadic vet asap the pup may well need an operation but it should be done by a specialist.
Which area does your friend live?