Bone Chips in Marley's Shoulder

[pawsaddict]

Hi there, I hope I am posting this in the correct section (if not, please let me know). Marley has been limping for months now (so bad that she can't even go on a walk for 5 minutes without limping). So after physiotherapy, chiropractic care, and plenty of rest didn't yield much of an improvement, we took her to a specialist. He found bone chips in her shoulder. He said that he could MAYBE scope her shoulder, but because of her size (around 18-20 pounds), it would be very hard to actually get the scope in, and even if he was able to get in the scope in, he wasn't sure if he would be able to do any work once he was there. He said the bone chips could be caused by arthritis (her shoulder joint moves a little wonky), but that he wasn't sure. He said he couldn't really tell where the chips were either because of her anatomy (apparently dachshunds' shoulders are quite tricky).

Marley also was recently diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. (Needless it say, it's been a very tough few weeks for me.) So I'm not sure if I should try the scope and put her through that or....well, I don't know what I should do. Has anyone else been through this? Does anyone else have any suggestions?

 

[Nell]

I am so sorry to hear you are having such a difficult time. Its so hard when they are not well isn't it?

The only suggestion I can make is to maybe get a second opinion?

You know your dog best so maybe you just have to go with your gut feeling, you can only do the best you think for them, good luck and I hope things improve soon.

 

[pawsaddict]

I am so sorry to hear you are having such a difficult time. Its so hard when they are not well isn't it?

The only suggestion I can make is to maybe get a second opinion?

You know your dog best so maybe you just have to go with your gut feeling, you can only do the best you think for them, good luck and I hope things improve soon.

Thank you very much for your reply and support, Nell. You're right. The gut feeling is usually the best feeling. Right now, we decided to take things one at a time and focus on her kidneys. I'm not sure if I want to put her through a scope at the moment, as I don't know what that kind of stress would do to her - especially if it yielded no results. I think we are going to look into some holistic anti-inflammatories/pain relievers for her shoulder (ones that would not hurt her kidneys) to help with the pain and then look into the scope in a couple months' time.

 

[babysis]

I'd get a second opinon. If the vet is unsure of doing a procedure...that is red flag.
I know it might be tough with bone chips but have you thought or done of massaging her shoulders or sometimes put heat on the area?

Sorry to hear your girl has CKD...focus on that and don't worry about the scope. It will stress her big time and might progress the CKD. Look into holistic ideas for the shoulder. I haven't dealt with that so I can't give you a definitive answer. Just give your girl extra love!