Patellar Luxation in the Bichon Frise: Grades and Surgical Decisions

The grading is a physical examination finding. It is worth knowing what your vet's fingers were actually testing.

Surgical repair is not one operation but a combination chosen to address whichever part of the anatomy is at fault in that particular dog. Understanding the components makes the surgeon's plan far less opaque.

One component deepens the groove at the end of the femur so the kneecap has somewhere to sit. Another moves the bony attachment point on the shin bone, shifting the direction the quadriceps pulls in. A third tightens or releases the soft tissue on either side of the joint to rebalance it. Higher grades usually require more of these together, and grade four sometimes involves correcting rotation of the bones themselves.

The threshold for operating is generally clinical rather than numerical. A grade two dog that is lame frequently, losing muscle, or showing pain between episodes is a stronger candidate than a grade three dog that trots around comfortably. Age matters too, since a young dog with a high grade faces a long life of joint damage if nothing is done.

The honest caveat is that surgery is not a guarantee. Re-luxation happens in a minority of cases, arthritis that has already developed does not go away, and the outcome depends substantially on whether the rehabilitation is actually completed.

If you think your Bichon has patellar luxation, the plan is three steps: write down what you have seen and when it started, book a veterinary appointment rather than waiting for the next flare, and take video of the behaviour or symptom before you go — the thing you are worried about rarely happens in the consulting room. Screening in the parents covers skin allergies, patellar luxation, bladder stones.

What the vet visit should produce is a diagnosis and a written plan, not just reassurance: what is being ruled out, what the monitoring interval is, and which signs mean you come back sooner. Ask what the treatment costs across a year rather than per visit, because that is the number that decides whether you are managing this condition or reacting to it.

Between appointments, keep a short log — dates, what you saw, what changed. It is the single most useful thing an owner brings to a follow-up, and for patellar luxation it is often what separates a clear pattern from a guess.