Has anyone else had a husky that needed elbow surgery? I'm worried about the long term impact...Freyja is 17 weeks old so hopefully her age is a benefit

Freyja had a freak accident this afternoon. I was walking back into the house with both pups (jostling like usual when I say inside). Next thing I know, Freyja is on the concrete walkway  screaming. She wouldn't stop screaming and wouldn't move...freaked me out. Emergency vet did x-rays and found she dislocated her elbow and has a couple of fractures...poor thing is in tons of pain (surgery tomorrow morning). And I should have gotten pet insurance  @.@ almost $5k ( I live in CT so super expensive area)

Let's see if I can do this right ... first, sorry the young lady managed to break herself up like that.  I can imagine the pain she's in and the anguish that you're in. Since (knock on wood) I've never had this problem, this is going to be a sort of generic answer, sorry.

You ask about long term impact, long term she'll probably do fine.  Dogs have this ability to accept things that would devastate a human (loss of a limb or sight or hearing, for example)

It's the short run that is going to cause more problem, though.  Depending on the fracture, the cast will probably be pinned  top and bottom - but in a few days, she'll adapt.  That's the problem, because in the wild it's adapt or die, dogs adapt to all sort of limitations quickly.  Your vet is probably going to tell you to keep her exercise limited until the cast comes off and keeping a dog down (limited in exercise and play) once they adapt to the cast / splint is going to drive you (more?) nuts!

Just follow your vets recommendations and with two dogs who want to play, that's going to be difficult but it's going to have to be for that bone to set right.

ETA: at her age she'll have every benefit of recovery, however once a joint has been dislocated ( human / canine / equine ) it has a tendency to slip out easier. With luck, her age will help reinforce the ligaments that hold the joint together.

Not too awfully facetiously, 'Good Luck!'

Ok - I don't want to scare you, hesitant to post this but maybe it will help. When I was a teenager, my parents got my younger sister an Irish Setter puppy. He jumped (or fell) off her bed, broke a bone/bones in his lower leg/paw (listen, this was 50 years ago, details a little sketchy). Vet set the bones and put a cast on. And puppy grew faster than anticipated, the paw developed avascular necrosis (the bone outgrew its blood supply and died), developed infection, they had to amputate, the pup did adapt to 3 whole legs but never was the same and died several months later. It was heartbreaking - especially since my sister was having social difficulties and this was supposed to help boost her morale, not destroy it.

So my message here is, make sure your vet allows for growth and monitors the leg frequently. And the growth plates are not damaged.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer...my best wishes that with todays advancements in veterinary care all will go beautifully.

Aye, Amy that's a thought and thanks for thinking about it. You're right, if she's not full grown (and at 17 weeks she's a long way from that) that is something that the vet needs to consider. I can see changing casts several times before she gets to come out of it.
That's something that the OP needs to talk over with her vet ...

Oh that's a really good point, Amy. She's been going super fast lately...

Al, she's actually pretty adjusted to 3 legs already. Have to keep her on a tight leash at potty time or she tries to run around (despite still screaming in pain occasionally in her crate). The real challenge will definitely be keeping the pups apart...

Thank you both for the luck (I'm less freaked out but still pretty nervous about today's surgery)

If were n your shoes, I'd be more than "a little nervous". I'd be a basket case till she came out of surgery. If you think about it with all the chaos I imagine your enduring, drop us a note and t us know how it went, would you please.

i hope surgery went well, i was thinking the same thing Amy was before i saw her comment, hope they do the cast and pinning to allow for growth.

keep us posted and im glad you are getting her taken care of

Surgery went great! (Huge sigh of relief) She has to stay overnight at the hospital though. It feels weird not to have her here...the recovery details are pretty lengthy (week by week details for the next few months) but I'll find out more tomorrow when she's discharged. I was told no cast since it's on her front leg. She's still only 15.6 pounds at the pre surgery weigh-in.

My other puppy (Ragnar) keeps looking for her. He's been laying in her crate--though maybe that's because she won't let him when she's around

If she isn't in a cast then the bones must have broken well enough that he can use screws, pins or rods<??> Will he be removing the metal later on or is now going to become a permanent part of her leg?

And if I'm wrong all the way 'round ( which I've been known to be at least once this year ) how did he immobilize the bone so it can set - just curious ....

Yeah, she needed a couple pins (3 pins) that will be permanent. I'll have to bring her in periodically for more x-rays to make sure everything is healing/healed right and that the leg is growing right

And despite everything, she had a giant smile when we left. She's in a good mood right now (probably can't feel much pain with all these meds she's on...)