Canine Hip Dysplasia?

Question

Hey, i have a 6 month old golden retreiver who's just been diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia. I got him health insurance so i assume there'd be no problems and i'm prepared to pay any ammount which will slow down his bone degeneration.
I'm just posing this question to find out if there has been anyone in similar circumstances with their dogs and if they have gotten operations and if they have been a success.
I guess this is the consequence of buying from a pet shop where i dont know anything about his families history. I love him so much and i'm going to do everything in my power to make this better and i have full confidance that everything will be ok because it's still early days.
I'd really love to hear from people who have had similar circumstances and see how they handled it.
Thanks.

I hope my insurer covers it.. i read all the fine print, but if it turns out they dont, i dont give a crap i'll still pay for it all

Answer 1

Hi there. I actually have a 10 month old labrador with severe hip dysplasia (basically she has no hip sockets), and am also just a few weeks off qualifying as a veterinarian.

My own dog was a rescue (discarded by a pet shop and originally from a puppy farm), so I sympathise with the unknown history. I'm very glad that you've decided to do what you can for him and really hope that your insurance covers his needs.

Goodness, now that I've posted it, I apologise now for the length of this answer, but I'm giving my perspective both in light of my veterinary training and my position as an owner of a dog with severe CHD!!

Your own vet has probably told you that with severe CHD, most dogs DO end up needing surgery. Aside from your budget and whether the insurance will cover him, your options depend on a few things. I know your vet has probably covered all this, and if they refer you to an orthopaedic specialist he/she certainly will, but I'll go over it just in case.

A fairly commonly done procedure in young dogs is something called a Triple Pelvic Osteotomy (TPO). In simple terms, this involves cutting through the pelvis and changing the alignment of the bone so that the socket part of the hip joint fits more closely around the head of the femur (thigh bone). This is usually done in 6-12 month old dogs, but isn't really an option if there is already degenerative arthritic change (such as alteration in the shape of the socket and/or the femur). Your vet can gauge this from his x-rays. In my own dog's case (she started showing signs at 6 months and I had her assessed soon after), she already had too much degeneration for this surgery to be possible.

The 'gold standard' option is Total Hip Replacement (THP). Basically, this is the same as the operation in humans. They remove the bony hip socket and put in a false one. This surgery cannot be done until the dog is fully grown (or close to it), because the surgeon needs to be able to implant the largest prosthesis possible for the size of the dog. THP does have a few problems- obviously it's costly (~ $5000 per hip), is very invasive surgery, does carry a risk and does have a reasonably prolonged recovery time. To quote my orthopaedics lecturer, "when things go wrong at the time of surgery, they can REALLY go wrong". The other big issue with THP is that the prostheses in main use at the moment only have a lifespan of about 8 years before they start to loosen within the bone. This was never a problem when it was used in older dogs, but obviously not such a great thing if you're putting it into a 12 month old with a life expectancy of 12-14 years. There is another form, but this comes with its own set of problems- a 30% incidence of accidentally fracturing the femur (and then having to wire that) whilst implanting.

There is a 'middle ground' procedure called the Excision Arthroplasty (EA) or Femoral Head & Neck Excision (FHNE). As the name suggests, this involves simply removing the head and neck of the femur. The muscles and surrounding tissue develops to form a false joint, which allows the dog quite good freedom of movement and removes their pain. However, it's much more appropriate for smaller dogs (<25kg) and mostly is used either in dogs too small for THP or large dogs where the owners cannot afford THP but something needs to be done for the dog. It's incredibly important that the dogs gets gentle exercise and physiotherapy almost immediately- this is necessary for the false joint to form well and be functional- and it's essential that the dog's weight is kept under control.

There is also a 'salvage procedure' called hip denervation, but this does nothing other than relieve pain. It doesn't improve function, so it more an option for an old dog with very arthritic hips than young dogs with severe CHD.

EA is actually the option I'm going for with my own pup. She is a very small lab (she'll only mature at about 20kg), and is close to borderline as far as whether we'd be able to get a false hip in there or not. Although THP gives a higher level of function, that associated with EA is still at a level where the dog has excellent quality of life in terms of ability to exercise, etc., and most importantly is not in any pain. I balanced this against the risks of THP and the magnitude of that surgery and chose to do EA first. We are going to operate on her worst side in a couple of weeks time and feel that there is an excellent chance of her doing well. If the worst comes and her surgery is not successful, there is still the opportunity of doing a THP on her other side in the future if she needs it.

In your position, if TPO isn't an option I would probably hold off and go for THP when he's old enough, and manage his pain as need be. Most goldens are too big for EA to be a good option. Good luck to you and him with whatever option you choose. I hope I've not overwhelmed you with all the information- much easier when explaining to someone face to face than when typing. Please feel free to email me if you want

Answer 2

The younger of my mothers 2 schnauzers was recently diagnosed with a very bad case.. she couldn't move the hip at all.. (which she was rather surprised about because he still moves pretty much like always.. we just noticed some hesitation when he went to sit)

In his case however he is considered a senior dog, and the vet recommended against surgery.. she said it was up to us, but would most likely make him more uncomfortable than he is, but, he's on pain pills and glucosamine.. (this dog is about 10 years old though.. so, I'd think a 6 month old would do fine.. )

Answer 3

Do yourself a favor and do a internet search of Gold Bead Implants.
I had them done on a dog with severe back problems and hip dysplasia. She was on Deramax for life because of the back pain. After having the implants done, she never needed another pain pill.
We went to Dr. Durkes in Marian, Ind. He invented the procedure. It was a long drive for us, but worth it!
The implants are an out patient procedure. Definitely less expensive than the hip replacement surgeries.

Answer 4

There are NO breeds who can not get it. All breeds can get it, especially those from backyard breeders or pet store who do not do proper health testing on the dogs the use to produce puppies. If you want to decrease the chance of hip dysplasia, get one from a breeder who does hips/elbows testing through Pennhip. Pennhip is far more accurate than OFA.. the x-ray positioning for OFA can create the illusion of a false tightness in the hips, giving an inaccurate result.

Answer 5

Our 10 month old 50 pound rescue dog had the Femoral Head Excision done 3 weeks ago. Before the surgery Sophie limped and had a hard time getting up. She had gone from a playful puppy to a dog who seldom moved. She is already playing, walking, and running once again. It was well worth it for Sophie!

Answer 6

My Britney-Pointer mix had the surgery when she was 10 months.

We didn't have insurance and went through with the surgery anyway. Best thing we ever did for her.

She is now 7 years and has always been very active.

Take advantage of the insurance if you can because it wasn't cheap but regardless... It was worth every penny.

www.pugetsoundpetstop.com

Answer 7

Not to be a downer but.. You need to check with your insurance to verify that they will cover the surgery. Some of them don't cover defects (such as hip dysplasia) if the breed is prone to them.

Answer 8

My dog was diagnosed with it and we started feeding him Innova EVO small bites along with raw meaty lamb bones.We used to feed him Iams. His hip dysplasia is retreating rather quickly. He just got a vet check 3 weeks ago with positive feedback.

Answer 9

I have a long story so I emailed it to you.
Hope it helps and I hope to hear updates.

I guess I could have fit my story on here :P

Answer 10

Try asking the per shop is there has been any sign of illness through his generation