**Update on the Pup - What would you do??**

Lakl · 02-02-2012, 10:47 PM

So, some of you may remember that at the end of summer last year, my pup was diagnosed with severe crippling displaysia. He'd dislocated his left hip at only 6 months and had to have an FHO. The plan with my vet was to give him time to heal and build muscle strength so we could do the other side as both were equally bad. Well, in the past couple weeks, I started seeing other signs of discomfort in his front legs, limping, and difficulty sitting up, and began to suspect elbow displaysia as well. I started losing all hope at a normal life for my pup. Today I took him in for more x-rays, and I told the vet to do everything-spine, elbows, and hips. He even took a look at his shoulders as well. Before I moved forward with another FHO, I needed to know the FULL extent of his condition, and I braced myself for the worst.

The GOOD news... the vet said his elbows, shoulders, and spine looked GREAT! He said my pup has panosteitis and that is what was causing him pain and stiffness in his front legs. He said it's a common occurrence with large breed dogs and usually occurs on and off between 5 - 14 months. The pup just turned 1. He said it would pass on its own in a couple months and that I could just give him rimadyl when I noticed any discomfort.

On the other hand, his updated hip x-rays were even more shocking than the ones taken during his post-op just 5 months ago! The vet said because the pup had such a slow, difficult recovery the first time, that he was okay with holding off on the surgery until it was absolutely necessary. But my thoughts are that, now that I know he is fine in all other areas, I would rather just get him through and over this, so he can begin his new PAIN-FREE life and live like a normal healthy, happy dog for the very first time. Below are his hip x-rays. What would you do?? Would you continue to try and manage this until the surgery was absolutely needed or just get it over with?? Below are the x-rays...

This is the Post-Op X-ray just 5 1/2 months ago...

Brace yourself, this is from today...

Scary right??

BR870 · 02-02-2012, 10:50 PM

Yikes! I really don't see how it could get much worse...

If it were my dog, the surgery would be done yesterday...

RocketDog · 02-02-2012, 10:50 PM

Awwww.... I will let others who have more experience voice their opinions, but I just wanted to say I'm thinking of you and wishing you the best.

onyx'girl · 02-02-2012, 10:54 PM

Wow, If he is recovered on the first FHO, I think I'd go with the surgery after the bout of Pano is done. The only thing is that the Pano may reoccur and cause more discomfort.
Poor guy.

Veronica on this board just had her boy Panzer have an FHO/ late 2011. He'll need his other one done as well. Maybe pm her for her thoughts? Though all cases are individual, of course.

Lakl · 02-02-2012, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocketDog

Awwww.... I will let others who have more experience voice their opinions, but I just wanted to say I'm thinking of you and wishing you the best.

Thank you!

I just don't think I can consciously allow him to continue this way...my poor baby!

robinhuerta · 02-03-2012, 07:26 AM

His hip is getting worse (IMO/I'm no vet of course) because it has had to over compensate for the other...while recovering from surgery.
Poor guy going through Pano at the same time.....he just can't catch a break!
Lakl.....as many would want to and will say...do it now!...honestly, (IMO).....consult in depth with your vet. He has been good with you and your pup...and shows that he has your best interest at heart.
If he thinks that you should wait a little while longer......then you should probably wait......if he feels surgery now is a better option...then do it now.

I want this lil guys pain to be gone too......but I also want what is best for you both.
Let me know what you decide...give him a hug from me!
R

**JakodaCD OA** · 02-03-2012, 08:26 AM

omg, poor thing! Hope he can get it done soon and will be on the mend..Your a good owner to take this on, not many wood, he's very lucky to have you

GSDBESTK9 · 02-03-2012, 08:43 AM

What I don't understand is why weren't both hips done at the same time???? That is how I did my rescue girl's. One surgery, one recovery... Done!!! She did awesome and was back to normal in 10 days!
If I were you, I would keep him on the rimadyl and go ahead and do the other hip now. But that is just me.

Lakl · 02-03-2012, 09:05 AM

My vet said recovery would be more difficult for him because he wouldn't have any support for his back legs? A lot of people I've talked to said their dogs had them done separately as well.

carmspack · 02-03-2012, 09:52 AM

dear Lakl , ask your vet what he feels the side with surgery (right side) (left when viewing) is doing . To my eye there seems to be a disintergration of both the ball and the socket . The ball (femoral head) appears to be concave and jagged whereas immediate post surgery at least had some clubby roundness to it. The socket (acetabulum) looks eroded as well when comparing immediate post surgery to current .
The other side indicates that the muscle and ligament have not been able to support the hip position that it was in - bad as it was - now looks worse as the femur has migrated up and on way out of the socket.
Ask vet about overall bone density.

I feel so much for this pup.

You know what I would have done , before surgery, an opinion seconded .

I do not envy you one little bit .

02-02-2012, 10:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
Lakl Master Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 525	Update on the Pup - What would you do?? So, some of you may remember that at the end of summer last year, my pup was diagnosed with severe crippling displaysia. He'd dislocated his left hip at only 6 months and had to have an FHO. The plan with my vet was to give him time to heal and build muscle strength so we could do the other side as both were equally bad. Well, in the past couple weeks, I started seeing other signs of discomfort in his front legs, limping, and difficulty sitting up, and began to suspect elbow displaysia as well. I started losing all hope at a normal life for my pup. Today I took him in for more x-rays, and I told the vet to do everything-spine, elbows, and hips. He even took a look at his shoulders as well. Before I moved forward with another FHO, I needed to know the FULL extent of his condition, and I braced myself for the worst. The GOOD news... the vet said his elbows, shoulders, and spine looked GREAT! He said my pup has panosteitis and that is what was causing him pain and stiffness in his front legs. He said it's a common occurrence with large breed dogs and usually occurs on and off between 5 - 14 months. The pup just turned 1. He said it would pass on its own in a couple months and that I could just give him rimadyl when I noticed any discomfort. On the other hand, his updated hip x-rays were even more shocking than the ones taken during his post-op just 5 months ago! The vet said because the pup had such a slow, difficult recovery the first time, that he was okay with holding off on the surgery until it was absolutely necessary. But my thoughts are that, now that I know he is fine in all other areas, I would rather just get him through and over this, so he can begin his new PAIN-FREE life and live like a normal healthy, happy dog for the very first time. Below are his hip x-rays. What would you do?? Would you continue to try and manage this until the surgery was absolutely needed or just get it over with?? Below are the x-rays... This is the Post-Op X-ray just 5 1/2 months ago... Brace yourself, this is from today... Scary right??

02-02-2012, 10:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
BR870 Master Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Posts: 828	Yikes! I really don't see how it could get much worse... If it were my dog, the surgery would be done yesterday... __________________ Rob Ezra von der Rennbahn Princess Abigail "Abbie" Kai (RIP) Loki (RIP)

02-02-2012, 10:54 PM	#4 (permalink)
onyx'girl Crowned Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: SW, MI Posts: 17,608	Wow, If he is recovered on the first FHO, I think I'd go with the surgery after the bout of Pano is done. The only thing is that the Pano may reoccur and cause more discomfort. Poor guy. Veronica on this board just had her boy Panzer have an FHO/ late 2011. He'll need his other one done as well. Maybe pm her for her thoughts? Though all cases are individual, of course. __________________ Jane~ Kept by Onyx, Kacie and Gideon v Wildhaus aka Karlo

02-03-2012, 07:26 AM	#6 (permalink)
robinhuerta Knighted Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 3,225	His hip is getting worse (IMO/I'm no vet of course) because it has had to over compensate for the other...while recovering from surgery. Poor guy going through Pano at the same time.....he just can't catch a break! Lakl.....as many would want to and will say...do it now!...honestly, (IMO).....consult in depth with your vet. He has been good with you and your pup...and shows that he has your best interest at heart. If he thinks that you should wait a little while longer......then you should probably wait......if he feels surgery now is a better option...then do it now. I want this lil guys pain to be gone too......but I also want what is best for you both. Let me know what you decide...give him a hug from me! R __________________ Huerta Hof German Shepherds www.teamhuertahof.com ....where breeding is still considered an art....

02-03-2012, 08:26 AM	#7 (permalink)
JakodaCD OA Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Location: Old Lyme, CT USA Posts: 14,237	omg, poor thing! Hope he can get it done soon and will be on the mend..Your a good owner to take this on, not many wood, he's very lucky to have you __________________ Diane Danger Danger vom Kleinen Hain aka Masi "Angel" Jakoda's Bewitchen Sami CD OA OAJ OAC NGC OJC RS-O GS-N JS-O TT HIC CGC "Angel" Steinwald's Four x Four CGC HIC TT Harmonyhill's Hy Jynx NA NAJ NAC NJC RS-N JS-N HIC Jakoda's Jagged Edge

02-02-2012, 10:50 PM	#3 (permalink)
RocketDog Elite Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Eastern Washington Posts: 1,268	Awwww.... I will let others who have more experience voice their opinions, but I just wanted to say I'm thinking of you and wishing you the best.

02-03-2012, 08:43 AM	#8 (permalink)
GSDBESTK9 Crowned Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Maryland Posts: 28,438	What I don't understand is why weren't both hips done at the same time???? That is how I did my rescue girl's. One surgery, one recovery... Done!!! She did awesome and was back to normal in 10 days! If I were you, I would keep him on the rimadyl and go ahead and do the other hip now. But that is just me. __________________ Carolina Johnson http://www.johnsonhaus.com http://www.carolinak9photography.com

02-03-2012, 09:05 AM	#9 (permalink)
Lakl Master Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 525	My vet said recovery would be more difficult for him because he wouldn't have any support for his back legs? A lot of people I've talked to said their dogs had them done separately as well.

02-03-2012, 09:52 AM	#10 (permalink)
carmspack Knighted Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: ontario - Posts: 3,325	dear Lakl , ask your vet what he feels the side with surgery (right side) (left when viewing) is doing . To my eye there seems to be a disintergration of both the ball and the socket . The ball (femoral head) appears to be concave and jagged whereas immediate post surgery at least had some clubby roundness to it. The socket (acetabulum) looks eroded as well when comparing immediate post surgery to current . The other side indicates that the muscle and ligament have not been able to support the hip position that it was in - bad as it was - now looks worse as the femur has migrated up and on way out of the socket. Ask vet about overall bone density. I feel so much for this pup. You know what I would have done , before surgery, an opinion seconded . I do not envy you one little bit .

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