Anyone familiar with reading hip xrays?

I had some xrays done on Luke because of this mild limp that won't seem to go away, and the vet did a hip xray just in case (we're both pretty sure it's his knee though, see an orthopedist next Monday). Anyway she thought he had "mild to moderate" hip dysplasia, more so in the left hip. I was hoping to find out if he really does have HD or if the vet just isn't used to seeing corgi hips. I could try to send them in to OFA I suppose, but since I didn't ask ahead of time I'm not sure if the xray is up to their standards. I already have him on glucosamine and try to keep him on the lean side, so I'm not horribly concerned about it at the moment, but I'd like to know for sure, ya know?

And is it just me or does the contrast on this xray kind of suck? lol

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Permalink Reply by Jane on May 1, 2012 at 9:30am

Well we saw the orthopedic vet yesterday. He thought he had some mild hip dysplasia but nothing that he was particularily worried about in a corgi. He does think he has a very small partial ACL tear. He thought there was a little bit of extra laxity in that knee compared to the other, and he did get a good pop out of it when he was manipulating it (which is funny because my vet said there was NO drawer sign, and no pops or cracks). However, there is very very minimal swelling, and no sign of fluid build up or degeneration of the joint which he said is what he often sees. So it's probably a very small tear, and the joint is very stable at the moment, but he will probably blow it eventually. He basically said we could do another round of anti-inflammatories and do what we've been doing to manage the symptoms when he overdoes it, or TPLO surgery. He said there is no "correct" answer when the tear is so minor, and he said Luke would probably only get about 5% improvement from surgery. IMO, that's not enough to justify such an invasive surgery and a very long rehab. So, we wait again and will see the orthopedist again in 8 weeks.

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Permalink Reply by Chris, Kadi & Brodie on May 1, 2012 at 10:05am

I agree with your decision. Too many dogs tear it up again right after surgery. Unless they are completely crippled, it's really better to just let them adjust, IMHO.