We got some disappointing news just before Christmas about Rocky's leg. When we last left off our family veterinarian recommended that we go see a specialist that could tell us more about what was going on with Rocky's irregular leg bone. We were referred to Oradell Animal Hospital, which is in Paramus, about 20 minutes away from our house. On their website alone you could see that they have veterinarian specialist for everything from general surgery to doggie cardiologist, to oncology, neurology and more. We knew that this was not going to be any small time facility. We scheduled the appointment so we could both go with him and meet with the surgeon together to find out what was going on.When we got to the animal hospital we were not in the least bit surprised to see just how big this facility was. We were called in with Rocky to go talk with the surgeon. He went over the x-rays we had brought with us and immediately identified the cause of the irregularity and went over it with us. He diagnosed Rocky with Legg-Perthes Disease.
Avascular necrosis of the femoral head is a disease of the hip joints of miniature and toy breeds of dogs, most often in Poodles, Yorkies, Lakeland terriers, west Highland white terriers, Jack Russell terriers and miniature pinchers just to name a few. It develops between 4 and 12 months of age. The blood supply to the neck of the femur is inadequate, leading to bone destruction in the hip joint, resulting in a roughened, irregular joint surface. Moving the rear legs causes pain, and the leg muscles weaken and shrink from insufficient use. Occasionally the limbs actually shorten. One or both rear legs may be affected. If only one leg is involved, the dog usually refuses to bear any weight on that limb.
Avascular necrosis is hereditary and probably results from breeding for small body size. This selective breeding produces dogs that mature more rapidly, and the early effects of hormones on the developing hips may cause the disease. Some researchers also believe that injury to the developing hips may cause the condition. If the condition is not treated, the dog may develop severe arthritis in later life. Usually, lameness is so severe that treatment is mandatory.
Disintegration of Hip Joint in Dogs. Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease involves spontaneous degeneration of the head on the femur bone, located in the dog's hind leg. This results in disintegration of the hip joint (coxofemoral) and bone and joint inflammation (osteoarthritis). The exact cause of the condition is unknown, though blood supply issues to the femoral head are usually seen in dogs suffering from Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease. It is commonly seen in miniature, toy, and small-breed dogs, and has a genetic basis in Manchester terriers. Moreover, most dogs affected with Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease are five to eight months in age.
Symptoms:
Lameness (gradual onset over two to three months)
Carrying of affected limb(s)
Pain when moving hip joint
Wasting of thigh muscles on affected limb(s)
Apparently this is not all that uncommon and it is frequently see in small dogs like Rocky. All of the symptoms fit Rocky exactly, although before we had not known what it was. It might have been a fluke thing that the week Mike brought him to the vet it was particularly bad. We had first started noticing that Rocky was limping on the leg back around the time I went to Disney World and my Mother-in-Law was babysitting him, which would have been around the time that he was 7 months of age which is the disease commonly sets in. We had just assumed that it was something with his knee and we were planning to ask the vet about it at our next scheduled visit, since he did not appear to be in any pain other than some skipping when he walked. However it does seem that the limping and skipping has gotten worse gradually over time. Now that we know what it is every time we see him limp on that leg it breaks my heart. We have noticed that he does not put any weight on that leg at all anymore. And the doctor showed us how much smaller his affected leg is than his other leg.
There was good news and bad news, the good news was that with surgery Rocky will make a full recovery. The surgery to correct this is extremely successful especially in the small dogs and when they are younger. The bad news is that it will be very painful for Rocky, they essentially have to remove the dead part of the bone, they are removing a significant part of his leg bone and there will be nothing put in its place. This is what an xray of a dog that has this disease looks like before and after the surgery.
Then came the conversation afterwards do we call other animal hospitals and see if they can perform the surgery for cheaper. In the end we decided not to, we felt very comfortable with this surgeon and the facility. The surgeon told us he has performed over 200 of these procedures, its not like we were shopping around for a better price on a car, we were talking about the welfare of our 'child,' and as much as we joke about it but we only want the best for him. I'm worried enough about the surgery. When we were scheduling the surgery and I was asking about who will be with him afterwards. He has to stay overnight the first night since he will be on very strong pain medication and the receptionist could tell I was already upset about leaving him.
I know I am going to be very upset about dropping him off the day of his surgery. I just feel so badly that he has to go through this and he obviously has no idea and I hate that he will be in so much pain afterwards, but we know it is for the best, and I know he will be fine. I just want him to be healed and back to his old self. As of right now the surgery is scheduled for only a week away, I can't bear to think of him being away from us next Wednesday and in so much pain, but I know he'll be ok. We love our little boy so much!!!Articles: Vet Surgery Central, Pet MD, Televets
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