Elbow Dysplasia - ununited anconeal process and more - Page 1

I haven't been here in a while but Sasha was doing well until 8/26 when I noticed a limp on her left foreleg after dinnertime.  Sasha had been running around and playing with my parents Lab so I figured she must have pulled something.  We restricted her activity for a few days but it just kept getting worse.  On day four I took her to the vet who thought it could be one of three things and said that we would need to do xrays under sedation.  Vet thought it could be pano, elbow dysplasia, or an issue with her shoulder (didn't like it when Vet manipulated the shoulder).  

Last Wednesday we had the xrays done and I am typing out the results here, I would upload but the fax is really bad and I have'nt gone over to get the orginal yet.  The xrays were sent to a radiolog specialist for diagnosis.  There could be some typos here because the copy was that bad but the final radiology report shows:

Medial to lateral view of left elbow reveals ununited anconeal process, coarseness of braecular bone in distal humerus and proximal radius and ulna and mild generalized arthritis.

Craniocaudal view of left elbow reveals distortion with possible fragmentation of medial coronoid process. Reactive change is seen where ligaments, tendons, and joint capsule insert in the distomedial portion of the humerus.

Medial to lateral view of right elbow reveals incomplete fusion between anconeal process and proximal ulna, mild variation in contour of the medial coronoid process and mild degenerative change involving the elbow joint.

Craniocaudal view of right elbow reveals subtle variation in contour of the medial coronoid process. Other components of this view are normal.

My vets summary is that she will need surgery on both sides. My vet said that she didn't know what the "reactive change" of the ligaments, tendons, and joint capsule insert on the left side are. Never seen it with bad elbows before and not really sure what it means. Current or prior panosteitis was also noted in the summary from the radiology specialist. I am feeling so bad right now. I pay attention and didn't notice a limp prior to Sunday 8/26 but everything I am reading says that we should have been able to pick this up at 6 months old. I just pray that this delay won't change her outcome. My vet feels that Sasha will have a good recovery due to her age and said that she will be on glucosamine for the rest of her life and pain relief for the short term in higher doses then long term in lower doses if pain is a continuing issue.  

I was able to get an appointment with Orthopedics at University of Pennsylvania Veterinary for this coming Thursday but I would like to know if anyone has faced a situation like this and if you opted for surgery what kind of recovery we are looking at.  I guess I am looking to know whether or not Sasha will suffer after her intial recovery.  I just don't want to make her live in pain.

Thank you

I had a male who had an UAP but we caught it at 5 mo of age. The ortho vet performed a shortening of the unla and the elbow healed beautifully. At one year from sx you could not tell he had a problem other then the leg looked bigger thru the sx site. I placed him in a pet home. I wished I would have kept him though. I did not think he could compete in Schutzund but when I visited once he flat footed jumped over the side of my Ford Ranger into the bed.

Casey James had UAP in both elbows :( He never limped, ever, so I didnt catch it early. When he went in for xrays for his OFA prelimbs at 1 1/2 yrs , I told the vet I had just  started hearing clicking when he walked, coming from his elbows. Xrays showed UAP in both elbows so he needed surgery in both elbows. I had a choice of clipping the fragment that was ununited,  or putting in bolts, a plate and screws . The latter process had to be done one at a time, with months of healing time in between and he was just coming off neck surgery so I couldnt see him facing another year of healing and then another surgery :(  Then there was always the possibility that the bolts screws and plates could come undone. I opted for the fragment being removed. They could do both at once that way. While he was under anesthesia, I had them do a stem cell tranplant to help healing and help for the future. He still doesnt limp, but he still clicks when he walks. He does not  appear to be in any kind of pain. I do give him glucosamine and chondriton every day, along with sardines. I will be giving him adequan series, as needed. If he starts limping, I will do another stem cell transplant.

Good luck and I hope all will go well and his pain, minimal.

Marjorie
http://www.gsdbbr.org The German Shepherd Dog Breed Betterment Registry (a health registry for registered German Shepherds)
BE PROACTIVE!
http://mzjf.com --> The Degenerative Myelopathy Support Group http://www.mzjf.info/hgate Heaven's Gate

Thanks, it's good to hear from people that have gone through this before.  We see Penn this week but it reassuring hearing that your dogs are doing well after this surgery.
Cindy

Good luck for Thursday, hope all goes well, please keep us posted on Sasha's progress

Thanks for all of your well wishes.  I am so upset about all of this.  We followed the vets instructions on exercise/activity and kept her off asphalt until she was six months old and even until 8/26 we limited her to one walk per day on asphalt and only 1 mile.  The vast majority of her exercise was on grass or in the pool.  

I didn't mention it previously but in my research I have found that the father of the dam has this same problem.  You can all yell at me..I know now how stupid I was.  I checked the breeder out with the AKC (now I know that doesn't mean didly squat), the Better Business Bureau, and I did ask her about hip dysplasia which she told me there was none.  I asked about health in general and she told me that all of her dogs were healthy.  Never mentioned the elbow issue in the line though.  I didn't insist on seeing proof of any of the tests and I didn't specificallly ask about elbows..shame on me.  I saw with my own eyes the mother, aunt, and grandfather and all were beautiful dogs.  I didn't notice an issue with the grandfather on either of the visits but you know we were paying more attention to the puppies.  I know there is never a guarantee but the more I think about this the more I feel like the breeder wasn't upfront with me.  I did tell her that I had no intention of breeding and would likely only ever do agility and even at that just for fun no protection work, etc. but still.  If I had known about the issue with the grandfather I would have gotten xrays at 6 months, we could have prevented some of the damage that's in the joint.

I am just so frustrated with this whole thing, seeing my baby suffering is eating at me.  I have been sick to the stomach for days now. I will update once we see Penn on Thursday.  Thanks again for your well wishes.