What do you see in this hip X-Ray? - Page 1

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture. It's the best I could manage..

I brought my 2.5 year old female (65lbs) in to get looked at, as she exibited some soreness in her rear end during the end of her last heat cycle. Quite concerned I decided it would be a good idea to have a look to see how her hips were. The above image was taken without any kind of sedation or anything and clearly shows she wasn't perfectly lined up, but I wanted to get some feedback on what those of you more experienced with this kind of stuff see.

What would you say these hips would rate as, assuming she was sedated and proper shots taken? Do these look displasic?


image embedded by admin.

What did your vet say? Is that a break in the left socket?

Considering she's 2.5, I don't really see signs of remodeling of the femoral head or HD--but something looks wrong in that socket.

yes

b
u
t


I know enough to know that there are indeed variations in structure purely based on "type" --
in other words -- my vet would evaluate this "differently" based on the dogs genetics --

I know a specialist who would routinely give East German/Czech dogs more leeway-- not in diagnosing the actual displaysia but in functionality --  I'm not explaining it very well - but some dogs may look not soo good on film- but will never be cripple -- they have adequate muscle/strong ligaments to compensate for structural defects.

Is this dog displastic?  to my untrained eye - yes ---- thru the eyes of a Board Certified Radiologist -- I  would still put a couple bucks down on yes, but it doesn't look horrible from here -- especially at 30+ months old.   The sockets seem a bit shallow (to me) and there is apparently  some "remodeling" issues on the right.  



How did I do?  can i pretend to be an expert now?  or just an idiot?



and at some point - you'll tell us what your vet thinks, K?
  

I was told the "break" looking feature was just due to the angle (ie: poor xray). She has no fracture/break injury of any type.

I'm not sure what the term "remodeling" means, or suggests, could someone "school" me?

The 2nd reply suggests that this dog looks displasysic. What makes you suggest that (for the sake of discussion and my education)? The vet agreed, these weren't the best hips for a GSD, but said they certainly weren't bad, and said he wouldn't classify them as displaysic. He did say that in the years to come (ie: 10+) that she'd be in a bit of pain. I do remember mention of the sockes being a little shallow.

She is a very active dog, with strong legs as you might be able to see from her muscle mass in the xray. The problem with her being sore has creeped up 3-4 times throughout her 2.5 years, usually after heavy exercise. She exibits a bit of pain jumping up at night on rare occasion and is a little stiff in the mornings at times. Other than that she "appears" to be fine. I took her in, as I try to be as proactive as I can with her to ensure she has the best chance of overcoming whatever is the cause for my worry..

I just thought I'd see what others think.. Thanks for your replies!

Hips are fine OFA Fair . Her left right on xray lower pelvis appears damaged. Looks malformed or has a piece missing Pelvis is the issue imo not hips

there clearly is a problem with the dog's left hip.  the acetabulum is malformed.  i can certainly see how this would cause
the dog discomfort.  this does not allow smooth movement within the joint. 
pjp

This is a close call; based on this film, I agree with the vet - fair hips for breed and age. IMO the left hip is not a problem. It's the way the dog is positioned and the exposure of the entire xray. If you compare it to the right hip, you can see the same "shading" at the same places, not as obvious.  If she were sedated and positioned better, there may be more luxation and a different opinion, mild HD; the reason why I think it's important to ALWAYS sedate any dog for a hip xray and to insist on better positioning where the knees are visible and rotated inwardly. Without sedation, this dog would probably pass OFA; with sedation, maybe not.  

There is 'hooking' on the Cranial effective acetabular rim, they should be rounded and smooth.   There are changes taking place, for those hooks to have started forming.  I had a dog come back BVA 7.7 with hooks and Femoral head exostosis at 12 months old, his norberg angle was 0.0 but they scored him 1.1 because of the other changes. 

what are the 2 squarish objects by her knees?

Just a normal finding on a hip xray, part of the knee anatomy. You can probably see it on all hips xrays when the knees are included on the film.