Need opinions on Elbow X-rays - Page 1

Hello all! Back in August, I took my male (13 months at the time) in for some xrays on both hip and elbows; I did not submit them to OFA (mistake) instead, I had a full radiology report done. Lolking back at the xrays, I am very concerned about the left elbow. I posted them in an OFA group on Facebook. 4 people think it may be normal, 2 think DJD1-2. Would love some opinions, getting them redone on tuesday, submitting them to OFA this time.

 

Sorry if the formatting of this post is wonky, new at posting on this site and on a smartphone.

Radiology report on elbows(forgot to add to OP, could not edit OP properly on phone)

 

Nothing to do now .. OFA at 13 months means nothing ( except you wasted your money and time if you had submitted them ). At 24 months the results are recorded in the official OFA books which mean just as much as Who's Who lists that you must pay to be on. I don't really understand what it is you are worrying about?? OFA results on hips and elbows are only recorded after the dog is 24 months or older when the X-rays are taken. Best to forget OFA results until your dog turns 24 months and I have learned to forget the OFA forever. By all means have your dog X-rayed if it makes you feel better or you think the dog has a problem but the OFA has no power or solutions to problems .... the OFA is just involved in making money and justifying their existence.

Why not send the X-rays that you did for this report in to OFA for a read. It won't be official but you will gret another opinion for just the cost of submitting them.

The report did not say anything bad about any of the joints.

 

Pano 'lesions' are highly unlikely to become a permanent
fixture, if that is what you are worrying about, as the dog
will almost certainly 'grow out' of that problem by the time
he is 2 / 2.5 years - if indeed he ever shows any clinical
symptoms. Don't think OFA concerns itself with panosteitis
info when grading joints - US members correct me if I am
wrong there ?

Hi everyone, thank you for the replies. OFA accepts prelims before 24 months however these are not "official readings". I am not concerned about pano. What I am concerned about is what looks to be an osteophyte. Here is the area I am concerned with:

When compared to the right elbow (presumed normal) it looks significantly different.

 

Sorry for not being clear in the first post!

I want to re xray to show of it has progressed, and to be able to sleep at night lol. Also, I do not know if it is only a discoloration from pano. There are a lot of great resources on this forum, thought I would get some insight before tuesday as it is constantly on my mind.

I am wondering if the radiologist missed this on the xray...cannot seem to get in contact with her....I may just be paranoid .

Was he limping? I am not an expert on elbows but I do not see anything I would be too worried about, maybe others my see something.

Be sure you tell radiologist that the new x-rays are going to OFA...Maybe they will give you the best that they possibly can and do not accept them if they are not what you want...

Good luck Nan

Nan,

Yes at the time the xrays were taken he was limping and having shifting lameness Though, it was clear he was sore in his elbow as when the vet pinched it he yelped.

He has not limped since, nor has had visable elbow pain.

I have very slow internet and the pictures are not all loading. Please excuse me if I say something stupid because I missed something. I cannot read a report. I have all blank boxes. I'm a little confused; are these old xrays or new ones?

I'd say the dog likely has pano from the splotchy look to the film but I don't see anything scary in the elbow joints themselves. If nothing changes, I'd say they're normal. Now, with pano comes muscle atrophy, and THAT can cause degeneration due to wear and tear, but so far, so good, I'd say.

The left elbow may or may not pass depending on the mood of the panel that day. I think it's partly the angle making the appearance of an osteophyte- that may be what people are scaring you about. Even if it's degeneration, OFA allows it if under 1mm, I believe. I have seen some I was sure were over 1mm and they went normal though. And some that were barely visible that failed...unfortunately, OFA opinions are not a perfect science.

Whoops...other pic and report just loaded.

Ok, sorry for the redundancy.