She may have Osteochondrosis Dissecans ( anyone experienced this)

[alixb]

Hi My girl went to the Vet yesterday. They did Xrays & they think its Osteochondrosis Dissecans, def. a small piece of cartilage or bone that has come loose in the joint of a young dog causing inflammation & pain. Anyone have any experience with this. Sunny is 2.

[Annette47]

I told you what I know in response to your other post, but didn’t realize she is only 2 - I had thought she was much older for some reason. At that age, it might be worth trying the surgery to see if it makes her more comfortable, although she will most likely still develop arthritis. They should be able to do it arthroscopically.

[Dennis Thomas, DVM]

OCD is a very common problem in Labs. As with your dog, we find it in young dogs that have a persistent front limb lameness that won't resolve with conservative treatment. It's good that they were able to pick up the cartilage flap as it can be difficult if you don't know how to position the dog for films. The gold-standard for treatment is surgical removal of the flap and debridement of any changes in the joint. The consensus is that if surgery is not done, there will be a continuation of pain and a progressive onset of degenerative disease. Many years ago an article came out about using Adequan injections as an effective method of resolving the problem. I worked at a Labrador specialty practice in Texas and we treated a lot of them successfully using the injections for a longer period than recommended. If I recall, we had success with the ones that had erosions but had not developed a flap. A while later, a report came out the said the Adequan injection therapy did not work, but we definitely saw it work. The most important thing to remember is that if there is a flap, it will continue to get worse until the flap is removed. The surgery is not that difficult but getting in and out of the shoulder joint can be a bit of a challenge unless you do a lot of them. It can happen in other joints but the shoulder is the most common. The same treatment protocol is recommended for the stifle as well. Good luck and make sure your dog is on a joint supplement.

[janedoe]

Zo had that at nine months in association with elbow dysplasia. She also had a bone spur that had to be ground down. The surgery went well and we had her in physical therapy once a week for a couple of months. She has done beautifully with supplements since and she just turned nine years. Best of luck. I would definitely recommend the surgery. Zo's situation was clearly causing a lot of pain.

[alixb]

Thanks Annette: yup, she's only 2 and I want her to have a long healthy fun, adventurous life.

[alixb]

Thanks so much for all this great information. I am talking to the breeder as well as my Vet. I will get done what needs to be done. I hope if it has to happen it will be arthroscopically. They told me about $5000.00 up here in Canada. What would it be where you are?