My dog has detached shoulder cartilage, no limp. Is surgery needed?

Generally that little piece of bone will eventually scar down to the joint capsule and will not cause much of a problem. If it becomes a chronic source of lameness, it can likely be arthroscopically removed. The thought is that maybe there was some arthritis forming and a small piece broke off. It could also be the result of trauma or a developmental condition causing a flap of unhealthy bone to form of the femoral head that eventually broke off. Please post again if you have any further questions.

Hello, sorry to hear about Shiro. He does indeed have hip dysplasia as is evident in his x-rays. This diseases does indeed require surgical correction, but only if Shiro seems to be in discomfort. Hip Dysplasia results in secondary osteoarthritis which in the long term can impact your pets ability to walk and overall comfort. There are two different procedures with regards to surgery, an FHNO were we remove the femoral head and neck or a total hip replacement were we replace the ball and joint with metal implants as they do in humans. Ultimately, the best contributor to decreasing osteoarthritis in dogs is by maintaining an overall low weight and lean body condition score. Obese pets with hip dysplasia tend to do worse. Now, with regards to surgery, it does not need to occur now, typically with either surgery, we want pets to be fully developed so that their bones are fully grown and they have developed all of the musculature. I would recommend asking your veterinarian to refer you to an orthopedic surgeon who may be able to better assist you with Shiro's hips dysplasia. Hope this helps and best of luck.

I think it would be worth a surgical consult if you're able. That doesn't mean you have to do the surgery but can help you make an informed decision. They may also have a physical therapy option that could be helpful with or without surgery.

A surgery at 12 can be hard on the body, especially if Charlie has any underlying health issues, but consulting with the surgeon and running some tests such as bloodwork can help you determine if it is still a viable option for him or not. An exam in person with additional testing is best to try and figure out if this is possible. At home, limiting activity to kennel-rest and leashed-only walks may help rest the muscle and joints some to provide some pain relief and limit further injury to the joint, however a complete workup from a vet in person is a good idea to further assess the situation and see if more can be done.

Hi. There is an abnormality in the cores of the bone near shoulder. Cancer is a possibility, along with bone infections (bacterial or fungal), or inflammatory diseases. Unfortunately with her being older, cancer is higher on the list then younger pets. Based on this xray, we can't say for sure. I would recommend sending these x-rays to a radiology specialist, which your veterinarian can do. A bone biopsy can be done as well to determine if the changes are consistent w cancer. Good luck.

Unfortunately this is a difficult questions to answer. Dogs with elbow dysplasia (part of which can be a fragmented coronoid process) tend to develop degenerative joint disease and arthritis later in life regardless of what is done at the time of diagnosis. I believe studies do show an improvement in outcome for dogs that have arthroscopic surgery to remove the fragments, and since Nitro is so young I would think the pros for him would outweigh the cons. While he may still develop some arthritis later he would hopefully have more time pain free if surgery is performed. If you have not already consulted with a surgery specialist I would encourage you to at least make an appointment to discuss all the pros and cons with an expert: you can then make a decision about whether or not you want to go forward with surgery.

I do see some abnormal opacity in the elbow joint where the arrow is, so I would have to agree with your vet here. It is not possible to zoom in on x-rays that are copied here however, so its best to get a copy of the x-rays on a CD and then having them reviewed by a 2nd opinion doctor that way. Or you can ask your vet to send these to a radiologist who is well trained on picking up on small details that the untrained eye can miss. Another option is to treat medically for a minimum of 2 weeks, and if there is no improvement, then you know that is not just a muscle sprain or mild injury, and that elbow dysplasia is more likely the underlying cause. Doing a process of elimination, while still treating the pets pain, is a common thing that owners do when they are looking for a more conservative approach. If this is indeed elbow dysplasia, then I would recommend a referral to an orthopedic specialist if you want to pursue treatment. Treatment for this condition is often surgery. Poor guy. I hope that you can get him some relief soon. Best wishes and take care!