Any vets on here??

[Kieranglen]

Hello, got the sad news today that our little boys (hes 5) 6 month old collie pup has really bad hip dysplasia, now we are in a tough spot of what to do. We have had 1 vets opinion and waiting on a second, all options are looking expensive but will they actually cure her or just prolong her? Her xray attatched and any help or thoughts are very much welcomed

 

[Buchan]

@srvet is your man here

 

[WH308]

Really sorry for you and your lad, I didn’t realise Collies were prone to hip displasia. Just shown the x-ray to Mrs .308 (vet) and she says that it is a candidate for bilateral hip replacement. Nothing to be done until it’s skeletally mature, but should be looked at by the specialist now. Ball park figure would be £3k per hip (depending on many factors) and the post surgery recovery is usually very good.

 

[Jon P]

Hello, got the sad news today that our little boys (hes 5) 6 month old collie pup has really bad hip dysplasia, now we are in a tough spot of what to do. We have had 1 vets opinion and waiting on a second, all options are looking expensive but will they actually cure her or just prolong her? Her xray attatched and any help or thoughts are very much welcomed

Sorry to here your news,hope you can find a solution , can I ask how lame the pup is most of the time, a friend of mine has a pup and that just intermittently lame for short periods, then charges around like an idiot, I have thought that may have bad hips , but sound most of the time .

 

[Kieranglen]

Sorry to here your news,hope you can find a solution , can I ask how lame the pup is most of the time, a friend of mine has a pup and that just intermittently lame for short periods, then charges around like an idiot, I have thought that may have bad hips , but sound most of the time .

She just came lame middle of last week and you could tell she wasnt right, but could still out run all 3 labs and heard the children like nothing bothered her, vet told us a large tell tale sign is dogs with it bounce there back legs like a rabbit hopping when running and we noticed this very early on after getting her but didnt think much of it!

 

[Kieranglen]

Really sorry for you and your lad, I didn’t realise Collies were prone to hip displasia. Just shown the x-ray to Mrs .308 (vet) and she says that it is a candidate for bilateral hip replacement. Nothing to be done until it’s skeletally mature, but should be looked at by the specialist now. Ball park figure would be £3k per hip (depending on many factors) and the post surgery recovery is usually very good.

Being a labrador man neither did i, i thought it only effected large breeds but sounds like it can be abit of an issue in collies too. I thank you for taking the time to do that, new hips were mentioned by our vet along with another few options. She will be going to see a specialist when we can get an appointment, we just dont know if these options we have been told about will cure her or if in 5-7-10 years time it catches up with her again

 

[Jon P]

She just came lame middle of last week and you could tell she wasnt right, but could still out run all 3 labs and heard the children like nothing bothered her, vet told us a large tell tale sign is dogs with it bounce there back legs like a rabbit hopping when running and we noticed this very early on after getting her but didnt think much of it!

Thank you for the reply, I will keep an eye out next time I see that pup, that is good thing to look out for .

 

[Kieranglen]

Thank you for the reply, I will keep an eye out next time I see that pup, that is good thing to look out for .

Very easily spotted once you know your looking for it

 

[WH308]

Being a labrador man neither did i, i thought it only effected large breeds but sounds like it can be abit of an issue in collies too. I thank you for taking the time to do that, new hips were mentioned by our vet along with another few options. She will be going to see a specialist when we can get an appointment, we just dont know if these options we have been told about will cure her or if in 5-7-10 years time it catches up with her again

Mrs 308 says the hips will be good until general age catches up with the dog. The hips shouldn’t be the limiting factor.

 

[Selous]

@Kieranglen
Sadly Border collies are frequently affected by hip dysplasia and your pup is quite severely affected based on the radiograph and the hips may even be luxoid (so slack they are dislocated). The following is general advice rather than being specific to your dog as proper examination would be needed to determine the best way to proceed.
There are a number of options but few really good ones. If we start with conservative management with physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and pain relief then some dogs will improve around the age of 18 months of age as joint capsular thickening and infilling of the socket help to tighten up the slack hips and the micro fractures of the rim of the socket heal. Unfortunately not all dogs will improve and some just get worse with time. If this happens then surgery is indicated.
There are two main options for surgery, total hip replacement where the old ball and socket is replaced with a metal and polyethylene ball and socket just like in humans. Hip replacement is normally very successful in over 90% of cases and most dogs will be able to lead a normal athletic life. A good number of bilaterally affected dogs will cope with a single hip replacement. The second surgery that could be considered is femoral head and neck excision (aka excision arthroplasty) where the ball joint is lopped off to prevent bone on bone contact which gives far less predictable outcomes, especially in dogs over 15kg and gives good results in about 40% of dogs and poor results in 30%. Most dogs will function as a pet but may not be athletic.
There are other surgeries that may be considered depending on individual circumstances such as double or triple pelvic osteotomy where the pelvis is cut to allow the socket to be rotated over the ball of the femur. Based on the X-ray I would be surprised if this were an option for your dog as some dogs are too severely affected for this to work.
With regards to costs, I think £3k per hip is a substantial underestimate, but this should be discussed with your surgeon. As an aside, if you do go for a hip replacement be careful who does the surgery. I would suggest choosing someone who has a good track record and who performs at least 12 hips per year as a minimum to maintain competence. Also I would suggest choosing a surgeon who uses the Biomedtrix (most successful) or Kyon hip systems as these have far less problems than the Helica system.
Hope this helps

 

[gixer1]

Absolutely outstanding that @srvet and others are willing to put up advice -fantastic aspect of the SD - I know when my dog was going through some major surgery a 6 years ago it was a huge help to me.

thank you to all the vets who are taking time out to help!

Regards,
gixer

 

[Kieranglen]

@Kieranglen
Sadly Border collies are frequently affected by hip dysplasia and your pup is quite severely affected based on the radiograph and the hips may even be luxoid (so slack they are dislocated). The following is general advice rather than being specific to your dog as proper examination would be needed to determine the best way to proceed.
There are a number of options but few really good ones. If we start with conservative management with physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and pain relief then some dogs will improve around the age of 18 months of age as joint capsular thickening and infilling of the socket help to tighten up the slack hips and the micro fractures of the rim of the socket heal. Unfortunately not all dogs will improve and some just get worse with time. If this happens then surgery is indicated.
There are two main options for surgery, total hip replacement where the old ball and socket is replaced with a metal and polyethylene ball and socket just like in humans. Hip replacement is normally very successful in over 90% of cases and most dogs will be able to lead a normal athletic life. A good number of bilaterally affected dogs will cope with a single hip replacement. The second surgery that could be considered is femoral head and neck excision (aka excision arthroplasty) where the ball joint is lopped off to prevent bone on bone contact which gives far less predictable outcomes, especially in dogs over 15kg and gives good results in about 40% of dogs and poor results in 30%. Most dogs will function as a pet but may not be athletic.
There are other surgeries that may be considered depending on individual circumstances such as double or triple pelvic osteotomy where the pelvis is cut to allow the socket to be rotated over the ball of the femur. Based on the X-ray I would be surprised if this were an option for your dog as some dogs are too severely affected for this to work.
With regards to costs, I think £3k per hip is a substantial underestimate, but this should be discussed with your surgeon. As an aside, if you do go for a hip replacement be careful who does the surgery. I would suggest choosing someone who has a good track record and who performs at least 12 hips per year as a minimum to maintain competence. Also I would suggest choosing a surgeon who uses the Biomedtrix (most successful) or Kyon hip systems as these have far less problems than the Helica system.
Hope this helps

Yes we were estimated £5000 each side for a new hip £3000 for the hip to be rebuilt or altered each side or £1200 for the ball to be removed completely. We are going to meet with the specialist and see what they have to say as this has just been correspondence between our vet and the specialist so far. In your experience how often does it improve if just left until older ? Our vet has said it could improve if left as she developes more muscle

 

[Crowstalker]

It's a sad situation and not something anybody would want to go through, as much as I love dogs there is no way I or a lot of people could afford to spend that kind of money. Hopfully you had insurance maybe that could be an option to cover it.

 

[Selous]

Yes we were estimated £5000 each side for a new hip £3000 for the hip to be rebuilt or altered each side or £1200 for the ball to be removed completely. We are going to meet with the specialist and see what they have to say as this has just been correspondence between our vet and the specialist so far. In your experience how often does it improve if just left until older ? Our vet has said it could improve if left as she developes more muscle

The thing to remember is that it is the functional ability of the dog that determines if surgery is needed NOT how the X-rays look! I have seen dogs with bad hips go on to do really well with physical therapy and medications. Best of luck with this, where are you going to see the specialist? Presumably Edinburgh, Glasgow or Stirling?

 

[CarlW]

I'm sorry you are going through this. I hate to be insensitive but are you insured, @Kieranglen ?

I don't insure my dogs but I know that many do.

 

[gixer1]

I completely sympathise with you, we had a double TECA (total ear canal ablation) performed (basically both ears removed) on our dog 6 years ago and the insurance didn’t cover it and it was fairly high risk for nerve damage and it was a considerable cost. What I will say is speak to several specialists/vets as we had several options and there was over £2000 of difference from one to the other.

No disrespect if anyone works there but the specialist veterinary hospital in Glasgow was one of the most expensive at the time.

I will say that I never hesitated as our boy was 9 at the time (black lab) and he went on to live to nearly 16 in very good health and we were glad we had it done.

Hope this helps,

Regards,
Gixer

 

[Kieranglen]

The thing to remember is that it is the functional ability of the dog that determines if surgery is needed NOT how the X-rays look! I have seen dogs with bad hips go on to do really well with physical therapy and medications. Best of luck with this, where are you going to see the specialist? Presumably Edinburgh, Glasgow or Stirling?

So far we are to see a vet at parkside in dundee but will take it from there, i thank you for getting back to us and providing advice!

 

[Kieranglen]

I'm sorry you are going through this. I hate to be insensitive but are you insured, @Kieranglen ?

I don't insure my dogs but I know that many do.

No unfortunately we dont insure our dogs, never have. Iv always been a strong believer in giving the dog its best life and if that cant be done then so be the end i will not prolong the suffering in any dog. In this instance it is slightly different to one of my working dogs, this is a pet for our son gifted to him by his grandfather and it would devastate him to lose her, i was 25 when i had to put my first dog down and even then it was hard never mind being 5 years old!

 

[Kieranglen]

I completely sympathise with you, we had a double TECA (total ear canal ablation) performed (basically both ears removed) on our dog 6 years ago and the insurance didn’t cover it and it was fairly high risk for nerve damage and it was a considerable cost. What I will say is speak to several specialists/vets as we had several options and there was over £2000 of difference from one to the other.

No disrespect if anyone works there but the specialist veterinary hospital in Glasgow was one of the most expensive at the time.

I will say that I never hesitated as our boy was 9 at the time (black lab) and he went on to live to nearly 16 in very good health and we were glad we had it done.

Hope this helps,

Regards,
Gixer

I thank you for your sympathy, we are certainly going to look into all of our options and speak to as many people as we possibly can!

 

[CarlW]

No unfortunately we dont insure our dogs, never have. Iv always been a strong believer in giving the dog its best life and if that cant be done then so be the end i will not prolong the suffering in any dog. In this instance it is slightly different to one of my working dogs, this is a pet for our son gifted to him by his grandfather and it would devastate him to lose her, i was 25 when i had to put my first dog down and even then it was hard never mind being 5 years old!

That's tough. Your poor son. Best of luck: I am sure you will manage it well as a family, whichever way things go.

My fingers are crossed for you.

Carl