laurie etc Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Anyone have a dog that has injured the round ligament in a hip? My 15 month old dog, Gotta, has been gimpy off and on since Friday on a hind leg. Crate rest and controlled walking have helped, but she is still "off". Took her to my regular vet yesterday -he tested for a cruciate problem (negative)and she was negative for Lymes, etc. Took a couple of xrays, and although there were no obvious major abnormailites, he thinks she may have injured (strained?) the round ligament of her right hip, and possibly has a crack in the cartilage where it attaches. She had normal preliminary hip xrays done 3 months ago, so we know this is a new finding. I'm making an appointment with an orthopedic specialist, but in the mean time wondering if anyone has had a dog injured like this and what the treatment, prognosis, outcome were? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 I can't help with that specific ligament, but I do have a suggestion. In addition to an ortho vet, I'd visit a rehab vet. My oldest girl partially tore a groin muscle and wasn't properly diagnosed until a rehab vet examined her and started testing/measuring specific ranges of motion. That vet also came up with a brilliant rehab plan (part of which was to hobble her back legs for stability) and she was able to return to competition as sound as she had ever been. I had actually gone to the ortho vet first and he said he really couldn't do anything since it was soft tissue and recommended the rehab guy. Oh, you'll get a laugh at this, when I would walk Sierra around agility trials hobbled, some people thought this was a new hind-end awareness exercise...LOL. Good luck and let us know what you find out!! -Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurie etc Posted August 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Originally posted by rtphokie:I In addition to an ortho vet, I'd visit a rehab vet. ...Oh, you'll get a laugh at this, when I would walk Sierra around agility trials hobbled, some people thought this was a new hind-end awareness exercise...LOL. -Laura Thanks! Good suggestion. I want to get a real diagnosis/athletic prognosis first, since my normal vet is pretty much a "country vet" that doesn't deal with very many lameness issues other than the "HBC" (hit by car) and the "ADR" (ain't doin' right) type... (I'm lucky that the top ortho vet in our area is one of our agility students with his Golden) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Devils Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Get a referral to the ortho vets out in Manassas. They are actually ortho surgical referrals but they are quite good. MY acd just had TPLO surgery with Dr. Morris and we get to meet the infamous Dr. Bradley on Friday for her recheck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Yep, when Jill's hip was dislocated and I was considering hip replacement (thank goodness for a great rehab vet--I didn't have to go the surgery route), Dr. Bradley in Manassas is one name I heard over and over again as the orthopedic specialist to see. That said, I would imagine that if you have an orthopedic specialist who is affiliated with a vet school, you'll be okay. Oh, and vet rehab specialists are certainly capable of diagnosing when regular vets, etc., miss something. It was the vet rehab specialist who finally diagnosed Jill's partial cruciate tear when everyone else just assumed the intermittent lameness was a result of the aforementioned hip injury. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurie etc Posted August 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Actually, Dr Bradley is the agility student I was talking about He's super! He's already told me to bring Gotta and her xray tomorrow night when he comes to agility class - so he's going to take a look then, and if I need to go to Manassas to the clinc, we'll set something up for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 lucky dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Devils Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 I have met that golden and that dog will sucker you into a treat in a heartbeat with those eyes. Good luck, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oreo's mom Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Not sure if this is the same injury. Oreo will be going in for surgery next month on one of his rear legs. His tendon slips off the kneecap or whatever it is called in dogs, which draws up his leg and makes him hobble around. My understanding is the surgeon opens the leg/kneecap and re-positions the tendon and staples the leg back together. I'm dreading it, but decided it's best to do this while he's still young (3 years old). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurie etc Posted August 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 WHEW! Dr B looked at Gotta tonite - He did not see anything real obvious other than her "skipping" gait, and couldn't find a source of pain. He did not think the hip or stifle were involved. The abnormality my "regular" vet pointed out on the xray is normal - which really makes me think about getting a new vet, but that's another issue... Gotta will rest for another week - and leash walk outside (she's ok to be loose in the house as long as she doesn't play/run). On the way home I realized that this reminds me of a Golden I had who carried a rear leg sometimes after jumping, and she had a sciatic nerve injury...hmmm....maybe the next visit will be with the chiropractor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted August 11, 2005 Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 My vet twice sent me to a specialist because she saw something during an exam that looked abnormal - and the specialist had a good laugh over it as it was quite normal. Apparently it is quite common for that to happen. But for us it was not a waste of money. The first time it involved a severe injury (multiple torn tendons in the toes) that I felt better under the specialist's care. Our vet saw what she thought was a "floater" in the foot also - and referred us to the specialist for the surgery she was sure was needed. I do think poor Dr. Cowan got a phone call over that one because if our dog hadn't been a working dog, she would have done the (totally unecessary) surgery herself. But the care we got there for the actual injury was unsurpassed. The second time we went running to the vet because our dog was totally missing disc catches she used to hit easily - I was sure she was going blind!! Once again, Dr. Cowan saw something in her eye - she was certain it indicated CEA. I was horrified. I had exactly two Border collies then and they both had CEA! Was it the water? We went to the eye specialists and he cleared her eyes with flying colors - the "columba" my vet had seen was a perfectly normal occurance. It wasn't a waste, though, because it was only $30 and I got CERF papers for her. It's funny, though, that a similiar thing happens with specialists - there are specialists' specialists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Good luck Laurie with finding the cause. I've been through similar "searches" with mine and always ended up going to multiple vets. And ironically, all searches ended at rehab vets (two different ones in fact). Last dog I had with a skipping gait problem turned out to be nuerological, not orthopedic, but hers was a very rare case! Continue to think outside the box! -L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise Wall Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Alls I can say is make sure they check her toes if it keeps up. After spending a small fortune on Mick last year -- MRI of the stifle, etc., it ended up being a toe injury, something three vets, including two specialists, had missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Watch Debatable Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 One of my dogs was gimpy after resting---he'd stand up favoring a hind leg. He'd warm up, the limp would go away---and then it would show up again, say, the next morning... The vets thought at first that he'd torn his ACL, but it turned out to be a rupture of the long digital extensor tendon. Our (well-known, busy) surgeon said he'd seen this injury just twice in twenty years. Dog had arthroscopic surgery and the leg is 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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