Advise on Legg-Perthes Disease

[Ellie May]

LCP isn't life or death. It is very serious though. If it's present and no surgery is done, things have to be monitored regularly. If not, there is a high risk of the femur cracking, major arthritic issues setting in, etc.

When it's being monitored in puppies (because sometimes crate rest can reverse the issue if they are young enough), xrays are done monthly.

Any signs of pain would indicate a need for surgery. In fact, UPenn would say that physical presentation is considered secondarily anyway. Xrays are very important with this disease. If an ortho surgeon has said to do it, then there is no reason not to.

[Cherie6446]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

Did you also read this?

Legg-Calve-Perthes disease

I read this now. I don't want Zoey to suffer and will do what is best for her.

[DJDB]

I'm interested to know how much the surgery is. My cat had this, but never had surgery. She also had LP with both legs, so I did get her surgery for that ($700 each). She wasn't in pain, but I never thought I'd have her as long as I would have had she been "normal", and I assumed she would get arthritis at an early age. I was told by a local vet they could operate at a cost of $6,000.


I'm happy to hear that for dogs at least the prognosis after surgery is good. I pray that Ozzy stays healthy. Good luck with Zoey. My cat always walked kind of funny (looked bow-legged) but otherwise was happy and jumped around better than most cats. She was really small, too, which the vet said was nature's defense for her since her hips couldn't have carried a bigger frame.

[Valenie]

My skin baby has this I did not know our fur babies could have it too..... He goes to PT 4 days a week and back to shrines in 2 months to see if its helping if not we are surgery bound... Wishing you the best!

[shell820810]

Toby had his hip joint removed at 9 months for this. He had hydrotherapy for maybe 8 weeks after the surgery and by the end you wouldn't know there was anything wrong. Because he wasn't weight bearing on it for a while before the op, he had a lot of muscle wastage, that he won't get back. For that reason I would say get surgery ASAP- it is very very rare that it will improve without surgery. He is now 2.5 and is much faster than Maisie, no limping or holding the leg. The only thing I would notice is that the other leg seems to twinge at times but I think this is because it is taking more strain now. I got it xrayed a few months after the op to make sure he didn't have it in the other hip too. It's the best thing I did for him.he would have had pain since he was a small pup but nothing anyone could pinpoint, but then about 4 weeks before the surgery he held the leg up almost 24/7.

[Cherie6446]

I have decided to do the surgery. I was hoping that maybe acupuncture and joint meds would help but I guess not. I hate to put her through this
but the chances of it not progressing are slim to none. Thanks to all of your comments and suggestions.
Cherie

[ladyjane]

I am sure she will be fine. Please keep us posted.

[Cherie6446]

I was told by a local vet they could operate at a cost of $6,000.

Today I went to the specialist and we discussed hip replacement - just like people - not the regular cut off the bone surgery. I was quoted $6000 just as you stated. My question is - was this quote for hip replacement or the regular cut off the head/neck bone surgery?
Cherie

[shell820810]

I am in the uk and Toby's surgery was £300/£400. Approx $600. I was told a hip replacement would be much more expensive than removing the femoral head. I was surprised how reasonable it was.
Sorry that doesn't help with what your $6000 relates to

[tjdmom]

A friend of mine had a dog who had this surgery. Actually I met her at a Yorkie meetup and at the very first meet, her dog was limping and you could see he was uncomfortable. I think he was 7 or 8 months old. She took him to the vet shortly thereafter and he was diagnosed with Legges Perthes which I believe has to be confirmed with an xray. I think she said the surgery was around $800 but I know it depends on the individual vet and of course, where you live. Her boy is fine now. I've seen him several times since and I would never be able to tell he had a problem.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Cherie6446

I was told by a local vet they could operate at a cost of $6,000.

Today I went to the specialist and we discussed hip replacement - just like people - not the regular cut off the bone surgery. I was quoted $6000 just as you stated. My question is - was this quote for hip replacement or the regular cut off the head/neck bone surgery?
Cherie

I am quite sure that is for a hip replacement. Specialists usually charge around $2,000 - $3,000.

[DJDB]

For my cat, if I remember correctly, $6,000 was hip replacement for both joints. They were going to remove the hip balls, fix up the sockets, and replace the balls (can't remember with what). I thought I might have a bionic cat at the end of it!

[shell820810]

My vet said for a small dog a hip replacement isn't really necessary. The hip will repair itself and be held in place with tendons and ligaments etc. It's quite amazing! I am not sure what you will benefit from a hip replacement, apart from a much larger bill!

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by shell820810

My vet said for a small dog a hip replacement isn't really necessary. The hip will repair itself and be held in place with tendons and ligaments etc. It's quite amazing! I am not sure what you will benefit from a hip replacement, apart from a much larger bill!

Also, I don't think hip replacements are as successful with the small pups. FHO surgery is very successful in small dogs.

[Ellie May]

My vet hates hip replacement, esp. in small dogs. She said it's fraught with complications. FHO is generally preferred for the littles...