Elbow Dysplasia

So you just were told that your beloved dog has elbow dysplasia, and all you can think is “What the heck is that?”.  It could be one of a few things because the term covers any condition that causes arthritis in the elbow.  We don’t really know what causes elbow dysplasia.  The most common kind is a fragmented coronoid process or FCP.  Your veterinarian may have used that term, but what does that mean?  Well it means that there is an abnormality within the joint that causes a small piece to fracture, or break off.

Elbow dysplasia is mostly diagnosed in large to giant breed dogs, although smaller dogs can be diagnosed with it.  Most dogs show front leg lameness before they are one year old although younger and older dogs have been diagnosed.  The signs your dog may show are being short strided, or taking small steps, difficulty getting up or lying down, progressive lameness, or swelling.  Your dog may show one or multiple signs.

Your vet will usually take radiographs, otherwise known as x-rays.  The disease may not show up in early cases though, so your vet may send you to a specialty hospital that has other diagnostic tools.  At Long Island Veterinary Specialists we have a multi-slice CT and a 3Tesla MRI that can capture excellent images in a small amount of time.  We also have gait analysis and medical infrared imaging that can provide a diagnosis.   With gait analysis we have the dog place his front legs on two separate plates that are installed in the floor, the information from that can tell us how much pressure the dog is placing on each leg.  As you know if one of your feet or legs hurt you tend to put more weight on the leg that doesn’t hurt.  Since dogs are can’t tell us which leg hurts this proves to be a valuable tool.  Medical infrared imaging, also called thermography sometimes, measures the amount of heat given off a body part.  Inflammation which is one of the signs of elbow dysplasia will give off a warmer color than normal tissue.

In mild cases of elbow dysplasia your pet may be given medications, such as anti-inflammatories, glucosamine, and omega-3 fatty acids, similar to what you may be given by your doctor.  But if it is more advanced or your dog is young surgery is going to be recommended.  Since it will lead to arthritis in your young dog it is better to address it before that happens.  At LIVS we perform the surgery most of the time arthroscopically which is minimally invasive.  It is similar to the surgery you or someone you know might have had for a torn meniscus in the knee.  We do recommend life long supplementation of glucosamine and omega 3 fatty acids. 

How your dog is going to do long-term is variable and is based on how far along the disease is and what you decide to do.  Since this condition leads to arthritis early intervention leads to the best outcome.  Surgery does improve how your dog will walk, but you can expect some arthritis, but not to the extent that would happen without the surgery.