Pennhip's Views On 'preventative' Hip Surgery

[espinay2]

Quite often these days vets are using PennHIP x-rays on puppies to justify hip surgery to 'prevent' possible hip dysplasia and arthritis from developing.

I was very interested to read PennHIP's views on this.

Taken from the FAQ page of the PennHIP website: http://research.vet.upenn.edu/Default.aspx?TabId=3234

My vet has advised a surgical procedure to avoid the development of arthritis in my dog later in life based on the results of his PennHIP examination. Should I have my dog operated on?

Answer: Until appropriate randomized and controlled clinical trials are designed and conducted, it is premature to use the Distraction Index as an indication for hip surgery, either remedial or preventive. At present several different surgical procedures (Triple pelvic osteotomy, Juvenile symphysiodesis) have been advocated by some veterinary surgeons to prevent the development of arthritis (degenerative joint disease) later in life in dogs with excess joint laxity (loose hips). None of these procedures have undergone scientific clinical trials that have proven THEIR EFFICACY in preventing the onset or slowing the development of arthritis in dogs with hip dysplasia. Although WE ARE not fundamentally against the use of preventative surgical management of dogs with excessive hip laxity, WE FEEL THE WHOLESALE CLINICAL USE OF PURPORTEDLY PREVENTIVE SURGICAL PROCEDURES BEFORE ADEQUATE TESTING IS CONDUCTED, IS UNJUSTIFIED. WE ADVISE CAUTION! It may be that in the future when good evidence exists to support the efficacy of these procedures their use will be encouraged.

[Fordogs]

I have had the ethics of this procedure out with at least 4 veterinarians who wanted to perform JPS on puppies that I have bred and 3 were practicing in the ACT the other on the central coast.

Thankfully all of my puppy buyers have contacted me after their vet spoke to them about Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis and asked why the procedure should be done, especially as their puppy comes from lines where all dogs on the pedigree have excellent hip scores (which of course they showed to the vet) who still advocated they go ahead with surgery

These days every puppy goes to a new home with a 2 page warning about vets who offer JPS.

There is also another thread I started here about 3 years ago.

[goldielover]

We have vets in my area advising their clients (particularly those with larger breeds) to have this surgery, even when the hips are excellent. This is such a concern as people want to do what is best for their puppies and trust their vet to do the right thing. I also have a long discussion with my puppy people regarding this, but will also print out the recommendation by Penn Hip to include in my puppy pack.

[espinay2]

Yes I have a cautionary info sheet on it too and it is a very worrying trend. It seems that many puppy people are being 'guilted' into the procedure when there really is no need. I really loath the practice . The PennHIP statement will be a good addition to the info about using caution if this is recommended I think.

[Sayreovi]

This topic makes me so angry.

I hate the way some vets manipulate people like this, I had it tried on me when my girl was a puppy and she has since been scored 2:3.....not bad for a dog that was meant to have severe HD by the time she was 12 months and would require a total hip replacement :

[Holmesy]

I am glad to say that my vet was more cautious with this sort of approach. After getting my dog x-rayed while she was being spayed (only 7 months old) and being advised, after referal to a Hip and Elbow specialist, that she has Hip Dysplasia. Knowing that my breed (Bullmastiff) is quite prone to this problem, I wanted to make sure what my options were as far as being pro-active or reactive surgically speaking, and my vet recommended that as she is still growing (Bullmastiffs take 2-3 years to fully grow), to just keep an eye out for any pronounced changes or obvious pain or discomfort. My vet also recommended that I could possibly have x-rays done every 6-9 months to keep track of her hip progression. Neither my vet, nor the specialist that she consulted, recommended any type of surgery. My dog is now completely on a BARF diet and an exercise routine as recommended in the "Grow your puppy on Bones" book by Dr. Billinghurst (Thanks to a very helpful mastiff breeder recommendation).

I guess my point is that, thankfully, not all vets want to get their scalpels out first and ask questions later.

[Dogsfevr]

There is always a new fad they move on too .

Whilts its worrying that vets do this it always shocks me how many pet owmers don't ask questions,research & get there vet to give both sides & in detail.

We had a scenario with a different clinic that offered a service that best suited our older dog.

The vet told us the biggest load of **** .

We acted dumb & said we needed to discuss it at home & then phoned the next day asking if the vet could put what he recommended in writing so we could better understand the issue ,choices & why the dog needed it,

Vet refused so we went in to speak to said vet who soon realised he wasn't speaking to some idiot that would jump at his claim .

Some poor person in our shows would have either PTS the dog or went ahead with surgery that wasn't required at all.

What i think will be interesting is if people have this procedure & owners decide to make claims against the breeder in small claims court where things will stand .

[dannyBC]

I have had the ethics of this procedure out with at least 4 veterinarians who wanted to perform JPS on puppies that I have bred and 3 were practicing in the ACT the other on the central coast.

Thankfully all of my puppy buyers have contacted me after their vet spoke to them about Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis and asked why the procedure should be done, especially as their puppy comes from lines where all dogs on the pedigree have excellent hip scores (which of course they showed to the vet) who still advocated they go ahead with surgery

These days every puppy goes to a new home with a 2 page warning about vets who offer JPS.

There is also another thread I started here about 3 years ago.

My biggest concern with PennHip is there isn't enough research on all breeds to show that laxity actually causes all breeds the same risk level of developing issues....... I have dogs with high Pennhip scores & low-ish AVA scores that are now over 8yrs ++ & are just fine...... I too have had Vet Pennhip score puppies & then scare the hell out of them... Grrrrr more research needed...