Surgery, rest, or physio??

[Elisa3930]

 My 5yo female whippet/deerhound is limping after rest - xrays showed fragile (big body, thin long legs) arthritic wrists and a bone fragment in the left shoulder.  Orthopedic Vet convinced wrists, I was convinced shoulder.  Did steroid injection in shoulder to test (small amount so wouldn't affect wrists and blur results), limp went away so vet also convinced shoulder.  Prognosis - wait and see and when/if starts limping again arthroscopic surgery to remove fragment.  Still thinks wrists are going to eventually be a problem but no great solution so leaving for now (thought might seek out a physio and maybe some braces and on a diet).  Meanwhile 3 weeks post steroid injection still no limping, small walks then stupidly took her to the dog park yesterday - didn't go wild or anything, normal walk home and then after rest limping really badly.  I assume is the shoulder but kind of looks like she's protecting the right fore leg.  Aghhh what do I do?  Do I rush her into surgery, do I wait and see for a few days, do I go to a physio?  Any advice, or any suggestions on how to tell if she's limping left or right??

Edited March 3, 2017 by Elisa3930

[karen15]

the leg they collapse on is the good one, its taking all the weight. The leg they move through quickly is the sore one.

[Rebanne]

I'd be removing the fragment asap

[juice]

I've watched super vet remove fragments so many times like that , seems to work well .

[Jumabaar]

Is it in the shoulder or in one of the tendons? If it is calcified tendon then I manage medically with regenerative medicine. If it is in the joint then arthroscope for removal. 

[Elisa3930]

Thanks everyone for your advice!!  Karen15 I can see now that it's her right leg thank you!  And I managed to get a video of her limping yesterday which was fortunate since when got to vet she didn't limp!  She's very nervous so won't cry in pain to let you know anything hurts so vet assessment not easy.  Since it's her right leg not her left can't be the shoulder fragment this time, thinks just a coincidental issue with the right arthritic wrist.  Vet thinks this will happen every few weeks or so because the joints are so vulnerable and if it's more right then will fix the right wrist, if more left then will assess re shoulder or wrist and probably do the shoulder arthroscope first (Jumabaar it appears to be an extra little bit of bone in the joint) and Juice you're right the vet said they have a very good outcome.  The wrist surgery comes with 15% complication which isn't great and mostly is infection so not something to rush into but she's only 5 and I don't want to say running and playing is now out for her because it gives her so much joy so surgery may be the best option if continues.  So for now on anti-inflamms, going to physio on Monday for wrist brace fitting, continue her diet and will see...Thanks again for all your help!

[karen15]

if she has a problem with the left shoulder, it could be that she has been compensating on the right leg for some time, hence the issue in the right wrist. I'm not sure if dogs are like horses (I'd say they're similar) but horses also display diagonal lameness. So if the front left is the problem, then they can compensate on the hind right as well. So you'd probably be best to watch all legs for abnormal strides, not just the fronts.

 

glad the explanation made sense Elisa. I'm not the best at working out what's lame but can generally narrow it down to the correct leg LOL