Hip X-rays

[BritneyP]

Anyone want to take a stab at them?

They haven't been sent into OFA or PennHip yet... they may just be looked at by a qualified orthopedic specialist.

I will say that I don't think the positioning is absolutely perfect, but to me the right (actual hip, not the way it looks on the screen) looks better than the left and there is very little subluxation, but the femoral heads do have some flattening.

[Malli]

Thats pretty well what I see, too. You mean the hip that is on the left looking at the screen, right?
My knowledge is pretty limited, and sometimes I can't verbalize what I see, but they don't look all that bad, to me?

[BullyLady]

Yup, left hip is a little shallow, but both have flattened femoral heads. There doesn't appear to be any degenerative joint disease.

[katiek0417]

Yep, both femoral heads are flattened...and there is some definite subluxation on the left hip....

I've seen hips that look worse....however, I will say that these hips don't look too far off from how Cy's look...especially the left one...his left one looks exactly like that....

[SisMorphine]

Britney, why do you insist on posting x-rays of my hips all over the internet???

[BullyLady]

The left hip is not subluxated, just has a shallow acetabulum.

[mnp13]

Britney, why do you insist on posting x-rays of my hips all over the internet???

'cause they is sexay

[BritneyP]

Britney, why do you insist on posting x-rays of my hips all over the internet???

'cause they is sexay

What she said.

[katiek0417]

What she said.

I just didn't know she had a tail

[Mickle]

A nice tail at that

[blabsforbullies]

I hate to be a boogar about it , but I can't make a true assessment about the hips without seeing where the knee placement is (maybe it was a cropped version of the original?). Without knowing where the patellas are, it is difficult to say the true quality of these hips. Even a slight over or under rotation can make a significant change in the reading of hip xrays. Was this dog under general anesthesia? I would agree that both femoral heads appear flattened, with the left being worse than the right. The right femoral head looks a bit more thickened than the left, but that may be positioning. Again, having the patellas in view are essential to OFA and veterinary evaluation of these types of xrays. I don't do Penn Hips (would love to be certified, however ), but I do a great deal of OFA hip radiographs. I believe that the basis of Penn Hip evaluation is based on what the hips look like when they are distracted apart from one another.

There are some mild osteophytes on the caudal pelvis, but that shouldn't cause any osteoarthritis. I cannot see any degenerative changes in the hip joint itself in this radiograph.

[BritneyP]

Alisa, I appreciate your response! I can certainly take another photo of them and repost to include the position of the patellas. Thank you!

[Malli]

yay Dr.Blabs!

[BritneyP]

Oops! Just kidding... I just realized when I looked at the film again that the patellas cut off at the bottom.

Sorry!

[BullyLady]

Dr. Blabs:

Does the position of the lesser trochanter not give you an indication of what position the knees are in?

[blabsforbullies]

Dr. Blabs:
Does the position of the lesser trochanter not give you an indication of what position the knees are in?

It doesn't help me at all, but I am not an orthopedic veterinarian. I do a great deal of OFA radiographs, but that doesn't mean that my opinion is the be all end all of OFA! The lesser trochanter is on the caudal (or backside) of the femur, just slightly placed medially (towards the middle) below the femoral head. If you are rotating the joints, that trochanter is not always seen. The internal rotation when they are in dorsal recumbancy (on their backs) shifts the lesser trochanter to be partially seen, but it is extremely variable, in my experience. When the legs are straight, it can overlap with the pelvis, as well. Even in the xray above, the left lesser trochanter is not as easily identified as the right one. But again, using the patella placement is what has worked for me and what I was taught to do in school and post graduation. There may be other techniques, but I haven't come across any veterinarians that have have shared their ideas with me.

For those of you who don't know what we are talking about, here is a picture of a human femur, as seen from the back side (caudally, for dogs). The lesser trochanter is labeled.



Every dog's bone conformation isn't the same. Individuals within the same breed can have significant differences with respect to bony prominences. Thats part of the reason that we have the patellas sit in the center, so those variances are taken out of the equation.

Generally speaking, it is easy enough to include the stifles in the view with the hips, so the guess work is a nonissue in most cases. For OFA purposes, the stifles must be included.

[BullyLady]

Generally speaking, it is easy enough to include the stifles in the view with the hips, so the guess work is a nonissue in most cases. For OFA purposes, the stifles must be included.

Yes, I can see where that would help! I'm admittedly coming from a weird place, vet tech for a few years and now x-ray technologist. For the x-ray tech we go through really extensive positioning and pathology training. It's not uncommon for x-ray techs to be on par with radiologists as far as positioning and QC goes, it's how we produce films that they like and can read well. Alot (most even) of the skeletal and positioning stuff translates to dogs pretty well, but I honestly don't know if the lesser trochanters do. If that was a people x-ray I would say that at least the right leg, and honestly I think the left one as well, have a fairly significant amount of external rotation just because they are so prominent. The left one isn't as visible but if you follow the intertrochanteric ridge you can estimate where it is. That would make the femoral necks appear pretty foreshortened.

I like being able to converse like this, it makes me feel edu-ma-cated.

[blabsforbullies]

Alot (most even) of the skeletal and positioning stuff translates to dogs pretty well, but I honestly don't know if the lesser trochanters do. If that was a people x-ray I would say that at least the right leg, and honestly I think the left one as well, have a fairly significant amount of external rotation just because they are so prominent. The left one isn't as visible but if you follow the intertrochanteric ridge you can estimate where it is. That would make the femoral necks appear pretty foreshortened.

I like being able to converse like this, it makes me feel edu-ma-cated.

My issue with it is only that there is significant differences between individuals, and if I am going to make a call on whether or not a dog has hips that are adequate for breeding purposes or if it might be the source of pain/discomfort, I won't make that call without those pretty knees in there too!

That's cool about your ed-u-ma-cation! I'm sure you are, by far, the expert on postitioning and such!