Legg - Calves - Perthes Disorder

Treatment: Medical therapy involves restricting activity and administering analgesics. Some dogs may improve, but surgery generally produces the best results. Surgery involves either a femoral head and neck excision (or removal of the head and neck of the affected femur) joint repair, or a total hip replacement may be done, depending on the size of the dog and the availability of prosthetic parts (i.e., ball and socket joints).

* On a personal note: Our own dog, P.D., whose pictures and X-ray are seen on this webpage, was found to have Legg - Calve - Perthes disease. PD was 8 or 9 months old when we identified his problem and sought medical help for him. Its onset was insidious and it wasn't until we noticed that he was in pain and started hobbling that we took him in. He had seemed fine up until that point. Before he had surgery, we were very concerned about his condition and wanted to make sure that we did the right thing. We did a lot of research on the different avenues of treatment for him, and we finally decided, after consulting with our veterinarian, that the femoral head and neck excision surgery was his best bet. We were told that his recovery period would be about 8 months, however, P.D. had other things on his mind, like chasing our cat and playing ball with his new little Pug sister, Ginger. Within a matter of a few days to weeks, he was obviously on the mend and was pain free. He's a little over a year and a half old now and seems to have made a complete recovery and you can hardly tell he had a hip problem at all.

Legg - Calves - Perthes Disorder
Legg-Calve-Perthes disease is a disorder in which the head of the dog's femoral bone (the bone which fits into the pelvis of the dog) necroses and crumbles because of a lack of blood supply to it. (Necrosis is the process where tissue, muscle, organs, or bones die). The cause of the decreased blood supply is not clear, however, genetic factors may be involved. It may in some cases be injury related, such as a dislocated hip caused by an auto accident or a fall from a height. This disorder is most commonly associated with toy-breed puppies between 4 and 11 months of age. Large breed dogs are occasionally affected. In 15% of cases, both hips are involved.
A standard X-ray of the hips and pelvis establishes the diagnosis of LCPD. This is an X-ray showing how the bone looks different in the leg with LCPD (on the right) as opposed to the good leg. See how less defined the head of the femur is in the blue circle as compared to the head of the other femur.
Signs of this disorder are severe lameness and sometimes inability to bear weight on the affected leg. The joint loses some range of motion as well. The affected leg may be shorter than the opposite normal leg. In the picture on the left, you can see how the Pug is forced to lean into the affected hip because of the muscle's weakness. In the picture on the right, you may be able to notice how the left foot is barely touching the floor compared to the right rear foot..
Muscle wasting is pronounced and appears as an indentation in the meaty part of the hip. The joint loses some range of motion as well. The affected leg may be shorter than the opposite normal leg. In this photo you can see how much more "meaty" the right hip is in relation to the left hip.
Treatment: Medical therapy involves restricting activity and administering analgesics. Some dogs may improve, but surgery generally produces the best results. Surgery involves either a femoral head and neck excision (or removal of the head and neck of the affected femur) joint repair, or a total hip replacement may be done, depending on the size of the dog and the availability of prosthetic parts (i.e., ball and socket joints). * On a personal note: Our own dog, P.D., whose pictures and X-ray are seen on this webpage, was found to have Legg - Calve - Perthes disease. PD was 8 or 9 months old when we identified his problem and sought medical help for him. Its onset was insidious and it wasn't until we noticed that he was in pain and started hobbling that we took him in. He had seemed fine up until that point. Before he had surgery, we were very concerned about his condition and wanted to make sure that we did the right thing. We did a lot of research on the different avenues of treatment for him, and we finally decided, after consulting with our veterinarian, that the femoral head and neck excision surgery was his best bet. We were told that his recovery period would be about 8 months, however, P.D. had other things on his mind, like chasing our cat and playing ball with his new little Pug sister, Ginger. Within a matter of a few days to weeks, he was obviously on the mend and was pain free. He's a little over a year and a half old now and seems to have made a complete recovery and you can hardly tell he had a hip problem at all.
This is a picture of PD immediately after surgery when he got home. It was heart wrenching in the beginning, but it wasn't long before we knew we did the right thing.	This is a picture of PD today, almost a year since his surgery was done. Now you can barely tell where his scar is and we think that in a few more months you won't see it at all.
This was an excerpt from the book, "Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook" 3rd Edition by James M. Giffin MD & Liisa D. Carlson, DVM.