Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you!
I just got home and Bella is exhausted and still woozy from the sedation. She has no interest in eating. She hasn't eaten since last night, because they thought they would sedate her for the xray.
The doctor at Penn was wonderful. She said she is appalled that the comment: "A dog with hips like this should be put down" on a website that is trying to educate people. She said there are alot of supportive measures and surgeries being done now and it is now rare to put a young puppy to sleep because their hips are bad.
Bella is not a candidate for the TPO surgery because her acetabulum (the cup where her femur is supposed to fit tightly) is too shallow. (The TPO surgery is where the pelvis is reset so the cup better fits around the femur. It has to be done before arthritic changes take place, it's usually done on 4 months to 12 (possibly 15) month puppies. That is why it is important to get the dysplasia diagnosis early. This surgery is usually successful).
So Bella will be treated with anti-inflammatories as needed and Cosequin (Glucosamin and Chondroitin for dogs).
The chance of a dog with dysplasia evident on xray developing severe symptoms is 40%. So 60% of dogs with hip dysplasia do not go on to exhibit severe symptoms. No one is sure why one dog gets so affected and the other dog with a similar xray does not. Although Bella is showing symptoms now, she said maybe she will not get worse (symptom wise).
If she does get worse then a hip replacement can be done or a femoral head osteotomy (FHO). If needed, the doctor seemed to favor the FHO for Bella because she is a small dog (44 pounds) and it works better for small dogs and because recovery is a little easier and it is cheaper and has less chance of complications than the total hip replacement.
I feel so fortunate that I have you all to come to and you all understand how I'm feeling. So, again I thank you all for your wonderful support and caring.
Now I really can't sleep:
