# Legg perthes vs hip dysplasia



## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

what are the differences in these two things?

how would they show up differently on an xray?


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Legg Perthes generally happens to pups. It causes the blood supply to be cut off at the joint disintegrating the bone if not attended to. I think hip dysplasia can happen mostly to older dogs which is a deformity or subluxation of the bone/socket causing damage to the surrounding tissue. I think both can be determined by radiology and examination. Deb, you can find all kinds of info on these two problems on a search.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Cosy said:


> Legg Perthes generally happens to pups. It causes the blood supply to be cut off at the joint disintegrating the bone if not attended to. I think hip dysplasia can happen mostly to older dogs which is a deformity or subluxation of the bone/socket causing damage to the surrounding tissue. I think both can be determined by radiology and examination. Deb, you can find all kinds of info on these two problems on a search.


thanks yeah i read up on it on youtube and on a few other sites but they seem really similar on the xray situation so was curious what major differences are as seems like they both move out of socket due to femoral head as they cut off femoral head for legg perthes but hip dysplasia looks like it moves around loose in socket and the socket disintegrates. I read about the blood supply for the legg perthes dogs - it just seems in small dogs these are both real close in symptoms 

i see it come up from time to time and was curious about the two


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Hip dysplasia is a malformation of the head of the femur and a poor 
"fit" in the socket. Legg Perthes is an avascular necrosis (ie. the 
blood vessels going to the head of the femur die, which results in 
destruction of the femoral head.

http://www.VeterinaryPartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2529

I just received this explanation and thought I would pass it on


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## Matilda's mommy (Jun 1, 2005)

Cosy said:


> Legg Perthes generally happens to pups. It causes the blood supply to be cut off at the joint disintegrating the bone if not attended to. I think hip dysplasia can happen mostly to older dogs which is a deformity or subluxation of the bone/socket causing damage to the surrounding tissue. I think both can be determined by radiology and examination. Deb, you can find all kinds of info on these two problems on a search.


 :goodpost: your so right right Brit,Matilda was 7 months old when she had the surgery for Legg Perthes, the vet explained it to us just like you posted it


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Matilda's mommy said:


> :goodpost: your so right right Brit,Matilda was 7 months old when she had the surgery for Legg Perthes, the vet explained it to us just like you posted it


how did your dog act with this? Did you take any videos? It seems it is usually in dogs under a year - My friend is fostering a yorkie that has this that is 10 mos old


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## Matilda's mommy (Jun 1, 2005)

Matilda first started limping abit, I checked her paw, thought she might have stepped on something, within a day or so she was lifting her leg while walking and wouldn't put any weight on it, no I don't have a video, didn't think of making one


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Matilda's mommy said:


> Matilda first started limping abit, I checked her paw, thought she might have stepped on something, within a day or so she was lifting her leg while walking and wouldn't put any weight on it, no I don't have a video, didn't think of making one


ok yeah as noticed in the videos on youtube the limping and leg lifting, skipping, bunny hopping. 

It seems with hip dysplasia it is more slow to get up or lay down. 

this yorks leg is a little shorter than the other back leg. Vet told her in xray it was ok so told her to take the dog to orthopedic and it was confirmed legg perthes from xray - not sure how vet missed it in the xray 

how was the recovery?


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## Matilda's mommy (Jun 1, 2005)

I had to go back and read my old threads lol
Her surgery day was Dec. 16th 2005, she was on a pillow on our laps for a week, she had a great deal of pain at first. The incision was 2 inches long I do have pictures, the vet used staples to close the wound. It was 10 days before the staples were removed. I made a thread on Jan 4th 2006 and in the thread I said she had been putting weight on her right leg but I also remember we walked less then 1/2 block and by the end of the walk she was lifting her leg. Many months went by before she stopped limping and favoring her leg.
It's been almost 5 years now, she's fine, once in a great while if she has walked a long distance I will see a slight limp.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Swimming a dog is often advised after Legg Perthes surgery. It's gentler on the leg. The yorkie I cared for with it would swim in the sink full of water for a few minutes a few times a day and working up the time until walks worked better.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

thanks so much for the information to pass on to my friend


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