Our visit to the orthopedic surgeon went pretty well. She examined the x-ray and spent a lot of time moving Truman's leg around. Based on the x-rays, she did not think it was hip dysplasia. She said his hips are symmetrical and, without knowing, she couldn't pick out which one was the lame one based on the x-ray so that makes dysplasia unlikely. She also said she has seen bullies with hip dysplasia and finds they are very resilient to the condition. She hasn't ruled it out completely but did explain that it is best dealt with early and if it is dysplasia, he is a candidate for JSP surgery, which fuses the growth plate in the pelvic bone, encouraging the hips to grow in place.
She suspected panosteitis. Although she could not see it on the x-ray, she did think it was a possible cause for the pain in one leg and it's sudden onset. She also said it is common in large breed pups going through growth spurts.
She said the worse case scenario is he fractured his femur on the growth plate near his hip bone, which would block off the blood supply and be very serious. She said she did not see this on the x ray and did not feel any evidence of a fracture in her exam.
So I was instructed to wait a week to see how things progress and if he continues to improve, we will wait more and see how it goes. If he does not improve or gets worse, we will get a second set of x rays to help further determine what's going on.
I want to say thanks for all the support from everyone - I'm new to the board but it helps to have people who know what I'm going through. It's very much appreciated!
Truman (pic attached) says "Woof! Thank you!"
