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Legge- Perthes Disease It is a spontaneous degeneration of the head of the femur that can lead to collapse of the hip joint. The precise cause is not known. Histology shows that damage to the blood vessels going to the head of the femur, but not why this occurs.A hereditary predisposition is considered likely in dogs but not proved. Legg-Perthes disease is a relatively common problem in smaller breeds of dogs. He susceptible breeds are toy breeds and terriers and these breeds have a higher incidence of Legg-Perthes are Manchester terriers, miniature pinschers, toy poodles, Lakeland terriers, West Highland White terriers and Cairn terriers. Most affected dogs are 5-8 months of age with a range of 3-13months. Lameness is usually gradual in onset over 2-3 months. It is a weight bearing lameness with occasional periods where the leg is carried. Only about 1 in 8 dogs are affected on both sides. Conservative treatment with rest and pain relief is effective in a small number of cases but the treatment of choice is to operate to remove the end of the femur which forms the hip joint, this then forms a false joint and takes away the pain, to give a pain free dog. |
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