11/25/2024
Bruce is a 2 year old Mastiff. This summer, Bruce began limping suddenly on his right front leg overnight, and by the next morning, did not want to put any weight on his right front leg. His owner brought him in to the vet, and on exam, Bruce was painful when the right shoulder was palpated, and when the shoulder was extended forward. On x-rays, Bruce had what is called an OCD lesion. OCD stands for osteochondrosis dissecans, and is a common problem in young, large breed dogs where the cartilage on the surface of a joint forms a flap during development, and can then separate from the underlying bone, then causing inflammation and lameness. OCD lesions happen most often in the shoulder in dogs, but can also occur in the knee, elbow, or ankle joint. Fun fact, OCD lesions are also common in young, growing horses - any big animal with rapid growth tends to be at risk.
Once Bruce was diagnosed with an OCD lesion, a consultation was done with the orthopedic surgeon, and surgery was recommended to go into the joint and remove the flap of abnormal cartilage. A quarter-sized piece of cartilage was removed from the joint, and the joint was then closed back up and the skin sutured back together.
After surgery, Bruce was put on pain medications for 1-2 weeks, his activity was restricted to leash walks only for 8 weeks, and Bruce did some physical therapy to help him regain muscle mass and improve joint function after surgery. Bruce recovered well from surgery, and after the initial period of healing, was back to his happy, active self.
