Clinical trials of JPS appear to be successful. Dogs that have undergone the procedure have had significant improvement in hip alignment, Mathews says. "After two years their hips are tight. They don't seem to have signs of hip dysplasia, even though they were at risk of developing it," he says. He's even performed the procedure on his own Labrador retriever which appeared to be at risk of hip dysplasia.
Early detection of hip dysplasis is key, he adds. "Most young dogs don't show signs of clinical hip dysplasia, or the owners don't notice until the dog is a year of age, and then it's too late to do this procedure. The hope is that veterinarians and breeders will learn that this procedure is an option, and screen their dogs."
There are at least two other corrective surgical procedures for hip dysplasia now used. One, called a Triple Pelvic Osteotomy, was adapted from a technique used on humans. It involves cutting the bone surrounding the hip socket from the joint, rotating the joint for a better fit, then plating the bones back together. This technique also is used in young animals, but requires extensive surgery.
The second option is total hip replacement, a permanent and costly alternative for older animals that have already developed arthritis secondary to hip dysplasia. This procedure costs up to $2,500 per joint.
"I got to thinking maybe there's something we can do to affect the growth of the pelvis that would give us the same result, without major orthopedic surgery," Mathews says. "The ideal procedure would be something that is minimally invasive and would take care of the problem before dogs developed arthritis -- essentially, it would keep them from developing the arthritis. So it had to be something you could do in a young animal."
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Contact: Greg Thomas, NC State University News Services
greg_thomas@ncsu.edu
919-515-3470
North Carolina State University
21-Aug-2000