Lame/painful Great Dane Dog puppy A Great Dane Dog 3-4 months of age was presented painful on palpation of the left antebrachium - the dog was noted to be painful on the left forelimb on palpation and the left foot was positioned slightly in external rotation - multiple radiographs were made of the limbs. What are your diagnoses?? Craniocaudal views of both forelimbs Lateral views of both radiocarpal regions Lateral view of the left radiocarpal region with the view enlarged Lateral views of the proximal forelimbs with enlarged view of the right elbow Lateral view of the left tarsal region with an enlarged view Radiograph diagnoses
- Retained cartilage core bilaterally - with proximal displacement of the styloid processes (0.5-0.8 mm) showing shortening of the ulna
- Hypertrophic osteodystrophy - destructive zones best seen in the distal ulna and distal tibia - with early calcified soft tissue “cuff”
- Osteochondrosis latens - humeral heads
- Ununited anconeal process bilateral
- Panosteitis - both ulnar diaphyses - more prominent on the right
- “metaphyseal cut-back zone” - both radii
Comments relative to the lesions
- The retained cartilage core lesions have caused minimal radius curvus at this time - however, the proximal malposition of the styloid processes represents only the early shortening of the ulnas
- The lesions of HOD are typical and are identified in the ends of all of the long bones
- The OCD lesions in the humeral heads should be diagnosed as osteochondrosis latens meaning that it is possible for the lesions at this early age to repair forming a normal humeral head or to progress to an osteochondrosis manifesta and a clinically important lesion
- The ununited anconeal process also represents a lesion that can fuse with formation of a normal elbow joint or can remain ununited with development of joint instability and an elbow dysplasia
- The panosteitis is questionable, however, a marked difference in the opacity of the medullary cavities of the radius and ulna suggests confirmation of the lesion – the lesion was more obvious on the left
- The “cut back zones” are characterized by periosteal roughening in the metaphyses adjacent to the growth plates and are a physiological process required to quickly decrease the cross sectional area of the radius and ulna
Comments relative to the patient
- The patient presents several problems in how complete should be the radiographic study in a puppy of a large/giant breed with clinical signs at an early age
- Realize in this puppy the hips were not evaluated radiographically
- The shoulders and elbows must be radiographed at an older age (>6-8 months) to determine the final status of the suspect lesions
