Without its blood supply, the femoral head begins to deteriorate and becomes deformed and unstable. This produces the clinical signs that we see in affected dogs, namely hip pain and lameness. Bubba's case is particularly interesting because he has both hips affected by the disease. This surgery involves actually removing the head and neck of the femur, which is the diseased portion of the bone. This surgery usually has excellent results in cats and small dogs.
Larger dogs do less well.
Bubba will have both hips operated on next week, and is expected to do quite well. Hip disease is very common in dogs, and usually presents as hip dysplasia and the degenerative joint disease that goes along with it. This type of hip disease is seen most frequently in large breed dogs. Bubba's case shows that smaller dogs can also be affected with serious hip disease. Please contact your family veterinarian about any lameness exhibited by your dog, it may be an indicator of a significant disease.