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Name: Lea Kreszinger dr.med.vet.
Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD) Country: Croatia
is an inherited, developmental Affix: Small animal veterinary clinic
condition that involves a lack of Kreszinger, Sesvete, Croatia
conformity between the femoral Website: klinika-kreszinger.com/

head and acetabulum and Email: kreszinger@gmail.com
invariably leads to osteoarthritis.

Laxity of the hip joint has been recognized as Canine hip dysplasia is an osteoarthritic
a constant feature of CHD and it appears to disease that causes mild to severe pain and
have an hereditary basis. CHD, in contrast to variable degrees of disability in affected dogs.
a similar disease in human beings, cannot be CHD disease mechanism is multifactorial with
diagnosed at birth as it develops during the genetics, nutrition and environment playing
growth phase as a consequence of several a major role in its clinical expression. Hip joint
factors leading to joint laxity and incongruity pain associated with dysplasia probably results
like collagen disease, imbalance between from a combination of several mechanisms.
hip adductor and abductor muscles, sloped Mechanical instability stimulates nociceptors
orientation of the acetabular roof, overweight. within the stretched round ligament and joint
Hip dysplasia is a dynamic process and all the capsule directly resulting in pain. Bone on bone
Hip separate acetabular hip dysplasia from femoral molecules that initiate the inflammation. There
friction generates pain. These processes result
aspects of the disease depend on the time in
in tissue damage, exposure and release of tissue
which it is evaluated. Generally it is possible to
hip dysplasia, both leading to hip laxity and
is a wide variety of treatment, both conservative
joint degeneration.
and surgical, and understanding the course of
the disease helps veterinarians make decisions
on the appropriate management for each
Most cases of CHD involve acetabular hip
Dysplasia dysplasia which is characterized by excessive individual dog. between joint laxity/
slope of the dorsal rim of the acetabulum
and its secondary osteoarthritic changes.
association
The
subluxation, and degenerative joint disease
This excessive slope could be caused during
growth by an insufficient magnitude or incorrect
(DJD) has been accepted. Affected dogs usually
direction of forces pushing the femoral head
into the developing acetabulum which becomes develop joint laxity after 3 months of age and
radiographic DJD after 5-6 months of age. The
shallow. During weight bearing the femoral vast majority of dogs with CHD, particularly
head is laterally deviated by the inclined plane those with milder forms of osteoarthritis, show
of the sloped dorsal acetabular rim stretching no significant clinical signs until the geriatric
the joint capsule which becomes inflamed and years, if ever. If and when clinical signs develop,
causing microfractures of the cartilaginous the clinical significance of these clinical signs is
labrum. Femoral hip dysplasia is characterized unpredictable, particularly in the milder forms of
by abnormalities in the femoral neck length, the disease. Because development of the DJD is
inclination and anteversion which lead to latent, early diagnosis in puppies based only on
uneven loading of the articular surfaces, joint clinical examination and conventional ventro-
incongruence and joint capsule stretching. dorsal view is unreliable.

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