At 4.5 months old “Cash’s” owner Vickie became concerned that his front legs where not looking normal. Cash seemed to feel fine and the local Vet thought he would grow out of the issue. Vickie was not convinced and went searching for answers on the web. There she found the Great Dane Lady and OrthoVet, LLC. Vickie opted for a supportive set of splints and a change of diet to hopefully help Cash. This seemed to help for a short time but Cash kept growing out of the splints which caused problems with pressure sores. At that time OrthoVet referred Vickie to a Veterinary PT & Rehab Therapist. At 5.5 months old he was diagnosed with HOD. (Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy) is a bone disease that usually affects young, rapidly growing large breed dogs. Cash was put on a strict diet and a therapy schedule to try and slow down the joint calcification. Unfortunately they could not slow the bone growth down and Cash had his first surgery at 7 months old.
They removed part of his Ulna because the Ulna growth plate closed while the long bone growth plate was open. This caused the long bone to “bow” over the Ulna. Cash had to have surgery on both limbs. OrthoVet fabricated custom splints to help support his legs during the rehab. process. The splints were modified after about 2 weeks to allow more function.
When Cash was 1 year and 2 months old Vickie had the Orthopedic surgeon do a correction on each front limbs (one limb at a time). This was done to completely stabilize the joint spaces. Since Cash is a Dane and weighs over 130 lbs. Vickie felt like this was necessary.
The below photo shows Cash after all of his surgeries. It has been a long process for this big dog but now Cash enjoys a normal active life.
If you would like a complete and detailed version of Cash’s story or more on HOD please contact us at www.orthovet.com
