Odd Results From X-Ray ~ Pos Osteo

[greyhounds1234]

Ok...brief history of how we got here.

 

A week ago Saturday, Bay limped once. I thought maybe she had just laid on that side and was a little stiff when she got up. We decided just to keep an eye on things and see if it was a one time occurence or something else.

 

It didn't happen frequently over the past week but it did happen several more times and we made an appointment with the vet for today to have her checked out.

 

The blood work came back perfect but the x-ray showed a very small shadow about 2 inches down from her shoulder. It was on the very edge of the bone but didn't look like there was bone involvement....it didn't look like the obvious osteo-type bone. The vet went ahead and did several more x-rays to see if this mystery shadow had metastized and it hadn't.

 

So, we either have very, very early osteo or we don't. She was afraid to do a needle biopsy because she wasn't sure she could hit the shadow.

 

The game plan at the moment is for her to contact Dr Couto and see what he thinks of this and go from there. Needless to say, she doesn't want to remove a healthy leg if it isn't osteo but then again, if it is osteo, we don't want to wait 'til it's too late. We will do another x-ray next Monday and see where we are and hopefully, she will have heard back from Dr Couto by then.

 

Any one else have this type of x-ray show up on their dog? I'm sort of grasping at straws here and any insight to this is welcome.

[tbhounds]

I share your concern. Is your pup lame on the same leg you radiographed?

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

Is there anyway that scar tissue from a pulled or dropped muscle could show up this way on an x-ray?

I really have no idea but figured it's worth asking about.

[greyhounds1234]

I share your concern. Is your pup lame on the same leg you radiographed?

 

Yes. We didn't go ahead and check the same place on the other leg because it wasn't causing problems....but that's certainly an idea to do. If she were consistantly lame I would have had her at the vet last week. So far, it's just been a step or two once a day or so.

Even the vet said if she were a smaller breed of dog osteo wouldn't come to mind so readily but with greyhounds it's just the first thing to think of.

[HopeForHounds]

That is odd, and I am praying that it is not osteo. So glad you are getting Dr Couto to look. My friend recently had 4 vets in the office convinced her hound had osteo. Dr Couto and Dr Dyce reversed that and said in this case it was new bone formation. The hound in question had a really bad (3 bone) break almost 3 years ago.

[greyhounds1234]

I asked the vet to do what she had to do to get through to Dr Couto...if she had to pay to get a membership...just tack it on the bill and we'd settle up next week.

 

Bay never raced and as far as I know, has never had a broken bone. We lost one of our greys to osteo back in February and it just seems to be so common in greys. I had to take a tranquilzer before we took her in for x-rays.....I was a wreck.

[greyhounds1234]

Is there anyway that scar tissue from a pulled or dropped muscle could show up this way on an x-ray?

I really have no idea but figured it's worth asking about.

 

I don't know either but I'll email the vet with that suggestion.

[macoduck]

Is there anyway that scar tissue from a pulled or dropped muscle could show up this way on an x-ray?

I really have no idea but figured it's worth asking about.

 

I don't know either but I'll email the vet with that suggestion.

Healing from scar tissue could look like white areas since generally it is similar to bone spurs at stress areas. Calcium deposited at the site of a strained muscle.

I have spurs on the upper/lower portion of both my heels and on both knees from misalignment stress.

 

My Gracie has one on a shoulder muscle. We had her xrayed because of a limp. she gets some rimadyl only as needed if she been running hard.

[mychip1]

Prayers!!!

[packmom]

Game plan is a good one. But they may not be able to give you a definite answer either. Arwen had part of her liver removed July 30th. All the oncos say she has hemangiosarcoma but the pathologists still cannot confirm it after 4 sets of slides. we have caused quite a lot of "discussion" down there. She's being treated anyway because that is a time bomb I won't wait for.

Edited September 21, 2010 by packmom

[mom2four]

Hi there, our Jamey had a shadow on his bone, not the usual osteo-looking X-ray, but it DID end up being osteo. Please email or PM me and I'll share his X-rays. We had 2 months of uncertainty before his leg broke (at the vet) and his leg was amputated. He is a 15 month survivor at the moment.

[GeorgeofNE]

I took George in with a limp, and the first thing the vet said was, "Because this is a Greyhound, I suggest we go ahead with x-rays immediately, and repeat them in two weeks, and possibly again in two weeks."

 

Apparently the pain (limp) can start before there is a clear sign in the x-rays.

 

I don't believe other veterinarians need to pay to speak with OSU; I hope not. Did she take digital x-rays? I understand they're much better and they can be emailed.

 

We were lucky--neither the first nor the second set of x-rays showed anything, and it was "just" LSS in my dog's case.

[Guest bigorangedog]

Yes, Whitey's rads looked like this.

 

I'm afraid that given the location and the fact that it's a greyhound, osteo is a very strong possibility. BUT, I would first have an experienced radiologist look at the rads (sending to OSU is a good idea, if you can do it quickly), and I would also xray the other side same location to compare.

 

Is she painful when palpated on that spot? Sometimes the vet can tell whether the pain seems to be over the bone, or over muscle, or over a tendon insertion point, etc.

 

But don't wait on this. The earlier you catch it, the more likely that amp/chemo can get you a good result.

[Guest ChasesMum]

our George had his films cleared twice my our vet, but he was in severe pain. (Fentanyl pain patch and codeine) on a hunch she sent them to the oncologist in Calgary and he was only 85% sure it was osteo (in the shoulder joint), but very very early. he got 4 mos post amp. I don't know if it was a shadow or what, but it wasnt usual, I do remember that much...

[greyhounds1234]

Looking at the info from the vet, she said "Bay's left shoulder radiographs show a suspicious lesion along the back side of her left humerus up near her shoulder. The lesion is not very large~ only approx 3cm by 1/2cm and at this time does not appear to be lytic".

 

When the vet poked on the spot, it was tender. When I just rub her shoulders, I get no reaction. I am giving Bay 1/2 a 100mg Rimadyl twice a day and I have tramadol on hand just in case. She's eating just fine and so far has kept up the same level of activity....lots of snoozing with an occasional stroll around the back yard.

 

I borrowed the xrays thinking I could get the spot to show up on my scanner but that didn't work out so well. Everything shows up nicely except the spot, of course. There just wasn't enough contrast.

 

We will definately get pictures of her other side Monday. Bay wasn't being cooperative for radiography and the vet didn't want to fully sedate her since Bay had eaten a few hours before we took her in.

 

I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for a possible amputation. Already figured we'd need to buy some rubber backed throw rugs for the kitchen since the floor is tile. There is only one step from the door outside to the patio so she should be able to navigate that without much trouble.

 

This is gonna be a long week.

Thanks for the input so far. I'll certainly let the vet know what you all have told me. She listens well

[joejoesmom]

 

I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for a possible amputation. Already figured we'd need to buy some rubber backed throw rugs for the kitchen since the floor is tile. There is only one step from the door outside to the patio so she should be able to navigate that without much trouble.

 

 

I am so sorry you might be facing osteo. I will pray for a good report from Dr. Couto and others.

 

If it is the worst news, I would be happy to help you get ready. I would recommend rubber backed carpet runner available by the foot from Home Depot and most hardware stores. It is less expensive than throw rugs and will have no seams to trip over. Not very nice looking though.

 

 

Jane

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I SO hope it is NOT osteo. How old is she? She is so pretty.

[greyhounds1234]

 

I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for a possible amputation. Already figured we'd need to buy some rubber backed throw rugs for the kitchen since the floor is tile. There is only one step from the door outside to the patio so she should be able to navigate that without much trouble.

 

 

I am so sorry you might be facing osteo. I will pray for a good report from Dr. Couto and others.

 

If it is the worst news, I would be happy to help you get ready. I would recommend rubber backed carpet runner available by the foot from Home Depot and most hardware stores. It is less expensive than throw rugs and will have no seams to trip over. Not very nice looking though.

 

 

Jane

 

Yes, you're right of course. I meant runners...not throw rugs...oops.

Can't really say that I care what they look like...living with 3 greys and 6 cats...we keep the furniture covered in sheets/bedspreads/blankets so a few odd runners will just add to the lack of decor.

[greyhounds1234]

I SO hope it is NOT osteo. How old is she? She is so pretty.

 

Oh thank you! She will be 11 in Feb. She was our first foster and didn't last but a month in her adoptive home because greys just didn't fit in with their lifestyle. When she was returned, she just came back to us and she fits in fine here. We've had her since 2002. She's my velcro girl.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I am hoping with everything I have that it is not osteo... I HATE OSTEO! (our dog is dying of it as we speak, mine and BorzoiMom's shared special girl, Rose) So I can't help but just get so emotional about it.

[greyhounds1234]

I am hoping with everything I have that it is not osteo... I HATE OSTEO! (our dog is dying of it as we speak, mine and BorzoiMom's shared special girl, Rose) So I can't help but just get so emotional about it.

I've been following along with Rose's story. She's just stunning. I keep telling myself that we all are going to die sometime..that it's just a part of being alive..but somehow it's so darned painful when it's our critters. They just never live long enough.

I'm sorry for you and Rose that she is dying. Damned osteo!

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Thanks. Her story is doubly sad since she's had only a year of loving care, she came from a large rescue of abused and starved Borzoi... and just when she was about to reach her ultimate, full glory, coat, healthy, and joy, she gets osteo. Sigh.

[Guest racergirl435]

1234, good luck to you and your hound. Osteo definitely sucks and too many of us on here have lost their hounds to it. I hope it's not osteo in your case.

 

Not to digress, but Fast your Rose did reach her full glory...with you. The only glory she needed was the love and attention you've given her since you've had her. She is one very luck dog.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Thanks for the sweet note. All of us who love Rose are lucky to know her. Her spirit cannot be held down. She has no idea she needs to take it easy.

[NeylasMom]

What type of x-ray equipment does your vet have? Can she take high definition x-rays? If not, strongly suggest you do the recheck x-ray and the x-ray of the other leg at a specialist who can. Those images can be blown up and give amazingly clear, detailed images even when blown up, and digital copies can be easily sent to other vets for additional opinions.

 

My regular vet missed the lesion on Neyla's shoulder despite signs pointing to it being osteo. We went to the specialist 2 weeks later anyway and he looked at my vet's x-ray and saw something she hadn't, but because they hadn't positioned her well, hte trachea was running behind the spot and obscuring it so he wasn't sure. He took a new x-ray with his equipment, as well as one of her healthy shoulder and the lesion was plain as day, and in shocking contrast to the totally healthy bone in her other shoulder. Because he was an ortho, not an oncologist, he recommended a recheck in 2 weeks but I sent them immediately to Dr. Couto thanks to recs from folks here and he immediately confirmed osteo with a high degree of confidence.

 

I really hope that this isn't what's going on with your girl, but I strongly recommend the best x-rays you can get emailed off to Dr. Couto immediately. You can send them yourself. If you want to see Neyla's x-rays, PM me your email address and I will forward them. You can see the dark shadow where bone has been eaten away, as well as the bright white spot where the lytic growth is. This is in her front left shoulder. FYI, she was lame only intermittently, but when she limped she was quite painful. But we are now over 4+ post dx w/holistic and palliative care (we opted not to amputate for various reasons) and she hasn't limped since those first couple of weeks when we were diagnosing her and is doing really well.

 

One other thought - you mentioned the spot is close to the edge, it may be worth throwing chondrosarcoma into the mix. Chondrosarcoma affects the cartilage in the joint rather than the bone and is much less aggressive in terms of metastases so supposedly if you remove the tumor you can have several (3-4) good years.