Any advice on surgery for OCD (Osteochondritis dissecans)

[fschsdmm]

Hi everyone. Mason was diagnosed with OCD in his left shoulder when he was 6 months old and his vet wanted to try him on meds first before putting him through surgery. He was on metacam for 8 weeks along with crate rest. He is going to be 1 in 2 weeks and he's had another flare up and back on the meds temporarily until after his birthday and his regular vet returns from vacation. I've read as much as I can on this disease and a lot of sites say surgery is worthless, but I'm really worried about serious problems down the road. Is there anyone here who has had this experience and if so did the surgery help? Also should I be limiting his activity even when he isn't having a flare up? He is such a sweet and loving guy I was hoping to do more training so he could take his CGC test and get into some therapy work, but I'm afraid to get him involved in any training or even let him hang with his dog friends in the neighborhood for fear of future flare ups. The vet did tell me that even with the surgery it never goes away, I'm hoping someone on here can give me a positive story following surgery or any advice on preventing future issues. The vets office was super busy today so I couldn't get into much detail. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks!

Alisha

[brunie's mom]

Sorry to hear about Mason.
It's really hard to have a young dog so limited in even being allowed to be a normal dog...no much of a life.

Have you read this thread?
http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/vet...dysplasia.html

There may be some information there.

I would not be fooling around with a regular vet for this type of thing...and would see if you can get in to see an orthopedic vet. They may have some suggestions.

Good-luck to you and Mason.

Gina

[fschsdmm]

Thank you so much for the link. That thread gave me some good ideas for treatment and prevention of future flare ups. I am going to discuss some of these ideas with Mason's vet following his surgery. As far as his dr. is concerned, he is the best I've seen. He actually stopped the ortho vet from operating on his elbow when the problem was his shoulder! I'm sure you can imagine how horrified I was. It's been a frustrating process to say the least. It is great to have this forum for some good advice and support. Thanks again!

Alisha