Hip Scoring, sedative or GA? Which is better?

I had Sol's hips X-rayed today for them to be submitted to be scored and my vet used a sedative. A friend of mine wants her dogs hips checked and all the vets in her area will only do it under a general anaesthetic. She has been told that GA carries less risk as vets tend to keep a better eye on the dog? The vet I took my boy to is my own vet and I know that people travel to use him as he is very good and also because (I think) he uses a sedative rather than a GA. I have been told that using a GA can result in the score being higher but I am not sure how this is possible?

Does it really make a difference? What do people on here think? The estimate for Sol is VERY good, would it really have made a difference if he hadn't been sedated and instead had been completely out? :smt102 :smt100

hi at the vets i work at we normally do our hip scoring under ga the main reason for this is because the x-ray must show the hips perfectley straight and aligned this means you have to extend the legs and rotate the whole leg inwards to place the ball completley in the socket we tend to use ga cos the dog is perfectley relaxed whereas with some sedatives they can move or tense up when the legs are extended,with health and safety being as serious as it is nowadays you are not supposed to have somebody in the room whilst the x-ray is taken(this takes about roughtly 60secs to do) and obviously the better the x-ray the easier it is to score it cos the comittee who do the scoring only meet up once a month so you do not want an x-ray returned to you because of poor quality! hope this helps you

Yes, dogs under GA are monitored carefully, however a GA is not without risk and I wouldn't let this be the deciding factor in whether to opt for a GA or not. Some breeds are known to have problems under GA and as such their owners tend to opt for sedation. If I were to have mine hip scored then they would be sedated as this can be reversed in the event of any problems occuring. At the end of the day neither method is without risk and it is down to the individual to do what they feel is best for their dog.

Mine was done under sedation - excellent score, well predicted by the vet who has a fabulous reputation for scoring under sedation.

I have no plan to breed ... if sedation wasn't an option I would not risk a GA for hip scores

when tob was scored it was ga.
leo i was told don't do well under ga but he was fine, the vet told me its the same stuff they give humans etc.
i think they only use sedatives if the dog could have other things going on which would increase the risks etc.

when hol is scored she will have the same as tob as like murphy dog states they need to be clear or theres no point in them going through it.
you have to also remember dogs are only scored once and the score will never be changed.

Teagan was under GA when she was x-rayed for hip scoring

Having had my lot done under both GA and Sedation I would personally definatley go for the sedation, My own vets would only do the hips under GA so I had at that time no alternative, malamutes have prblems with GA afterwards they were extremely drowsy til the next day, and were not feeling too great to say the least,and it was very nerve wracking for me, but I had my younger two done recently at my friends vets under Sedation, totally different experience, they were sedated, x rayed and 20 mins or so later walked out of the vets on their own steam, later in the day they were running round the garden, totally recovered, so for me sedation is definately the better option. and I might add you dont need to have the hip scoring at your own vets you can use any vet you want for this, so that mean you can look round for a vet that will sedate.

Mo

Muddiwarx, out of curiosity, who was the vet that you used?

I thought you could appeal the score but the dog can't be x-rayed again for the scheme so the appeal is based on the orgiinal x-rays?

I didn't actually worry about the quality of the X-rays because my vet has a very good reputation for hip scoring and estimating the scores. I didn't know though that they can still move with some sedatives, I always assumed they would be completely relaxed just not completely out He showed me the X-rays afterwards and the looked very clear to me, but then I suppose they would LOL

Yes that is correct