Elbow Dysplasia
Unlike HD, joint replacement for elbow OA is not a highly successful procedure. There are surgeons continuing to work on refining the implants and surgical technique, but to date, total elbow replacement is not widely performed and carries a large number of risks.
Other surgical options for elbow arthritis in mature dogs include canine unicompartmental elbow replacement (CUE) and Sliding Humeral Osteotomy (SHO); these procedures are also not widely performed and have shown mixed results in clinical patients.
It is important to realize that while surgery often provides improvement in lameness in dogs with all forms of elbow dysplasia, surgery will not be a curative and long term management of arthritis will be required.