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This is "Nuby", a 3 year-old spayed female German Shepherd that was presented for a hind limb lameness. Radiographs were taken and it was determined that "Nuby" suffered from unilateral hip dysplasia. One hip joint was essentially normal, while the other was deformed and arthritic.

View Pictorial 1              View Pictorial 2

On the radiograph above, the arrows outline the abnormal hip joint. The head of the femur (thigh bone) is flattened and remodeled. The hip socket (acetabulum) is shallow and the hip is poorly seated. Compare with the normal hip joint on the other side. Various options for "Nuby" were discussed ranging from medical treatment for pain and inflammation to total hip replacement surgery with a prosthetic joint. It was ultimately decided that a surgical procedure called a "lateral hip resection" or "Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO)" would be the most practical in this case. Lateral hip resection surgically removes the abnormal portion of the joint. 

The left  image is of the surgical incision immediately after the surgery was completed. The center image shows the removed "head and neck" of the femur. The right image is the post-operative radiograph showing the operated hip. The removal of the diseased joint eliminates bone-to-bone contact and therefore pain. There are still strong muscle attachments supporting the operated hips and many dogs regain near-normal use of the affected limb.