Animal Health Services offers PennHIP evaluations to assess the quality of the canine hip and quantitatively measures canine hip joint laxity.
This procedure takes about one hour in our office. Your pet will undergo a general anesthesia, then proceed to our digital radiography department where a doctor and technician will take radiographs of your pet’s hips. Once the radiographs are completed, an anesthetic reversal agent is administered and your pet will walk out of the office shortly thereafter.
We will contact you with results of this test within 10 business days or for an additional fee, you may request results within 2-3 business days.
What is PennHIP?
PennHIP stands for the University of Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Program.
PennHIP is a multifaceted radiographic technology (x-ray) for hip evaluation. The PennHIP method of evaluation is more accurate than the current standard in its ability to predict the onset of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease (DJD), is the hallmark of canine hip dysplasia (CHD).
PennHIP is more than just a radiographic technique. It is also a network of veterinarians trained to perform the PennHIP methodology properly and, perhaps most importantly, it is a large scientific database that houses the PennHIP data. The radiographs are made by certified PennHIP members worldwide and are sent to the PennHIP analysis center for evaluation. The resulting data is stored in the database, which is continually monitored as it expands. As more information becomes available, the PennHIP laboratory is able to obtain more precise answers to questions about the etiology (cause), prediction and genetic basis of CHD.
The PennHIP laboratory publishes its findings in scientific journals. Published information is disseminated to all PennHIP members; it is also shared with interested breed clubs and routinely appears in publications within the dog fancy.
To summarize, PennHIP is composed of three major components
|
