My dog is limping, X-rays show a hole in her femur. What's wrong?

Question

My dog started limping a week ago and progressively got worse but showed no signs of anything wrong before that and has no fever. Vets took X-rays and looks like a hole in her femur with what looks like a sunburst around it. They are unsure if it's a tumor, infection of the bone or blastomycosis. Any ideas? Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Female | spayed | 3 years and 3 months old | 70.5 lbs

Rebecca, DVM · Accepted Answer

I'm so sorry for Maggie's troubles. Unfortunately there is no way to differentiate between cancer, infection, or fungal disease in bones by x-ray alone. Maggie likely needs a a biopsy of the bone to determine what it is. Other diagnostic testing such as radiographs are ultrasounds of other parts of her body to assess for disease, full bloodwork can potentially give your veterinarian more clues as to what this may be. But for a definitive diagnosis biopsy and potentially culture of the bone may be necessary. Best of luck to Maggie and you; thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

My dog is limping, X-rays show a hole in her femur. What's wrong?

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