My small dog has a broken hip. Is bone removal surgery normal?

If the hip is out of place it will not heal unless it goes back in place and often times that can’t happen because the soft tissue structures are damaged and unable to hold it in place. He will lose muscle mass from not using that leg and pain can affect their appetite. There is a procedure called an FHO that removes the pain and a piece of bone to give them range of motion back in their leg and lets them walk on it again

According to the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (www.acvsorg), results after FHO vary and are highly dependent upon patient size and proper postoperative physical rehabilitation. While many dogs will have varying degrees of lameness, function should improve when compared with preoperative status. After FHO, pets are encouraged to use the limb as soon as possible in a controlled manner. Aggressive physical rehabilitation and controlled exercise to increase hip range of motion are essential for an optimal outcome. It may take up to six weeks or longer after surgery for some dogs to show improvement.

Hello, sorry to hear about Shiro. He does indeed have hip dysplasia as is evident in his x-rays. This diseases does indeed require surgical correction, but only if Shiro seems to be in discomfort. Hip Dysplasia results in secondary osteoarthritis which in the long term can impact your pets ability to walk and overall comfort. There are two different procedures with regards to surgery, an FHNO were we remove the femoral head and neck or a total hip replacement were we replace the ball and joint with metal implants as they do in humans. Ultimately, the best contributor to decreasing osteoarthritis in dogs is by maintaining an overall low weight and lean body condition score. Obese pets with hip dysplasia tend to do worse. Now, with regards to surgery, it does not need to occur now, typically with either surgery, we want pets to be fully developed so that their bones are fully grown and they have developed all of the musculature. I would recommend asking your veterinarian to refer you to an orthopedic surgeon who may be able to better assist you with Shiro's hips dysplasia. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, Dolla has a broken femur. The best treatment is a surgical repair. I recommend discussing the surgery with your vet. After surgery she will need 6-8 weeks to heal. Luckily she is young so she should do well with the procedure and recovery. Good luck and kisses to Dolla!

Hip dysplasia means that the dog has poor hip conformation, with the ball of the femur not tight into the hip joint. Due to the joint looseness arthritis usually develops as the dogs age. A hip joint fracture sounds more like it was from a specific injury. With rest a hip fracture should heal over six weeks but if the hip joint is involved then Jenny may get hip arthritis and pain in her hip. Heat will relax her muscles and increase the blood supply to heal the fracture so it is a good thing to do. Please keep her in a small area and take her out only to the bathroom for a month. That will give her the best chance of healing the fracture. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Jenny.

Its hard to know without seeing the X-rays... if the hip is fully dislocated, it would be unusual for him to be fully bearing weight and not showing a significant abnormality in his gait. If it is "sub-luxated," meaning the head of the femur--the "ball" part of the ball and socket joint--is not well seated into the acetabulum--the "socket" part of the ball and socket joint. When the acetabulum/"socket" is very shallow, the hip can be "sub-luxated," and these dogs can continue to seem to have a very normal gait/not show any limp or problem until arthritis becomes problematic with age. If it is fully dislocated (fully luxated), a surgery called an FHO (femoral head osteotomy) can be considered even weeks after the initial injury. In this surgery, the "ball" part of the ball and socket joint/the head of the femur, is removed surgically, removing the source of pain. The muscles in the area typically do a great job of compensating and allowing these guys to get around quite well. However, a true REPAIR of a dislocated hip would not be possible if its been weeks or months since the injury. (A true repair of hip dislocation is generally done through a surgery called a toggle pin. ) If a hip dislocation is diagnosed right away, sometimes (about 50% of the time), they can be successfully reduced (put back in place) and we can get them to stay without surgery. Here is some information out may find helpful. https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/hip-luxation Thanks for asking PetCoach!

I think a third option might be available based on the x-ray - an FHO procedure to remove the ball of the femur and allow for more comfort with the dislocated hip. To me it sounds like Maggie is not using her leg much at all, and the vets don't think an FHO would help (which is certainly possible, I'm just suggesting based on what I can see in the x-ray) it sounds to me like amputation might be best. I would worry that she cries out because the leg is sometimes painful.