femoral head excision

[quibbmedusa]

My jack russell has just been diagnosed with severe hip Displaysia and his only real option is to have a major op called Femoral Head Excision, where they amputate the ball bits on the hip joints and replace them with muscle and cartledge to form scar tissue, which in turn, supports the legs.

Has anyone else ever been through this? and exactly how good is the end result?

My concern is that i put him through this and he is no better afterwards. He is only 3 years old so i need to give him the best chances..please advise, cheers x

Med x

[Drusilla]

I'm no vet, but I have heard a new treatment for hip dysplasia that does not involve surgery is the use of 'Glucosamine', a dietery supplement which is also used in humans with osteo-arthritis I believe. Unlike steroids, it doesn't have dreadful side effects and could actually result in remarkable improvements, even though you say his condition is severe. Hope this helps

[Eels]

There's sadly no scientific evidence that glucosamine works in animals but it would certainly be a good idea to start him on it - your vet will be able to supply a good quality product, something like Seraquin or Nutradyn is best, as these contain a range of supplements thought to be helpful in such cases.

Femoral head excisions are what would be described as a salvage procedure - these cases will go on to suffer from debilitating and painful arthritis at a very early age if they go untreated. By removing the ball part of the joint, arthritis cannot occur because there is no true joint remaining. Therefore the procedure relieves pain.

A small dog like a Jack Russell will cope very well with this operation and you will probably be surprised how quickly he recovers. The surgery will be staged so that he recovers use of one hindlimb before the other is operated on. He will be given painkillers by the vet to stop too much swelling and discomfort after the op, but usually return to function is quick.

If he was my dog I would go for it, but all surgery carries a risk. I think the best way to look at it is that by going through with the surgery you are at least giving him a chance of a normal life, whereas without it he is guaranteed to suffer pain and thereby poorer quality of life.

[quibbmedusa]

Thanks so much Eels, thats what i wanted to hear! we have an appointment in the morning with a specialist surgeon, so fingers crossed!!!

[veritymoon]

i hope your dog is ok.

as long as your dog is not overweight they normally recover really well from this kinda op. may develope arthritits in later life but a lot of dogs do anyway. they normally stay in the vets overnight and go home with some pain killers and antibiotics and are back on their feet sooner than you would think.