Round 2: HIp Surgery 8/26/10

Guinness had surgery on his left hip 8/25/2010. The procedure he had is called FHO (Femoral Head and Neck Ostectomy). He is not a candidate for hip replacement (see previous post) so he had to have this one done.

FYI: When an FHO is performed, the ball and neck portion of the hip joint are removed. After the procedure, a false or fibrous joint will form between the pieces of remaining bone. This joint is not anatomically normal, but since there is no longer any bone on bone contact, the pain associated with the arthritis is generally relieved. As long postoperative use of the leg is good and physical therapy is performed, the use of the limb and range of motion can be relatively good. This procedure is very effective and successful in smaller dogs and cats.If there is poor use of the limb after the FHO and physical therapy has been unsuccessful, there is generally little that can be done to improve the outcome.

The tech explained that Rehab will be extremely important this time around. The quicker he is weight bearing the better because as he walks and uses the limb he will form more and more scar tissue which will strengthen the joint. I really hope he starts bearing weight on it soon and I will be even more diligent (if that's possible-I worked pretty dang hard last time) about getting him moving. She said its normal for him not to bear weight on it for a few days but should by 7 days intermittently.

This time around we start his underwater treadmill therapy 2 weeks earlier at 4 weeks vs. 6 weeks. We didnt even get to try it with his last surgery, watertherapy was week 6 and by week 4 Dr. Lotsikas changed his plan of care and discontinued the rehab therapy. I think Guinness will like the water treadmill therapy, he loves the water and will walk on all 4's when outside for walks after his first surgery. Holly, the tech, explained he would most likely do so because he was distracted, once in the house there weren't as many distractions so he would carry the limb instead.

So Guinness had surgery yesterday and got to come home yesterday. He is more whinny this time around but after giving him his pain medication and going out to pee and poop he settled down for a nice long nap. I feel so bad for him to have to go through this again, he has been through alot at such a young age. He will be 11 months old on August 30th, time has flown.

I start his ROM excercises Saturday.

I made him another Post Op Recovery Routine sheet so I can keep up with his meds and rehab. It really did help to keep me on track last time and accountable to do his exercises.