Tucker had his surgery and everything went well. We will leave in a little while to pick him up.
I thought I would talk a bit about what we had done and why. Tucker was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia when he was about six months old. Hip dysplasia is an abnormal development and growth of the hip joint. Hip dysplasia is manifested by varying degrees of laxity of the muscles, ligaments, and joint capsule of the hip joint. This abnormal laxity allows the femoral head (ball) to slide in and out of the acetabulum (socket) excessively, resulting in malformation of the joint components. Arthritis is the long-term consequence of undetected or untreated hip dysplasia. Our large and giant breed dogs are at the greatest risk for hip dysplasia.
Because of his size, rate of growth, and damage Tucker was not a candidate for a TPO (Triple Pelvic Osteotomy). A TPO is performed on young dogs to stabilize the hip joint so it will develop more normally.
Shortly after we found out about Tucker’s HD he had his first seizure and we began the long process of trying to get control. The first couple of months were the toughest. Because of the severity, number, and frequency of his seizures we even considered having him PTS. Well we added KBr (Potassium Bromide) to his Phenobarbital and that was the magic combination. For that matter KBr was really the magic as he has now been off the Pheno for over five months…. I’ll have to save that story for another blog.
Anyway, we began researching our options for his HD and found that either a THR (Total Hip Replacement) or FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy) would be necessary. We consulted with three orthopedic specialists; two suggested an FHO and one suggested the THR. All thought it would be a good idea to wait until we had dealt with Tuc’s epilepsy.
Much of the information about FHO you will find on the internet is out dated. Some call it a “salvage” procedure for failed THR; however, in the last few years many orthopedics are doing the FHO as a first choice. In our case because of Tuc’s epilepsy be were concerned that if his seized that he would dislocate the new hip. Tucker also has severe allergies and we really didn’t know how he would react to the foreign matter that comes with a THR. Although money was not a deciding factor for us it is for many. A THR cost $4000 - $6000 and a FHO is about half that…. per hip.
An FHO is performed by cutting off and removing the femoral head and allowing the joint to heal as a “false joint” (a capsule connecting the two bones but no actual bone to bone contact). With most active dogs a false joint will form quickly. With larger dogs a muscle “sling” (bicep muscle of the thigh) is used for added support and to cushion the femoral shaft.
Well that is all I have time for now, we are off to pick Tucker up. I will post more later about our journey.