Hip Replacement

[moseskoko]

 Hello. I was wondering if anyone here knows of a Newf that has had hip replacement surgery. I found out today that Moses Has a very loose hip (laxaty). If it gets worse or makes it more difficult to get around they are suggesting hip surgery. None of the newfs in Moses family tree has had bad hips. At least not in the last 4 generations. Sometimes I guess things just happen.

John   

[brigid67]

how old is moses?

[brandon]

Deleted what I said.. I thought moses was a puppy.. sorry

[moseskoko]

I wish that were the case. I was hoping his hips would tighten up as well but now that he is 2 1/2 that probably wont happen.

John

[brandon]

I don't know if this will help you or not, but there seems to be a lot of people discussing alternative things for bad hips on newf.net
I'm really sorry to hear that moses is having problems.. that's just got to be the worst feeling Maybe Adequan injections could help his joints a bit, seems to be a glucosamine type thingy that is injected intra muscularly instead of taken orally.  Crossing our fingers for you and moses.

http://www.newf.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=001097

exercises:
http://www.newf.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=001088

There's lots of other threads about dysplasia in the health->maladies and disease forum though if you feel up to some research.

[sarnewfie]

John, first how old is he?
next, when growing they get laxity, my girl has gorgous hips, but at six motnhs would not bear weight on one rear leg for three days, we could HEAR The laxity in the hip, the vet told me to take her home, grow her out, and give her suppliments, so i did that, at 32 months her pen hip was 90% good, and ofa good, she should have had an excellent, i never saw a more gorgous set of hips.
now.
each litter no matter cleared or not, you will have two or three pups that wont pass ofa.
do children in the family all come out healthy and perfect with no growth problems??
it is totally unrealistic to think that only cleared there wont be problems, only cleared can throw disastrous results, i wish there was more honest education out there!!!
hang in there, ask your vet, how much coverage does he have right now?
did he do xray?
are you giving joint suppliments?
what diet is he getting?
is he swimming every day?
is he getting the proper excersise?
Can you feel his ribs very easily, and each rib?
is he overweight?
there are so many contributors to bad hips, and one main one is no excersise or unproper excersise during the critical growth phase of 18 months, if there is not enough muscle there is no building block for those hips.
oh i just read one of your posts he is 2 1/2
did you do xray?

[moseskoko]

 He has been xrayed 3 times. Once at 12 months, once at 18 months and again at 30 months. The laxity is no better. He is on a Glucosoamine supplement. He gets regular exercise. I'm now looking for a hydrotherapy place in my area. I wish he could go swimming every day but right now its impossible.

John

[newflvr]

My first Newf had a total hip replacement at year because he had NO hip socket on one side.  The most important thing is to get an veterinary orthopedic surgeon that has done lots and lots of these procedures. AND who is very conservative.  Our surgeon (we're in Southern Calif) evaluated the dog before he even looked at the xrays to determine how much it was affecting his life.  Since the femur was floating free, any quick movement could dislocate it so we determined to do it immediately.  It's an AWFUL surgery and a difficult recovery, but that said, once he was recovered, he was great!!!

Best of luck and we'll keep fingers and paws crossed for you!  And, as you implied, these bad things can "just happen" and no one is at fault.  His parents were OFA good and excellent and, as the surgeon said, the OFA is a guideline, not a guarantee.

[tuckernewf]

John,

So good to find your message. I have a 3 1/2 year old  landseer who was x-rayed at 18 months. At that point it was pretty clear that his hips would be an issue although he didn't seem to have any lameness or discomfort, just a clicking sound from the movement in his left hip joint.  Recently, he has had signs of discomfort, limping, and not wanting to get up. Even though I knew that this would be an issue one day, it was heartbreaking to see him so out of sorts, (usually so playful and happy) especially since he is still young.

I've started to investigate the options and it seems that hip replacement is proabably the best bet. I would really like to find another newf owner who went through the process. I'm willing to go a distance to find the best surgeon. Anyone who can offer any direction, it would be greatly appreciated.

Please let me know if you come across any resources that may be helpful, and good luck.
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[newflvr]

From my experience with Otis, I would think the best place to start is your closest Veterinary Training University and get a referral from them.  For us, it was U.C. Davis....and I spoke to his breeder and many vets and the same name kept coming up...Dr. Tommy Walker.  He has a clinic here in Southern California and one in Virginia.  Dr. Vogel actually did the surgery with Dr. Walker assisting and  Dr. Walker did the post-surgical evaluation.  Otis' surgery was considered a complete success even though he had spinal issues as well.  At least we got to have him for two more VERY good years.

The process was tough.  There is a lot of pain involved for the dog and, by association, for those who love them.  Otis came home after two days in the hospital with a morphine patch stapled to his side and it was a VERY rough two weeks.  Once the patch came off, he was better...I think the morphine was dis-orienting.  I had to hold his head to drink, plenty of ice chips, towel walking  for potty-breaks and hand feeding.  The towel walking was required for about a month, if I remember correctly and he was monitored weekly for the first couple of weeks and then every six months.  He was able, after the recovery, to run, hike, swim, and be pretty much of a normal Newf.

If you need any more info., please contact me.  I'm happy to help in any way I can.  I know how tough the decision is!!!