Double FHO - Updated

[stargzng386]

Has anyone had this done for a dog or even a single FHO? Was it worth it? Did it help?

I have a 7 year old 25lb mixed pup with bad hip dysplasia. X-rays from today are worse than ones from 2020. I can post if ppl want to see. She’s been on meds since she was about 3. Were looking at having to increase meds and my vet said I could also look into the double FHO. I just know recovery will be painful and long and I hate to put her through that but I recognize this pain is only going to get worse.

Just contemplating this decision and trying to do the best for her.

[DawnJL]

Years ago, I had a 50lb Lab with severe hip dysplasia at 18 months old. I got her as a 6 month old vet hospital surrender when she was hit by a car and her original owners couldn’t afford the treatment for her severe injuries.
After a few weeks in the ICU (where I worked) and surgical repair of her fractured hind leg, she came home with me. She healed well and was an active happy young dog, but started showing signs of hip pain after periods of activity around 18 months old. Her hips were so bad that radiographs showed she was subluxated on both femural heads and had arthritic changes in both hips.

At that time the vet surgeons weren’t confident that hip replacements would last her expected lifespan so FHOs were recommended. Even though she was at the upper recommended weight limit for FHO surgery, her surgeon thought it was the best option and that if we kept her active, she should do well.

We did the FHOs 6 weeks apart. She healed well and lived to be 14 1/2 and was still running pain free on those FHO hips right to the end.

I saw dozens of dogs with FHOs over the years, and they overwhelmingly had good results.

For a 7 year old 25lb dog, I’d surely do FHOs.

[stargzng386]

Thank you so much for this advice. Did you ever see any dogs get both hood done at the same time? Or did you only see it done one at a time?

Here are her current X-rays

[stargzng386]

Soooooo while trying to weigh my surgery options and talking to some rehab resources I decided to start swimming her in preparation for surgery. Idea being that doing a low impact to her joint exercise will help her build up her muscles more to support surgery as the only affordable option would be to do both at the same time.

My barn has a pool for the horses and we signed up for a half hour slot 1x a week. She does love to swim already so I just toss a toy in and she dives in to get it. Training took 5 minutes for her to realize the pool was just like the river. Two weeks after starting swimming she started being more active and perky trying to get my old dog to play at night. A month in and she’s a completely different dog. Her sore muscle spots in front of her hips are gone and she’s able to walk much further on our walks. Her entire mood is better and she’s moving so well no hitching in her back legs as she trots.

So basically surgery is now not needed and I’ll keep swimming her weekly absolutely best case scenario. The barn pool will get too cold in winter but there is a facility nearby for dogs with a heated pool It’s $$$ but still significantly cheaper than new hips lol.

[Polydor]

That’s an amazing update! and handy that the barn has a pool too.

P.