Hip Dysplasia - questions about FHO

Well, it's been a while since I last posted about River's health, so here's an update. It turns out that she has arthritis in her front right elbow, but the biggest problem is hip dysplasia. She has it on both sides, but the vet has recommended FHO (removal of the tip of the femur bone) for only one of the legs. She says that usually provides enough relief, although my husband and I have our doubts. We're currently saving up the money for her surgery, which we should be able to afford in about a month. But I had a couple of questions for the Corgi community before we take her in.

First of all, has anyone out there had a dog with hip dysplasia on both sides that had the FHO treatment done for only one femur? And if so, did it work?

Secondly, what should I expect in terms of recovery? How long should I keep her fairly immobile? My vet will be teaching me what physical therapy type exercises to be doing with her, but I've heard that initially I'll need to keep her crated thoughout the day, which is a sad prospect since River is so very active.

If anyone has had any experience in this area, please let me hear your thoughts. I'm worried about my little River and I want to make sure we're doing what's best for her.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on April 14, 2008 at 11:37am

One of our member Cheri have been through an Elbow Dysplasia surgery with her corgi Dudley. You may want to message her for details. Last year I've also met a corgi and his owner who had surgery on both femur bones, I couldn't tell and his corgi was doing great.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen on April 14, 2008 at 12:00pm

My dog Tiki was starting to get some elbow dysplasia and she had surgery on Feb 1...she is 17 mths old. While it was not an emergency to have it done, the Dr. suggested surgery now would help prevent it getting worse when she is older. She came home w/ a pressue cast on which remained thoroughout February, into ealy March. It was healing quite nicely. By March she wanted to run, jump, etc. She had x-rays last week and they asked we prevent her from running and keep her calm because they were concerned about it and we should keep it slow for another month. In general they said 10 - 12 weeks. The problem is she is not even a year and a half old so it is impossible to keep her calm...especially with another corgi in the house. It seems that every moment she can she takes off and runs up the stairs or across the yard or around the house until I can catch her...must be all the penned up energy. We did not keep her crated during the day but we did keep her confined to an area about 4 X 8...enough for her bed and water bowl. It is just so hard to keep her from not running...and walking her aorund the house with a leash is just a pain that I try to avoid.

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Permalink Reply by Rachel on July 18, 2008 at 2:58am

Hi, I've just found out Salsa has suspected hip dysplasia but since she's still only about 8 yo 9 months old, the vet advised supplements and anti-inflamatory pills. It's quite severe as sometimes when she walks or turns, you can actually hear the clicking when the joint bone dislocates and relocates.

I asked about corrective surgery, but the vet was strongly against it as he mentioned it may not be 100% effective and the risks of other factors.

Both her parents don't seem to have this problem but we suspect it's from her constant jumping on smooth surfaces since she lives in a marble tiled house, that caused immense stress on her knees and joint. We're considering getting boots for her hind legs and to construct a playpen area with those alphabet baby mats for traction. Any opinions on the boots and matting?