Many dogs, especially large breed dogs, experience mild to severe hip issues. Should your dog develop severe hip dysplasia--a condition where the head of the femur comes out of the hollow of the hip bone--you have some surgical options (depending on the age and health of your dog). Dogs under a year (ideally under 10 months) can have a surgery that requires the breaking and re-setting of the hip and femur. Dogs who are not too heavy or large can function well after a surgery that removes the head of the femur to reduce the rubbing together of the displaced bones. However, if your dog has already begun to develop arthritis or is in severe discomfort due to any hip issues, hip replacement may be the answer you are looking for.
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Significance
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Total hip replacement is a surgery done on dogs to replace the head of the femur and the hip socket it fits into with a prosthetic hip joint. This surgery costs several thousand dollars, and is done to relieve the pain and crippling effects of severe hip dysplasia, advanced arthritis or any other abnormality of your dog's hip that may have been caused by a fracture, a dislocation or degeneration. The best candidates for hip replacement are dogs who are otherwise healthy, physically mature, able to be kept inactive for the six- to eight-week healing period, and who have no other viable options for regaining their normal hip function. Successful hip replacement surgery should give your dog as much as 100 percent normal function in its hip.
Types
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Cemented hip replacement is the original hip replacement procedure that veterinarians have been using since 1976. A medical-grade cement is used in this surgery to attach the prosthetic hip. This procedure is better suited for older dogs due to the cement having a short lifespan. Typically, veterinarians wait until the dog's age and pain are advanced before doing a cemented hip replacement. Cementless, or non-cemented, hip replacement uses a screw-in prosthesis or one that is secured with screws, and will generally last the lifetime of even a young dog.
Procedure
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Prior to the surgery, your dog will have bloodwork and urinalysis done to ensure the health of its organs as well as the absence of any infections. The dog's hips will be radiographed to determine the size of the prosthesis to be used. Make sure your dog is clean before bringing it into surgery, and follow the veterinarian's orders on food and water intake before surgery. The dog's leg will be shaved in preparation for surgery, and it will be given anesthesia as well as an epidural. The surgeon will make an incision over the region of the hip, remove the ball of the femur, clean out the marrow cavity and enlarge the hip socket. The femoral implant is either cemented or screwed onto the femur bone, and the plastic socket is placed with either cement or screws into the enlarged area of the hip socket. The surgery generally lasts about 90 minutes and requires that your dog be in the hospital for one to two nights.
Aftercare
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Aftercare is extremely important for a successful surgery. Immediately after surgery, your dog may require some pain medication as prescribed by your veterinarian. It will also need antibiotics to avoid any infection. Keep the incision covered with a clean bandage for the first 48 hours. Your dog should be kept from chewing at the stitches--it may need to wear an Elizabethan collar (plastic cone). You may need to use a sling to help it support its weight the first couple of days--a towel placed under the belly and held at both ends will work. After a couple of days, the dog should be able to put some weight on its leg. After a couple of weeks, it should be able to bear a moderate amount of weight with its new hip. Your dog will need to be kept inactive for six to eight weeks. It should only be allowed short walks on leash to urinate and defecate. For the six to eight weeks following this, it should be allowed slow increases in activity.
Within six weeks of surgery, your dog will need to be examined by your veterinarian to make sure it is healing properly. Four months after surgery--and every year afterward--it will need to be examined, and may need more radiographs done to ensure all is well with the prosthesis.
Warning
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As with any surgery, there are risks and possible complications with hip replacement surgery. During surgery, there is the risk of death due to a reaction to the anesthesia, but this is a rare occurrence. After surgery, there is a mild risk of infection--but should it occur, it is very serious and may require the removal of the prosthesis. If sciatic nerve damage occurs, it is usually temporary. The most common complications with hip replacement surgery happen in five to 30 percent of the surgeries (per ACVS) and are caused by the femoral head coming out of the hip socket, bone fracture or loosening of the prosthesis. If any of these complications should occur, additional surgery will be necessary.
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