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Hip Surgery (lab)

SaskGuy

SaskGuy

Active Member
Sorry for the non hunitng related post. Anyone have any experience with hip dispalcia in labs? I have a little black female (only 2 yrs old) who needs it. I am kind of blue about how her quality of life has been the past month or so and would go ahead with the procedure if I knew what to expect regarding her recovery, quality of life after and the odds of it happening again. I don't really like to think of the alternative even though I have, I just don't want the boys to have to lose a loved pet yet if for some money I can make her better for a long haul.:(
 
I had a retriever that had hip dysplasia but never went ahead with the surgery, partially due to the cost and the possibility of it not helping her. I don't know if there has been advancement in the surgery or not since then but I know how hard and painful it is when it comes to tuff decisions for our best friends. We kept our on a pill regiment for about 6 years, when she was 9 she started getting nose bleeds. Turns out the medication caused her liver to fail and a year later I lost her. My thoughts are with you what ever your decision is.
 
One of our labs had basically the same problem but it was in both front elbows and we had both done at the same time at iowa state. They went in arthroscopically and ground the joint down until it bled. They said that would cause new cartilage to grow back. He was able to walk out 2 days later. He was pretty stiff and on pain meds for a couple weeks and we had to limit his excesrcise for 6 weeks. It has been about 12 weeks now and he barely limps even after a lot of running which is much better than prior to the surgery. If you are going to have it done I would highly recommend Iowa State. They were actaully cheaper than the only other vet around that would do it and they assign a vet student to the case that is with the dog throughout everything. Good luck and I hope it helps.
 
I'm out of town right now, Kaare, but I have extensive experience with hip displaysia in my German shepherds. When I'm back and can sit down properly, ill put my thoughts together. PM me anytime. Short story is you won't regret it at that age!!
 
PM Sent to you, Kaare.

Of course, if anyone else wants to hear my thoughts on the matter, I can post it up. I've been through hips, elbows, knees, and cancer with 2 German shepherds. One we lost to cancer, and one is still going strong at 11.5 years old.
 
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Sounds good. That pic is from 6 years and 25 pounds ago on that dog. He was 12 months old and we were in Evansville, IN at K9 school.

Sent from my iPhone using IW
 
A couple options here.

Total hip replacement surgery. Dogs do seem to get around well afterward. Basically the same type of surgery as the human version. Requires a lot of post op PT and special care in the healing process. Dogs I have seen in the past after surgery have a 85-95% return to full function. Downfall is, if they damage the implant or pop it out...requires a possible second surgery.

Femoral head and neck excision: salvage procedure and typically only unilateral (one sided) vs bilateral can be done on the total hip. Dogs do well with it too and I usually do this surgery as it is much cheaper than a total hip surgery. Essentially removes the damaged or arthritic joint and a pseudoarthrosis (false joint) forms. Most dogs do well with this and post op care is just run/swim the heck out of them 2 weeks after surgery.

the do nothing approach: Pain meds and Glucosamine/chonroitin supplements for the rest of the life of the pet. The meds may slow the progression of the disease and provide comfort but a bad condition seems to always get worse forcing an above option or worse yet euthanasia.

Any specific questions Kaare...just PM me
 
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