Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi,
I also posted in Hopping Around. I have an 2 1/2 mixed breed, she weighs around 23kg. She was hit by a car in Egypt and was already a Tripaw when I adopted her last year in March. She's a front leg amputee. My physiotherapist said that her hips look bad and I should get x-rays of them. Which I did yesterday. Unfortunately she has a bad hip dysplasia, with arthrosis and the vet told me that he would recommend to get a prothesis. I'm terrified of the idea to put her through another surgery, especially because I am scared that she wouldn't be able to walk while it is healing? I would do everything for her though, so if it is really needed, I would do it. Here is the picture:
This is Ellie and my other dog Paula:
Thanks so much in advance!
Online
It is really only her left hip that looks bad on the radiographs. How is she getting around? Does she seem painful? If she is having issues then the best option is a total hip replacement which costs about $4500 in our area but does solve the problem. A much cheaper option is an FHO where the diseased bone is removed and a muscle inserted to cushion the joint. This does remove pain but you will not have normal range of motion and it is best for small dogs and cats (best for animals under 25 kg so she is right at limit).
If she is doing well then I would try Adequan injections and joint supplements. Adding an NSAID can also help and keeping her thin is also very important.
Pam
Thank you so much Pam. She is getting around well actually. She also doesn’t have a problem to get up, but I guess that could become a problem in the future if the arthrosis gets worse. She does have her better days and days when she doesn’t want to walk as much as others. Though we only walk her about 15 min. twice a day. And sometimes when she’s really calm, her front leg seems to loose strength for a really short time, like only a second, when she almost falls but can get the strength back right away. This started in Summer this year. My physiotherapist thinks it is actually coming from the bad hip, as she also does that when she is sitting. So it doesn’t seem that the problem is from the front leg. She’s always walking around normal, it does only happen when standing still, or sitting. And it’s very different from day to day. We also made xrays of the front leg and everything looks normal. I see if I can take a video of that and post it here.
Thank you again!
Madeleine
Chuy is a front leg amputee and did fine with his FHO surgery when he fractured the head of his femur. We did physical therapy with him and swim therapy, but he had normal range of motion up until last fall. He was diagnosed with DM in Aug. of 2016, that is why his range of motion is failing. Chuy is getting Adequan shots now because in January 2017 he couldn't stand up on his own, now he is pretty much back to normal. His back legs are shaky, but he's still hopping!
You can read a bit more about what he went thru on his blog. http://chuymalo.....wds.com/
Chuy, showing everyone that Tripawds do everything 3 times better than regular dogs!
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