Femoral Head and Neck Excision is another procedure in which the pet is anesthetized and the entire limb and hip to be operated will be clipped. An incision is made over the hip region. The hip is exposed and the femoral head and neck is removed. The muscle, fat and skin layers are then closed. If deemed necessary, the femoral head is submitted for analysis by a pathologist. After the surgery, fibrous tissue forms in the area of the hip joint which prevents bone rubbing on bone. The muscles hold the hip in place. The operated limb will be slightly shorter than it was before surgery, but this should not cause any functional problems.
Juvenile Public Symphysiodesis is a new surgery which is currently being evaluated. This invasive surgery fuses two pelvic bones together, allowing the other pelvic bone to develop normally.
Pectineal myotomy/myectomy was first used to treat canine hip dysplasia in clinically affected dogs. One of the adductors of the hip, the pectineal muscle brings the hind leg in toward the mid-line of the dog. The rationale for this procedure is to relieve the tension on the joint capsule, caused by the upward force on the coxofemoral joint from a contracted pectineus muscle. It is also thought that improved weight loading of the femoral head within the acetabulum may result from the increased range of abduction. Note the difference between "adduction" (moving toward the center line) and abduction (moving away from the center line). This type of surgery should be considered strictly therapeutic in nature and does little or nothing to stabilize the dysplastic hip. Therefore, the owner of an affected animal can expect the degenerative changes due to osteoarthritis to continue. Read more about hip dysplasia.
Previous pages about hip dysplasia.
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