Arthroplasty

Your pet has fractured his hip bone where it joins the pelvis. It was not possible to place a cast to stabilize the fracture because it is impossible to immobilize the hip. So we had to surgically remove the piece of femur that was still attached to the hip. 

Fortunately, for a small animal like your pet, this surgery offers a very good prognosis. Actually it is the muscles surrounding the hip joint that stabilize the site of the fracture, thus permitting your pet to walk normally. The sooner he uses his leg, the sooner the hip muscles will strengthen and your pet will stop limping. Generally you can count on about one month’s time before your pet can accomplish walking without a limp.

To promote healing, we suggest you follow our recommendations;
1. Keep the elisabethan collar we’ve provided on your pet until we’ve removed the staples in 14 days. During this period, it is very important you keep the wound clean and dry (avoid bathing and swimming) and watch out for signs of redness, swelling or discharge from the wound. You need to make an appointment with your veterinarian in 14 days. This reevaluation is free of charge.

2. Your veterinarian may have prescribed a medication to reduce any pain and inflammation.

3. To avoid infection from developing at the surgical site, your veterinarian may have given your pet an injection of convenia , that will protect your pet during a 2 week period.

To maximize the development of good muscle mass, we suggest you start physiotherapy after a 10 day resting period.

You can make your pet swim 10-15 minutes, 2 to 3 times a day (not if your pet is a cat , and not before we’ve removed the sutures) , walk your pet 10-15 minutes , 2-3 times a day on a leash, or even make him do a series of extensions + flexions of the hip 2 to 3 times a day.

You should make an appointment in 30 days for another re-evaluation with your veterinarian to insure your pet has healed properly.