On the morning of the 11th, the surgeon reviewed the x-ray and told us that it was worse than just a dislocation, Sky had broken the head of her femur as well. Now rather than a hip placement surgery, she would receive a Femur Head Osteotomy (FHO) surgery. This is the surgical removal of the head and neck of the femur. In simpler terms, it is the removal of the “ball” part of the ball-and-socket that makes up the hip joint.
Once the femoral head and neck are removed, the surrounding muscles and developing scar tissue work to support the area, and act as a false joint. This means that now when the limb is moved, the forces are transferred to the pelvis rather than the leg itself.
We picked up Sky on the 12th from the vet. She was trying so hard to be her happy, active self but it was obvious she was in pain. The vet estimated it would take 6-8 weeks for her to be confident walking on it like normal. On our way home we stopped to pick up an e-collar (cone of shame) just in case and she was a champ walking three-legged into the store. As soon as we got home and she went potty she hobbled into her crate and fell asleep.
Now Sky is healing so well! We took her to visit the vet on Saturday and she said that Sky is doing great with her rehab and her incision looks awesome. Sky still needs to wear the cone of shame until she gets her sutures out. She tries to run and jump but we have to keep her calm and lying down as much as possible. Her activity is limited to four 5 minute walks a day, and she is all smiles when she does get her walk.
It's been a tough week trying to keep this girl contained and making sure she gets everything she needs to heal properly. Next week she will get her stitches out and hopefully then we can increase activity and stop using the cone of shame.
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