Tully needs hip replacement

SheltieChe said:
It is amazing how much those dogs can do with such significant injuries. Best wishes to you and Tully! Out of curiosity were you aware earlier about hip problems or is this totally new finding? I have not done any x rays on my boys but they are on maintenance with chiro and massage... hmm
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Absolutely no idea whatsoever. She'd been lifting her back leg the last couple of weeks and I was expecting cruciate maybe - vet couldn't find anything. Figured I would get the orthovet to check it in the follow up on her shoulder injury. Floored the specialist too. I can't believe we all missed it, I feel so bad, because now I can see the little nuances in behaviour/movement caused by the sore hip. Tully has done amazingly well at finding ways around it (except for the damaging her shoulders bit), and with her sweet temperament she never complains.

I think with a future dog, if I'm ever getting x-rays or surgery (even the snip), I might get hip and elbow xrays done at the same time as a preventative.
 
All positive thoughts coming your way. Yes it sure great you have insurance, wow what an ordeal. You take care too Cara.

Can't keep a good sheltie down.
 
grrr . The insurance company won't pay for the hip replacement! They changed the rules recently so they don't cover prosthetics and all associated cost with prosthetics. I'm really annoyed. The amount of times they have changed the PDS to exclude more things is frankly annoying. They even changed how much I get back (dropped from 100% to 80%) and the benefit limit ($15k to $10k). The main reason I went with this company was rebate amount and benefit limits. They shouldn't be able to change it after a person has already joined.

So the money I have saved to finish the renovations so I could move will go on Tully. There goes my dreams of getting a farm and breeding performance shelties...
 
Caro, I am so sorry to hear about Tully. Now your insurance changes what they will cover? I would be so upset too. I'm so glad to hear you still have the funds for her surgery and will be praying for both of you.
 
As soon as she has the hip replacement they will pay for nothing associated with her hip. nor any vet consults associated with a hip replacement.
 
The whole hip thing gets more depressing. Turns out all the studies raving about the success rates only focus on 3 or 6mths after surgery. One study of replacements on autopsy found a 66% rate of loosening of the cement holding the hip in place. And it's not that easily corrected.

So now I don't know what to do. Poor Tully is struggling but I don't want her to have to go through this twice, or more. I was in tears all morning, first it was Deska and now Tully.
 
Caro, how old is Tully? I ask because we know we're going to face the same thing with Bits in a few years. Hard as it will be, we've already decided not to put her through surgery when the time comes. We love her dearly, yet the pain of recovery and the likelihood of problems after surgery have convinced us. This is not to say that surgery is a wrong choice -- for you or for anyone. Please know my heart is with you. :hugs
 
*Caro said:
The whole hip thing gets more depressing. Turns out all the studies raving about the success rates only focus on 3 or 6mths after surgery. One study of replacements on autopsy found a 66% rate of loosening of the cement holding the hip in place. And it's not that easily corrected.

So now I don't know what to do. Poor Tully is struggling but I don't want her to have to go through this twice, or more. I was in tears all morning, first it was Deska and now Tully.
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Have you considered an FHO? It will give her relief and it is a lot less expensive. Just an option. They tend to work better in small breed dogs as there is less weight. The hip forms a false joint of muscle and scar tissue but the bone on bone rubbing that is the source of pain is gone.

I know a lot of people consider it a salvage procedure but I know a ton of dogs who either because of cost of the total hip(5000 vs 800-1000) or failure of the total hip who have gone that route and done great. Obvious the THR is the gold standard and should be considered first as it has the best chance of restoring full function. We do quite a few FHOs at the shelter due to lack of resources to do anything else and most dogs are functioning well in 3-4 weeks with minimally rehab in foster. Of course, there are exceptions to all cases.

http://dcvets.org/surgical/fho.pdf
 
The problem with other options is the medial shoulder instability. The specialist thinks with an FHO she will continue to put most of her weight on those shoulders so shoulder surgery would be inevitable. With a hip replacement she's likely to shift the weight backwards and this may save the shoulders.

Dr Shelli - is it worse to do the THR first then an FHO if/when the hip fails? Just thinking that even a few years on a good hip may let the shoulders heal enough to carry extra weight.

Chris - Tully's 6yrs old and very fit and healthy (and high drive) so I have to do something for her. On the other hand with Deska I'm just going the conservative route as I don't think he'd handle surgery again. For him it's meds and supplements to reduce the pain and keep him happy for as long as I can.
 
*Caro said:
The problem with other options is the medial shoulder instability. The specialist thinks with an FHO she will continue to put most of her weight on those shoulders so shoulder surgery would be inevitable. With a hip replacement she's likely to shift the weight backwards and this may save the shoulders.

Dr Shelli - is it worse to do the THR first then an FHO if/when the hip fails? Just thinking that even a few years on a good hip may let the shoulders heal enough to carry extra weight.

Chris - Tully's 6yrs old and very fit and healthy (and high drive) so I have to do something for her. On the other hand with Deska I'm just going the conservative route as I don't think he'd handle surgery again. For him it's meds and supplements to reduce the pain and keep him happy for as long as I can.
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I forgot about her shoulder injury that does make a difference in her biomechanics.

I am not sure about the difference in doing the THRR first. One of classmates Rottie had a THR actually 1 on both hip. One failed and they ended up with a FHO like result after they removed the hardware. It isn't a true FHO at that point once the hardware is there. I bow to the experts with more experience but in the case of the Rottie, he did better with the hardware out.
 
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