Annies First Night After Surgery 11/30/12

The first night went wellllll......... as good as can be expected for what she went through. Annie spent the whole evening and night whimpering and whining. She couldn't get comfortable and figure out what was going on. She was in good spirits though and tried to stay still. I stayed up all night with her. I couldn't sleep as it broke my heart listening to her whimper and whine. But she ate a little chicken every three or four hours and also would drink. I took her outside to go to bathroom about every four hours and she went both times. Overall, I think it went well. I am just exhausted. 

Here is a picture of Annie resting last night. I took the blankets off of her so everyone will be able to see exactly how big her incision is. She looks comfortable as can be expected. 

I am going to try and video her when she goes outside this afternoon and will update when I have it. 

ANNIE'S HOMECOMING

YAY, Annie was doing so well that she got to come home!!! It was kind of scary seeing her for the first time. Here poor little backside is shaved and she has a wound that has three staples in it. Amanda and I didn't know where to hold her to make her most comfortable. She was awake though and excited to see us. 

We were sent home with three different medicines.

Tramadol

Metcam

and Pennecillian with Autonphanol another pain medicine in it

• Annie was quite loopy all evening. She was whimpering and whining all evening. Some times she was even shaking. (This is all to be expected.) We stayed up on her pain meds. all night to make her as comfortable as possible. We all took turns holding her and giving her all the love and support that we could.
• Annie is being awesome regarding eating. I have been giving her chicken breast as her sole source of food right now and she is loving it!! I have had to really ration it out as she would eat to much and then  I heard her bell could get upset. We didn't want to add anymore problems for the little girl. 
• Annie is drinking really well. We just bring the water bowl to her and she will lift her little head and drink enough that I know she is staying hydrated. 
• We are carrying Annie outside to go to the bathroom. I had a potty pad all set up in an area in the house but she refuses to use it. When I put her down she sat right down and went pee. It was great to see. I then picked her up and right back to rest and relaxation for her. 

ANNIE'S INCISION

Here is a picture of her little incision. It looks really big on her little body but it is only about 1-1/2 maybe 2 inches long. Dr. Carlson said it has internal stitches that will dissolve, external glue and then 3 staples to hold it together. The staples will have to be removed but everything else will take care of itself. We really don't have any special wound care. We are to watch to make sure it doesn't bleed, gets redder or if Annie starts licking it. 

Surgery Day 11/29/2012

We woke up and got Annie all bathed and cleaned up for her big day. I really think she new something was going to happen. She just loved her bath. She swam around and also loved laying under where the water was running. It cracks us all up. 

At approximately 8:15 we left the house for the short drive to the Vet Hospital. It seemed like a long drive but it is only about 3 miles from our house.  

When we got there we checked her into Alpine Animal Hospital

http://www.alpineanimal.net/

May I just point out they are an amazing Animal Hospital and I would recommend them to anyone that has a pet. 

We would like to thank everyone there for all their wonderful care they gave Annie while in she was there. It was so nice to see them treat her as one of their own!! Dr. Rena Carlson has a wonderful team. Everyone of them were very thoughtful and kind, especially at such a difficult time!!

**Surgery Time**

Dr. Carlson explained the procedure and even had models to show me exactly what was going to be done. She also explained to me that the procedure would take about an hour and what to expect when we came to pick her up. We went over after care briefly as I was nervous and wanted to prepare. I then left Annie in her care to wait for the call to say the procedure was all over. 

Around 12:00 I still hadn't heard how Annie was doing so nervous me called. They told me the surgery had taken longer than expected but it is complete. Annie was slow to wake up and they were monitoring her. The doctor was going to call me as soon as she got out of another surgery and Annie was a little more awake.

Around 1:15 Dr. Carlson called and explained the surgery was in fact complete and Annie was doing well. She was in pain but seem OK considering everything. She told me she was going to give her another pain medicine and we could come at 4:15. She said she would be able to go home if everything continued on the same path. YAY!!

Around 4:00 Amanda my daughter (Annie is her dog) got out of school and we went to Alpine Animal Hospital to see Annie and check on her progress. 

Annie's FHO Surgery!! 11/28/12

Annie when she was a puppy last year.

Recent photo of Annie in her cute little Butterfly Dress.

"It was so hard to have this surgery done!!

Annie is our 1-1/2 old female Yorkie that was diagnosed with legg perthes disease. We knew we had to do the best for her and the only option was FHO surgery. Following you will find the details of everything and the experience that we are going on.

Legg-Perthes Disease in Dogs  

Definition: Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease (Legg--Perthes Disease for short) is a painful disorder that primarily affects young, small-breed dogs and terrier breeds. For some unknown reason, the neck and head of the dog’s femur (the long upper leg bone that joins the pelvis to form the hip joint) spontaneously degenerates and dies, causing the ball-and-socket hip joint to deteriorate and, ultimately, to collapse. Once this happens, the affected dog cannot bear weight on that hip, because the joint has completely lost its structural integrity. Symptoms include hind limb lameness, limping, pain upon flexion and/or extension, reluctance to rise, run, jump or play, general overall weakness, exercise intolerance, muscle atrophy, irritability, chewing, licking, bothering the affected hip joint, audible clicking or snapping coming from the hip joint during movement or when rising. Legg-Perthes disease is an irreversible disorder that causes hind limb lameness, pain and disfigurement of affected hip joints. Left untreated, this condition will progress the hip joint will continue to deteriorate and the dog’s pain and other symptoms will worsen and become more obvious.

Treatment: Fortunately, despite the progressive nature of Legg-Perthes disease, surgical and non-surgical treatment options are available to help alleviate pain and improve the dog’s quality of life.

**As you can see in the X-Ray Annies' right hip is severely affected the bone growth is causing her spine and hips to be pushed to one side. We only had one option and and was the Femoral Head Ostectomy surgery. **

Femoral Head Ostectomy or FHO Surgery

This is a  surgical procedure in which the femoral head and neck are removed from the femur. Once removed there is no longer any hip joint, yet overtime scar tissue forms in between the acetabulum (socket) and the remaining part of the femur. Often this gets referred to as a false joint because the scar tissue reduces the amount of bone on bone contact and therefore results in a significant decrease in overall pain. Usually only one side is done at a time allowing for it to heal before the other side is done, if needed of course. The remaining femoral bone is supported entirely by the dog's thigh muscles. This is why it is extremely important to enroll your dog in canine rehabilitation following the FHO surgery. This will truly give you the best chance to help build muscle mass in the hind legs.

An FHO can be performed on any size dog however, smaller dogs seem to do much better with this surgery. Dogs that are overweight or have a significant amount of muscle atrophy will definitely take longer to recover, but as long as you have a plan for post-operative physical therapy everything should be fine.

 The FHO Surgery is a rather simple procedure in the grand scheme of things. Most dogs return to close to normal activity level after the surgery. The false joint that forms is smoother and allows comfortable range of motion when running, playing and walking.

On the positive side of things, there is very little down time after the surgery. Exercise restriction is usually only a few days. Exercise is encouraged soon after surgery because of the need to develop the scar tissue. Have a plan for after surgery or visiting a canine rehabilitation facility in you area will dramatically improve your results.

Lastly it is important to emphasize one more thing. Proper pain management for the dog after surgery is vital. Many times the veterinary surgeon may only prescribe pain meds for a week after surgery. This is fine for some dogs and not for others. If your dog is off of pain medications and not using their leg 100% of the time, discuss continuing with the pain medications for a little while longer.

Dog Femoral Head Ostectomy or Femoral Head Osteotomy or FHO Surgery, which ever you want to call it, is great surgical option that improves the lives of many dogs that are suffering with joint disease.

**We scheduled the surgery for 11/29/12 and I am going to share our experience as it happens.**