Anyone Have Experience With A Cat That Had Fho Surgery?

[mebae]

I was playing with my cat and he fell in a weird way off a chair and broke both of his hips so he needed to have a Double FHO. Anyone had experience with the recovery process?

He gets his stitches out in a few days, but I'm concerned because when he walks he still kind of crosses up his legs. He is under cage rest, but he walks a few feet to his litter box when he needs to go. I can understand that they are wobbly, but the fact that they are crossing concerns me.

Is this normal? and it is simply because his legs are not strong enough yet?

Cat is either 2 or 3 years old, if this information helps.

 

[Margret]

I have no experience with this surgery so I've been searching the web; unfortunately, there is very little out there about double FHO. The only thing I was able to find about that is this blog: Bentley’s FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy) experience, and it appears that Bentley had the two hips done in separate surgeries, which reduces the match.

What I found about FHO sounds horrific (completely removing the joint?!), but further reading indicates that it actually isn't as bad as it seems at first blush. This particular website: Homework for cats after FHO surgery- successful cat FHO rehabilitation seemed most helpful in explaining what needs to happen inside your boy's body for him to recover, and how to help the healing process along, but it, also, talks as if only one hip was done. However, here's what I've been able to gather.

• The ball joints at the top of your cat's femurs have been removed, so the bones in the upper legs no longer reach the socket joints in his hips.
• Rather than installing some kind of artificial ball at the top of each femur, this surgery relies on scar tissue forming between the femurs and the hips to form new pseudo-socket joints lower down. This has not yet had a chance to happen.
• What is needed to make this happen is the right kind of exercise - basically, gentle walking. He needs effective pain meds (I assume he has that?) so that he can walk, because the walking will cause injuries to his tissue, which will heal into the necessary scar tissue.
• Too much exercise too early, or the wrong kind of exercise (jumping, pouncing) will produce too much scar tissue and is therefore to be avoided.

My concern, based on your description, is that the upper ends of the femurs may be pointing too far outward; what this would mean for his recovery I don't know. It may be self-correcting - the right kind of scar tissue develops, a bit heavier on the outer edge where it's more needed to keep the femur in the correct position, and all is well. Or it could mean that there's a real problem and your boy needs some kind of temporary brace to hold his legs in the proper position.

My advice, such as it is, is to read as much as you can about this surgery, and especially recovery from this surgery, and then, armed with a better understanding of what's going on, give your vet a call and ask.

Margret

 

[susanm9006]

Can you video him and send it to the vet that did the procedure. They should be able to tell you if they way he is walking is normal or not at this stage of his recovery.