It is amazing how well Flynn, you and your family have coped over the last fourteen months.

I have been reading your diary and as you are aware have been through one of the ops with you.

I am sure anyone reading your diary will learn an awful lot. There certainly are highs and lows but at the end it is all worth it.

Domino has certainly had a better life by having the operation and I would encourage anyone who has a dog that needs the op to go ahead. I have spoken to several people who have small dogs that did not want the op but having seen how well Domino is have gone ahead with the op and now their dogs are enjoying a new lease of life.

Domino and I would like to wish you all a merry christmas and a healthy new year.

Hugs

Val & Domino
xxx

Thanks so much Malmum. Ollie is doing great after his second hip replacement yesterday and will hopefully be home next week. Ollie's surgeon, John Ferguson at East Neuk Veterinary Clinic in Fife has been fantastic - the level of care there is amazing.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to put together your fantastic diary - don't know what I would have done without it and all your support. Flynn's sling has definitely brought Ollie good luck!

The video of Flynn's journey is lovely and I was in tears watching it, just so amazing seeing Flynn now fully recovered and enjoying life to the full, he's such a lovely dog. Looking forward to when Ollie is able to enjoy life again - will definitely be worth going through all this to have a happy, pain free dog. He's been so brave through all of this.

Big hugs to Flynn!

Thanks Val, give Domino great big hugs from me, he is yet another of our brave soldiers who have come on in leaps and bounds and now living life to the full. What more could we ask eh?

What can I say Angie other than you have been a star, to cope with the second op so soon is remarkable as is Ollie for healing so well and being able to have it done - the last six weeks seemed to drag on but then suddenly it's all done and dusted - brilliant! Give him a huge hug and kiss from his "Auntie" just wish I could meet him.

__________________

Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

I just wanted to add that further to Angie701's post above, Ollie has made a remarkable recovery and is now - less than six months from his fist op and just over two from his last - beginning to lead his new life, free of pain and restrictions.

I would once again advise people to consider carefully the pro's of this op on a younger, fitter dog as many seem to believe it best left til later in the dogs life, when arthritis has possibly already set in. I think it wise that the dog has reached maturity for the bones to be strong but each individual surgeon may differ, so advice would be given during consultation. I know there is no age limit to this surgery as Noel Fitzpatrick has said but I feel younger dogs recover faster, just like humans and Flynn and Ollie are prime examples. They are both three years old and have recovered remarkably well.

As with Flynn, Ollie's second hip deteriorated while the new hip was recovering and his surgery was brought forward as he was experiencing lameness. Ollie's surgeon - John Ferguson - decided to go ahead with his surgery earlier than usual and very wisely too because that kind of strain on a debilitated hip can cause irreparable back problems, or massive invasive spinal surgery later on.

So with a big broad grin on my face I have the permission of Ollie's lovely owner to post these wonderful pics of a very brave boy indeed.

Post first op.





The new hips.



Now just under six months after the first op, here he is on the beach with Daisy (right) his companion.



Running free!



Of course any major operation caries risks and a THR carries a 10% risk factor. Those risks are: Fracture of the femur during implant of the stem into the bone. Fracture of the femur during post op recovery of the stem moving down into the bone with a Biomedtrix implant, where bone has to develop and grow around the implant - taking around four to six weeks to be stable. This is why the use of a sling for support in the initial stages is important. Dislocation of the ball and socket of the hip joint during post op recovery, this can be a risk factor in the future but very very rare once the hip is supported by muscle and sinew. Infection post op, again very rare but has been known to occur. So rare in fact that Noel said he has never had a positive result for infection post op.

Ollie's operation was carried out here: East Neuk Veterinary Clinic
They have given Ollie wonderful care and for anyone in or around Scotland would be highly recommended by Ollie's mummy.

So there we have it - two very special boys and two wonderful lives ahead of them. I know of another special boy who has had a single THR and he too is doing very well indeed!

__________________

Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

How is he doing now? I hope the dog has fully recovered already.

__________________
Have you hugged your american eskimo dog today? Well, I just did!

Ollie is having lovely forest walks now for forty mins at a time with half of that off lead. This time last year he could hardly walk at all.

Flynn is continuing to go from strength to strength although he can't go off lead as Mals are not good at coming back, lol!

__________________

Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

yipee! great job malmum and your babies!

__________________
Have you hugged your american eskimo dog today? Well, I just did!

Wish I could afford this for my 3-year-old lab. I've started taking him to hydrotherapy and so far it's not doing much for him (and doing very little for my bank balance), and we've now discovered that he's quite bad in one hip and just used to having some pain all the time.

Might need to be referred to a specialist to see if there is anything else they can do other than a hip replacement. Though as we have 18 stairs to get in and out of the house, I don't think that's too good for recovery after any op if we could afford it.

Still loving the good news (and photos!) in this thread though Malmum!

Hello everyone - new here.

So happy to have found this diary, thank you very much for sharing.

My dog, Zara, 5.5 yo GS was diagnosed with hips displasia and arthritis last year, I have decided not to go ahead with an op at the time as if/when I do - I want to make sure (as much as possible) that she is under the best possible veterinary care.

The big issue I have is that I live by myself in a 1st floor flat so really worried about post op care for Zara. Getting her out and back in through 2 flights of stairs by myself is simply not possible. Also, I work full time - at the moment a dog walker takes her out for an hour mid day but with a post op dog this would not be an option for several weeks/months.

Has anyone gone ahead with this operation on their dog while living in an upstairs flat, in similar circumstances to mine? Could share experience?

Zara is insured up to 7k per year - I am not sure if the cost of the op was mentioned anywhere here as I have not read the whole thread yet, still working my way through it.

Any recommendations for good ortho vets in/around East London or would I need to travel way out to ensure the best vet for the op?

I am sorry about million questions but.. I am sure anyone with a dog with those issues understand how worrying it is.

Thanks a lot.

Anna

If I were you Anna I would travel to Surrey and see Noel Fitzpatrick. He and his team have been brilliant with my dog and a few others on here. I didn't know he was TV's bionic vet as the programme hadn't been aired when I first contacted him by e mail but what I do know is when Flynn dislocated the second hip all hope wasn't lost. Instead of simply putting the new hip back in he removed it and put a longer arm replacement in, making it more likely to stay in place as once a hip comes out it can continue to do so if the old hip is used. We also had an even longer armed replacement to use if that one failed too. That man doesn't give up easily and his knowledge is such that he lectures world wide.

Flynns replacements cost around £5,500 each with the repair costing a further £2,500. Don't know if that's expensive but he was insured for £7,000 so didn't care. Because of the dislocation and the numerous meds he was on after the repair my insurance didn't cover around £1,000 and Noel let me pay that off at £100 a month. You do take the dog home earlier with him though, two days post op where as others have been kept in for six days but I believe that's because Noel is so busy.
Stairs are a complete no no though so your dog would have to stay elsewhere for around three months I would think. This is something you would need to take a specialists advice on and using a sling to get her up and down the stairs safely would not be possible on your own, thats if its safe for her at all. To be honest I am such a worrier that Flynn has not been allowed upstairs at all in my house and as he doesn't need to probably never will.
You can see Fitzpatrick Referrals on the first page of Flynns diary, the only difference now is that Noel is a Professor these days - top man too!

Soulful dog - If you don't have insurance some vets may take a payment plan - perhaps with half paid up front which could be done by instalments pre op. A referral to a specialist is a good idea as there may be other treatments to offer. Take a look at Noels link on the first page about HD, he talks about other methods there too. I know he can do a Femoral Head Ostectomy where the joint is removed completely and muscle, sinew and scar tissue eventually form a joint. There is much hydro after but this op is a fraction of the cost of a hip replacement. A chat with a specialist is your best option to see if it is an option for your dog. It would at least take the pain away but as you can imagine would take a few months to build up that muscle during which the dog gets around on three legs - hydrotherapy and physiotherapy would benefit and you could most likely do the physio at home once shown how if it is too expensive. Again though am pretty sure the stairs would be a hurdle for a while but no hip to knock out so possibly not as bad as a replacement and stairs, you would need to take the weight with a sling though and half carry the dog. I know a lady who's Rottie had this and has coped really well and now pain free. If you are near enough to Noel I would go there, people tend to travel hundreds of miles to see him - myself had a six hour round trip which was nothing compared to the treatment we had.

Do see an ortho specialist, they obviously know so much more than our primary care vets and can possibly save our pets from a lifetime of pain - even if we have to save for a year or so to afford the op.

__________________

Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"