Day 8

One week ago I picked Milo up from his surgery. It's amazing to see how much better he is doing. He came home with a floppy leg, which he had little/no control over. Today he can control his leg, and is using it when walking.

While he doesn't use his leg 100% of the time yet (we still have a ways for that), he is putting it down when walking, and using it to get up from laying down. I would say he is still using it 50-75% of the time, with some weight (not full weight). He has caught himself a few times with his leg, and just a few minutes ago I saw him step over Marley, and he paused with his left leg in the air (bad leg on the ground then!). This was the first time I've seen him stop and put his right leg first.

Next Thursday we get the staples out, which cannot come soon enough. We are constantly stopping him from licking his incision right now. He has to wear a cone the majority of the time, as he does not like to listen. Thankfully, he's getting used to the cone and not fighting it like he had been. I try to keep it off him when I'm home, but sometimes it's just too difficult.

There's still some swelling around the incision, which we've been icing in hopes it will go down. Milo received his last pain med last night, so these next few days will tell us if he is going to need more. So far so good.

Day 5

Milo's leg is still not fully in the right place - he holds it a little crocked, but at least he's holding it now (and it's not jello). He has been able to walk several steps in a row using his leg when we go outside to the bathroom, and is stretching it back as well! One big thing is that he is willing to put some weight on the leg when he loses his balance. He has been knocked off guard a few times today by Marley and has been able to catch himself with his right leg.

He still wants to move quickly to respond to the door, or a strange noise. When he does this, he does not use his leg more than one or two steps.

We have been watching over him like a hawk to keep him from jumping on/off the couch and the bed. It's difficult, and today was our first slip up - he jumped up on the couch. He's quick with his movements, so you have to be really fast to even catch him. From the looks of it, he partially used his leg to lift him up. I was amazed to see him get up there, but have no plans to let him continue. Hoping he does not do that again for awhile.

There is a small amount of swelling at the incision today. Kind of like a round spot of fluid. It's around an inch or so at the top of the incision and just showed up today.

FHO Recovery Day 3 - Destroyed E-Collar

Today we decided to go out for a few hours (just under 4), and left Milo is his exercise pen with a e-collar on. We go back to work tomorrow, so this was a way to see how he would do.

When we came home, he had somehow managed to get the e-collar off! Not only did he take it off, but he also took his teeth to it. Poor e-collar is no more. We have a second one to use tomorrow, and will see how that goes. I may end up investing in one of the alternatives, as he is terrified of the e-collar.

Hoping for a better outcome tomorrow. There's not much else to report, but he has started to relax more during his passive range of movement exercises, as well as icing after.

FHO Recovery Day 2

Milo's first night home was rough. He could not get comfortable and was up and down all night long. We kept him in the family room, and I stayed on the couch next to him. Poor guy was up half the night just trying to find a good way to sleep. Around 5AM he decided it was a good idea to try and get a tennis ball out from under the couch. Finally a little after 6AM he was able to lay down and get a little more sleep.

He's been getting around today a little better, toe-touching here and there. He has been taking the exercises fairly well, without much of a fight towards me. Even took some icing, which was great.

X-Rays Before & After

Before FHO:


After FHO:

FHO Recovery Day 1

Milo came home today from his FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy) surgery (performed yesterday) on his right side. Everyone at the vets office loved him, and seemed to enjoy hanging out with him. He normally is a whiner, and will whine and bark for attention, but they said this was not the case for them. I was relived to hear that, as when he had his x-rays done, he whined/barked until I picked him up.

For those who do not know what an FHO is, they basically remove the femoral head and neck, in order to alleviate pain. The femur heals overtime, developing a fibrous scar tissue. This scar tissue is a 'false joint'. There is a wiki page on it if you are interested in more. This is just one of the methods used to treat hip dysplasia in dogs. Milo was not a candidate for a total hip replacement, as his femur is farther forward. The vet was worried that with a hip replacement, it could pop out of place due to the excess muscle and skin not holding it tightly.

Seeing him for the first time was difficult - his right side is shaved, but his foot is not - kind of like wearing a shoe. At least that gave me a laugh. Milo did not show pain other than after extensive playing before the surgery, so seeing him like this is hard. He walked out of the vets office and I helped him into the car. He was terrible on the car ride - he wanted to ride center console. I had to fight him to get him to lay down, and he would keep getting back up. We made it home in one piece, with a small amount of blood on his skin (except the wound did not look like it was leaking).

I printed out the TopDog FHO Therapy Guide and plan to follow it for recovery, as our vet only gave us the passive range of motion exercise. I've done a few things with him today, but do not want to push him on his first day home. He has been getting up and walking around, as well as picking up toys. He does stretch his leg out when he goes to the bathroom, which amazed me. I didn't expect him to extend it so far already.

Day 1: