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Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1  Unfortunately, you do not have a vet that will do both hips at the same time?.....there are a few out there that do, and with dogs weighing less than 50-60 lbs, it is a good choice...I had contacted and gotten opinions from 7 different vets , Chiefs in Orthopedic surgery from 7 different vet schools...even a vet that does certifications for OFA....they all assured me that rather than let that unoperated hip continue to waste away (atrophy), and rather than take the risk of anesthesia twice, a vet that has done multiple FHO surgeries, can easily do both hips at the same time....these 7 experts I spoke with had no $$$$ motivation for recommending doing both hips at the same time versus one at a time, and they all said there was no "right way or wrong way" to the answer, it was the attending vets preference only that actually dictates how it is done...Thank God my vet (orthopedic specialist) does this surgery, both hips at the same time, and the dog is on the way to recovery 6 weeks faster than if you do one hip and then re-traumatize the dog for the second hip. |
I don't know who your specialist is in this area. I use Dr. Beale and Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists and he said he can do both hips at the same time; but when I asked him about whether that is a great idea he did admit it is better to do them one at a time. It is cheaper to do both at once but not ideal. I opted to do one on my pup, Adina, because I did not want her traumatized. He did the worst hip first.....and we are now going to wait and see if the other hip becomes painful before deciding whether to proceed with surgery on it.
He said that with knee surgery they often do both at the same time because it forces the pups to use them which makes sense. But, that same theory does not apply to the hips.