My seven month old westie has just had an operation for this disease of the hip. She is quite poorly and in a lot of pain. She refuses to put her back leg down and is walking on three legs. If this persists the leg will die and have to be amputated. Any suggestions?

How long is it since the Opp

Operation was last Friday 1st April

Am I right in guessing you mean legge perthes disease?

I have taken this paragraph from the  Encyclopedia of Canine Veterinary Medical Information

"In these dogs, excision of the femoral head (ball portion of the hip joint) is often beneficial. Removal of this section of the bone diminishes painful bony contact in the hip joint. Recovery from this surgery can be slow with recovery periods of up to one year sometimes occurring before good use of the affected leg returns."

Most things I have read suggest the operation that removes the femoral head is generally successful. The puppy just needs time to recover.

I probably wouldn't be walking or putting my leg down after that. It does say it can take up to a year.

Good luck. Pam

PS did the vet + or surgeon not explain all of this to you and the healing expectations etc?

heres some good info http://www.offa.org/leggperthinfo.html

Thanks for that.

Yes that is the disease. The vet did explain it can take up to a year but then went on to say it is bad that she isn't using her leg yet. We had that much to take in because we were not expecting something as serious as this, we thought she had just sprained her leg badly. Diagnosis, operation all happened so quick, we couldn't take it all in. we are taking her back for a check-up tomorrow and asking how soon we can get her into water. Just wondered if anyone had any first hand knowledge of the disease. The vet told us that the longer she walks on just three legs the harder it will be for her and us, because westies are perfectly happy to walk on just the three legs and she may not even want to bother.

My Jack Russell had to have his ball joint removed due to an accident resulting in a broken leg just below the ball.  He walks on it now and you would never know,  but it did take a good few weeks before he would even put his foot to the floor.  The vet did comment that jack russells have a tendancy to hop around on three legs anyway even when there is nothing wrong, and in his oppinion Jack russells have three legs and a spare  :D  I dont know anything about the disease your dog has, but I would say swimming would be a good idea after the wound has healed up, to build muscle which will support the joint.

The operation is a major thing I would be suprised at any animal using it within a week.  Search on the internet there are loads of pages on it all saying the same.

I was suprised you saying the operation happened so quick after diagnosis as again just by the reading on the net it seems that vets will try loads of things before the op.. I guess the vet knows what they are doing..

Be patient I say..

Pam

Removal of the femoral head is the treatment of choice for this condition & little else has much success, therefore why faff with lots of other treatment leaving a dog in discomfort.
Hydrotherapy can be beneficial in recovery.
I'd be concerned if your vet suggested that the leg would 'die' and need amputating, seek a specialist opinion before going down that route.
The last young westie we performed this operation on continues to do well and is bearing good amounts of weight on the leg 4-6wks down the line.