Hello everyone!
Can't believe it's been 2 years since Mo's Femoral Head Ostectomy Surgery. Since his FHO surgery, you would never even guess he had the surgery. He runs, plays, and jumps with his brother without any limping or pain.
If anyone has any questions feel free to post & ask! I would definitely recommend this surgery to everyone!
Thank you for posting about Mo's recovery, including this two year update. My cat is in a similar situation after dislocating his hip. The emergency vet performed a procedure (closed hip reduction) with a low success rate (50%) and thus he still may need an FHO in the near future. I worry about that his leg muscles may have weakened since the leg has already been in a sling for a week. But I was glad to read how successful the FHO procedure was for Mo and hope that if open reduction is not successful for my kitty that FHO will be painless and effective. Thanks also for sharing the price. If only it weren't so expensive! But it's well worth it to make our pets whole and healthy.
ReplyDeleteyou might want to call the vet and just to check. Our cat had a limp for almost 3-4 weeks post-op. It's a slow recovery process, unfortunately.
DeleteMy Cat Gus just had this surgery yesterday. The Doctor said to keep him restricted from activity for at least 2 weeks. We are already 24 hour post op and i am finding that difficult to do. He seems to be doing really well and wants to be on the move. I assume whatever pain he is in from the surgery is much less than the broken hip. I am curious as to what you Vet told you to do as aftercare?
ReplyDeleteMy cat, Squid is having an FHO surgery on Monday! Your blog has been great to read to prepare myself for what's to come. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMy cat is one and a half and had this surgery yesterday. We go to pick him up today. Thank you so much for the encouragement of your blog. I am praying that my "oliver" has the same recovery as your lil "mo." Thanks again for giving me a positive outlook for this recovery.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your posts! My 1 year old cat had FHO surgery on January 12 (wow, it's barely been two months but it feels like ages ago!) and is doing well. He seems to be on his way to a full recovery (running, jumping, playing), but definitely gets tired out more easily than he used to. I realize that all cats are different, but when did any of you notice that your cats were no longer limping and seemed completely "back to normal"? Mycroft definitely uses his surgery leg, but really just as a crutch. I'd like to see him putting full weight back on that side of his body, but I probably just need to be more patient, right?
ReplyDeleteGood luck to everyone! Your cat might be a little snippy the first night you bring her home post-op, but she'll get over it. ;) Our cat didn't want to be touched for a couple days, but then went back to his usual loving self. He hardly touched his stitches (too painful?) so didn't have to wear the cone of shame, which was nice for all involved. Same with keeping him from running around too much... he was too tired/uncomfortable so stayed pretty dormant for about a week. But then by week two, he was using the Amazon-boxes-turned-stairs to climb up on the bed.
So great to read about other people's experiences. Our cat, Captain had the operation on Wednesday and came home today. I am crossing my fingers he recovers as well as everyone's cats.
ReplyDeleteI've just found out my British Blue needs this op on both hips. The left pretty urgently. Reading this has made me feel much better!
ReplyDeleteI've just found out my British Blue needs this op on both hips. The left pretty urgently. Reading this has made me feel much better!
ReplyDeleteMy cat just came home today from FHO surgery on both hips. How did yours do on recovery? Recovery for two hips at once seems kinda crazy since they don't have a strong leg to favor. Paco is "walking" a bit today but is definitely struggling.
DeleteHow is Paco doing? My cat Gus just had a double FHO today and I am very nervous about his recovery.
DeleteThank you for this blog. Our cat Moose had this surgery yesterday, and we are going to pick him up soon. Reading about Mo made me feel much more confident about these next few days. Glad to hear Mo is back to 100%
ReplyDeleteMy cat Dizzy is a city cat and got too curious about the pigeons. She fell down 5 stories, fracturing her femur and dislocating her hip. The procedure along with hospitalization cost us close to $10k.
ReplyDeleteBut Dizzy is now 3 weeks post-up and slowly getting back to normal. She had to go in for a second surgery in order to get one of the pins out as it was slowly protruding and causing fluid built up. She is walking around a bit more, albeit with a limp. How long did it take for your kitty to act like himself again? I just want my Dizzy back.
This sounds way more intensive than the FHO. With Squid's surgery she was basically back to normal as soon as the opiate pain meds were done. The physical therapy was rough since she would cry out in pain when we stretched her leg out. But the rest of the time she was the same old Squid!
DeleteJust remember that no matter the surgery, cats bounce back faster and more completely than humans!
She actually had 2 surgeries, one for her hip, the other was FHO. So the weight bearing is a bit tougher. As for PT, she is walking around but does prefer to lay around a bit more. I'm just hoping she'll be back to herself in no time
ReplyDeleteHow long did it take for all the hair to grow back? at this point we just make fun of Dizzy asking where the rest of her is. She's as good as new!
ReplyDeleteHi! I wanted to thank you, Mo's mom, for your posts. Your post and Barbara's post on Bentley have helped me so much for my cat JasPurr who had the FHO on March 22nd. It is now 16 days later. I have a question if you still are reading these posts. How much of a limp did Mo have in the first 2-3 weeks? My cat has this very thickened, raised area about 1/2 inch by 1 inch to the left of his incision. It isn't red, but kind of hardened. I think it may be because he pulled a few internal stiches out that had poked thru early on and "maybe" it is from this. A little worried, but watching it as his movement seems good and the swelling is going down. My main question is on how much limping was there at 2 weeks out, thru a month following surgery, and even several months or so - what you observed.
ReplyDeleteMy cat Gus just had a double FHO... the vet took out the wrong "ball" and had to go in and take out the correct broken one. My Gus will now have to recover from a double FHO and I am panicking. I came across this post on my google search and was wondering how your cat is doing or if you have any advice on the healing process
ReplyDeleteMy god... I am SO SORRY! My little Tippy just got FHO on his left leg yesterday morning at the UGA Vet Hospital here in Georgia. How in the world does a doctor make a mistake like that?! I would be livid in your shoes!
DeleteIt was the worst thing I've ever gone through. I can't imagine my poor Gus felt. It's about 5 weeks since his surgery. I was frantic the day I found this thread. I have no excuse for the vet that made the mistake.
ReplyDeleteI can say my kitty Gus (1yr old) is a trooper. His legs are getting stronger day by day. He is able to walk now. Still wobbly but making progress.
I hope your kitty has a speedy recovery
You inspired me to document our FHO recovery journey as Moose recovers from his second (!) FHO after fracturing his remaining femoral head a few days ago: moosesfhojourney.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteThanks again for your blog and keep us updated on Moe!! :)
Hi, thanks for all the timeline posts- really helps with making a decision. Our 6 month old kitten jumped out the window (2nd story) and part of the femur ball chipped off. After reading up, we have decided that she having the surgery later today. Was so worried because she is so young. Didn't want her living a half life because of the op. Feeling confident now. Thanks! 😊 She also damaged both her canines and they need to be removed. Any tips on this?
ReplyDeleteMy cat ronin is 18 pounds and a year and a half old, and he had a double fho about 4 weeks ago. When we got him back from the vet, it was awful, he was so high on meds and couldnt walk. He had peed in his carrier on the way home from the vet, but after 2 days of him not peeing i got worried and brought him back to the vet, as hes had urinary problems before and i know how serious it can be. He had a blocked bladder, which can be quickly fatal. The vet installed a catheter and kept him overnight and luckily he was okay, even though it was an additional 1000$ on top of the surgery. After that he peed about once a day for about 5 days, then returned to normal urinary patterns. He was given a urethra spasm relaxer. 10 days post surgery we stopped giving him pain meds, and holy cow what a difference. He was on fentanyl for the first three days, then burprenorphine for the next seven. Buprenorphine made ronin very sedated, and he barely moved other than to use the litter box. As soon as we stopped buprenorphine, he was shakily walking around and his personality was back to normal. 2 weeks in and he walked up the stairs for the first time, 4 weeks in and hes playing like his normal self. The first two weeeks can be very dificult, i lost 10 pounds and barely slept due to the stress and empathy. But it was so worth it, im glad i chose to get the double Fho. Luckily Ronin ate good the whole time, and drank lots of water. For months before his surgery he would lay down to eat and drink to take the weight off his hips, i just thought he was lazy until he had a double fracture. Now he sits normal when eating. I read everything there is to read about fho, and i hope the next person to have this happen reads this and finds some comfort.
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