Today marks six weeks since Skippy had FHO surgery on his remaining hind leg. The good news is that his fur is growing back nicely, his appetite has fully returned, he’s lost half a pound, and he’s healthy and happy. The challenging news is that we tried to start physical therapy last week with a local pet rehabilitation therapist, and things didn’t go as planned.
Before we could start any physical therapy, it was recommended that we get a new set of x-rays to see how things were healing. Unfortunately, the therapy clinic vet told us that Skippy’s femur is too rough, and that he probably needs to have another surgery to smooth it down. Hearing that news took my breath away initially, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned during these past few months, it’s that x-rays seem to be highly subjective and no two vets ever seem to agree on what they’re seeing. (I once had a vet try to aspirate a tumor from our pet chicken, and it turned out to just be an egg!) Insert mental head slap here.. Ugh.
We have been told that some bone remodeling could occur to smooth things out, and so that’s the path we are on right now. We were given an eight day course of anti-inflammatory medication, and Buprenorphine, with the hope that he would use his leg enough to promote bone remodeling. We did see an increase in overall playfulness in him during that time, but it doesn’t seem like he’s doing any more weight bearing. Occasional he will take a few fully extended steps, sometimes up to ten at a time, but for the most part he is still scooting. Thankfully, he has enough strength and mobility now to scratch his right ear again, so that is a good sign and certainly a nice improvement for his quality of life. (Mom still has to scratch his left ear, of course).
So… we are in a holding pattern for now, and for the foreseeable future we will continue with Gabapentin, joint supplements, and biweekly laser treatments with the hope that Skippy’s bones will do their job and smooth out. I think this is going to be a slow process, but I am overwhelmingly thankful that Skippy is still with us, and that despite everything he’s been through, he is happy and knows how much we love him.
OH NO! I’m sorry for that disappointing news! Ugh! Major bummer, but you guys are taking it like champs. I’m in awe of your pawsitivity!
You are so right, these kinds of situations can result in so many different opinions it’s hard to know what to think. But your egg tumor story is a good example of how sometimes, even the best vets just don’t have all the answers. I think your plan sounds totally reasonable and I would take that path too.
We are sending tons of Tripawd Power to Skippy’s bones for more healing!!!!
Thank you for the update, we really appreciate your keeping us in the loop.