Image: Coquet Vets, 2021. All rights reserved.
On the 13th of December, a little toy poodle called Oscar presented to Coquet vets. He was acutely lame on his left hind leg after falling from the sofa. During his examination, our vet Emily advised radiographs because he was non weight bearing lame (not using his leg at all).
Radiographs showed dislocation of Oscar’s left hip. Emily carefully manipulated the left hind leg back into the correct position under an anaesthetic.
Radiographs confirmed this procedure was successful. We advised strict cage rest with painkillers to keep him comfortable.
Unfortunately, two days later Oscar came in and he still wasn’t using his left leg. During his examination, Emily was unable to extend the hip and suspected that the left hip had re dislocated again.
Our vet, Rachel, took radiographs, which confirmed the suspicion. Rachel used the same technique to put the hip back into the correct position. An Ehmer sling (a special bandage) was applied to prevent weight bearing, and to keep his hip in place. This sling kept his leg bent and up off the floor to ensure the hip would remain in the correct position.
We saw Oscar back every few days to check that the sling wasn’t causing any pain and to check that the hip was still in place.
The sling was removed on the 23rd of December, and we are happy to say that his hip is still in place and Oscar is doing really well.
As always, if this article has raised any concerns about your pets, please don’t hesitate to call us on 01665 252 250.
