A femoral head ostectomy or FHO is a surgical procedure that should be considered for both dogs and cats where there is pain and/or lameness of a diseased or damaged hip which is not alleviated by weight loss, pain medication or any other surgical or non-surgical procedure.
An FHO is typically used as a salvage or last resort procedure to restore pain-free mobility in pets with severe osteoarthritis or hip dysplasia. It involves total removal of the femoral head (the "ball" part) and neck of the femur in which the bones of the joint no longer contact, causing surrounding muscle to develop and support the area as a sort of "false joint". This false joint works well to support the weight of small dogs and cats and may be less effective in large breeds over 50lbs, however your veterinarian may recommend an FHO for a large dog if doing so would be appropriate.
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