Image 1

• Total hip replacement (THR) is a salvage procedure.
• Functional results are excellent with an expectation that the patient will achieve normal athletic activity, even work.
• THR is appropriate for all dogs which cannot enjoy full, unrestricted activity following appropriate medical treatment.
• THR is not just for very severely affected dogs.
• THR can be performed successfully even in skeletally immature dogs
• Although most patients are larger breeds, small implants are available making THR an option for Westies etc with Perthes disease.

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• Many of the problems and complications with THR relate to the use of polymethylmethacrylate bone cement.
• Newer designs of hip are cementless - these radiographs show a Biomedtrix BFX cementless hip in a 40Kg labrador.
• The implants have a porous metallic coating into which patient bone grows providing a permanent, biomechanically sensitive and immensely strong bond.
• Cementless hips are more difficult to implant than older systems demanding an exact and precise surgical technique. Some surgeons have struggled to overcome these technical challenges.

Image 3

• Open leg lateral view of a cementless THR - 4 year follow up.
• This view is useful in evaluating hips as it minimises interference from overlying structures.
• In this case the implant-bone bond is mature, well established and stable.
• The patient is a Labrador retriever that has worked three full seasons since the hip replacement performed when the patient was 16 months old.