Functional recovery of hip joint postoperative in dogs: clinic, radiographic and biomechanical study

The hip joint has been over the years the most frequently injured in dogs from external traumatism or degenerative diseases. Many studies have been accomplished in the evaluation of new surgical techniques, however little has been describing about long-term evaluations. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the patients' recovery from hip diseases after surgical treatment through a clinical evaluation (lameness degrees and thigh circumference), radiographic exam and force platform analysis. Twenty-one operated dogs with diagnosis of traumatic hip luxation, fracture of head and femoral lap or aseptic necrosis of the femoral head were evaluated between 1998 e 2007. The recovery of the animals was rated between excellent and very good, demonstrating that most had (80,0%) the function of the affected member practically reestablished, with some individual variations. Recovery was classified between excellent and very good.