Need Help!!! Dislocated Hip

Yesterday when we came home, we found Pachi limped and didn’t use her right back leg. She didn’t seem hurt so much. She still hops and even jumps to the couch. I brought Pachi to the vet this morning. She got an X-ray and the result shows she has dislocated hip. Some part of her leg (not sure what it call) is outside of her hip joint.



The vet said there are 3 ways to do

1. Have a surgery. It will cost about $2,000.

2. Try to put it back and tape it for 4-6 weeks. It will cost about $200. She can’t guarantee the result; it can be out from the socket again after that.

3. Do nothing, her body will heal itself.



I really don’t know what happened. Don’t remember anything that can cause this problem. But it already happened and I really need suggestions. She so young, just 4 months old.



What I should do? Please advise or share your experiences. The vet will call me back tonight and we can do No. 2 tomorrow or Monday. Can we wait until Monday?



Can her body really heal itself?

Your poor thing and bun...

First of all, see if you can confine him to a smaller area to avoid some movement until you make a decision.



Secondly I would get a couple more quotes from vets as $2000 sounds pretty steep. For example, how complex is the operation. how long will it take. I can't see how a dislocation can cost taht much. How long will the opereration take? I think shopping around (so to speak) would be a good idea as this seems overly expensive.

Lastly, I don't think leaving it is an option really, as rabbits can find it difficult to express real pain sometimes.

Good luck and keep us all posted xxx



This article might help:-

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/dislocated.html

Hi Beyza!

This same thing happened to my bunny Daisy about 2 years ago,i noticed that she was lying down a lot,and when she hopped she looked a bit funny,i got very concerned so i took her to see the vet,she examined her and it was found that Daisy's leg was dislocated,i couldn't believe it as i have no idea how it happened,anyway the vet said she will try to pop her leg back in,she stayed there overnight and i picked her up the next day,i had to keep her in a small cage so her movements could be restricted,she had to be like that for two weeks.I took her back in 2 weeks to see if her leg was ok,well the vet checked her and then she gave me the bad news,Daisy's leg had popped back out,tears started rolling down my face because i thought i would have to put her to sleep,but the vet said i have a few options 1..i could just leave it like that,but she would end up with very bad arthritis later in life and it wouldn't be very comfortable having the bones rub together,2..put her to sleep,3..she could have an operation to cut of the boneat the top of her legthat sits in the hip socket,,i cannot remember the name she used for it though,i said i will go for the operation to remove the bone.

Daisy stayed at the vets that night as the specialist was coming in the vets in the morning and he would do the operation then,i tell you what..i was sooo scared i was going to lose her through this,as this was a major operation for a bunny,i said goodbye to Daisy and i walked out of that vet crying and thinking "how in the world did this happen"i still dont know how her leg became dislocated in the first place.

The next day i get a phone call from the vet saying that Daisy had the operation,and she is now recovering and i can pick her up in a few hours,they just wanted to keep her there so they could observe her,i hung up the phone and sat down and just cried with reliefe,i couldnt wait to go and get her and bring her home.

She had a fairly big cut along her hip and i cannot remember how many stitches she had,but the little bugger pulled out a few of those stitches 2 days later and her wound was gaping open,so it was of to the vet again to get restitched,and she had to wear a cone so she couldn't get to her stitches anymore,omg she hated having that on,she would throw a tantrum and everything,but she soon got over it.

While she was recovering i kept her in the loungeroom with the door shut just so she couldnt wander to far,she did not have to be kept in a small cage this time.It had taken about 6 weeks for her to heal and everything and she also had to take two lots of medicine for about 2 weeks as well,when it was time for me to leave the loungeroom door open you should have seen her,she actually ran from the lounge and out of that door,was she a happy bunny,it took her a bit of time to get used to using her leg in a different way as now she has no bone going into her hip,it's just muscle that is holding her leg now,i was told specifically not to let her put on weight as this will put a lot of pressure on her leg.Sometimes she sits in a funny way with that leg sprawled out to the side but then she will correct herself and pull her leg back in,i'm glad i chose the operation now,because she is still here happy and healthy and running around.

The cost all up was just over $800,that was including everything from when i first took her to see the vet.



Can her body really heal itself?.........ok,if you left it like that it will heal but not in a natural way,your bunnies leg is out of the socket ,the bones will be rubbing together and causing discomfort and she will end up with arthritis later in life,also if you are going to go with no 2,it should be done as soon as possible,the longer the joint is left out of the socket the harder it will be for it to stay in place and like your vet said there are no guarantees anyway that it will stay in place,it's the same guarantee that my vet gave me as well



i hope this has helped you a bit as i know how worrying it can be



cheryl

I justsaw the link that jojo posted and i found what the procedure was calledFemoral head osteoectomy,i knew it started with an F lol but i just couldn't actually remember the full name.

Also as i said the operation was done by a specialist it was actually aorthopedist,and as i was reading i discovered it was the right leg that the bunny dislocated,and Beyza your bunny dislocated her right leg and Daisy my bunny dislocated her right backleg,now this seemed pretty weird to me.

And none of us know how it happened:?



omg,i just read that whole article and i related to everything she wrote,Daisys vet had never had a operation performed like that before on a bunny,Daisy was the first and my vet actually did a lot of research on it,they called in the orthopedist especially for Daisy.

Beyza please update us on how your little girl is going



cheryl

Hi Beyza!

I have been thinking about Pachi and how she was getting along,and was just wondering what you have chosen to do.

I know when the vet first tried to pop Daisy's leg back in it actually cost me $260 the dearest part was the radiology which was $129.60,so the $200 you have to pay isn't that bad,another thing is my vet said she couldn't tape Daisy's leg as it would affect her hopping and she wouldn't be able to hop around,she would end up just sitting there,and she wouldn't be able to use her litter box instead she would end up just lying in her mess,so this is why my vet said she wouldn't be able to strap her leg up.



cheryl

Thank you Cheryl and jojo. I'm sorry that I haven't updated about Pachi.

After I read the articles and spoke to the vets around this area, I decided to go for the surgery.It was weekend so most of the hospital were closed. I just be able to call the hospitals more today.

I got the explanation from the vet that there are 2 ways for the surgery. My understanding is one is to put her leg back to the hip socket and "sew" it. This one will cost around $2,000. The other way is the same as Daisy an jojo's article. This way will cost around $800. I think I will go with the second choice. I feel bad to say Ican't afford $2,000, but I have to admit it. But at least I can be sure that she will be fine just like Daisy. Thank you again Cheryl for sharing your experience.

I'm trying to make an appointment by today. I don't want to leave her like this for too long even though she seemed fine, but I know sometimes it hurt her. When she looked at my eyes I know she tried to tell me there is something wrong, she doesn't know what it is and sheneeds help. I cried a lot Cheryl, but my friend told me I have to be strong to help her.

I will keep you posted. Thanks agian.

Beyza

Hi Beyza!

That is great that you chose to go with that procedure,as scary as it is at least you will know she will live a happy and pain free life,i know i was very scared for Daisy when my vet was explaining the procedure,all i could think was omg how is Daisy going to get through this operation and i just didn't know what to expect after the operation,but everything turned out fine and i worried for nothing,but seeing her after the op was a bit sad,but the day after she was actually moving around a bitbut she had her leg sprawled out to the side a fair bit and i felt a bit uncomfortable seeing her like that,i felt so sorry to see her like that,but the vet said the more she will use her leg the better she will be able to control it,still to this day she will have her leg sprawled out and i think aww you poor girl but she will just pull it back in.



I wish you and Pachi all the best,and i'm sure everything will go well with your little girl.



and please update on everything thatgoeson with Pachi,as i have been thinking lots about her



cheryl

it is possible for the hip to stay once it is popped back into place, I have an older bun who came to me with a dislocated hip, and we had to do several other surgeries on her, we felt rather than subject her to an additional one we'd try to pop her hip back in, if it didn't work we would have done the femoral head osteoectomy.

Fortunately for her the hip stayed, she'd already had muscle atrophy in that leg, so goodness knows how long her leg was out, but it has stayed over a year now and she has built up some good muscle as well.



Best wishes on the surgery, it can take a while to recover depending on the individual, but once it's done and it heals properly, it can not cause them any more problems. best wishes--g


If you'd like to see her her pic is on " *UPDATE* for those who know Brice" sorry i'd put the link but don't have it at the moment

Hi Beyza!

Ihave been wondering how Pachi has been,and what has gone on with her



please let us know



cheryl

How is the little girl today?

Hi all,

This is 12 years late so I’m not sure if people even still use this but I just found out my bunny Georgie dislocated her hip. I noticed her leaning mostly on her right hind leg as her left one is the one dislocated.

The vet told us basically the same three options:

They could try to pop it back into place which they said would basically not work at all because she already has scarred tissue

Go to Champagne, IL (I live in Chicago) to get surgery

Have it amputated
We’re getting a quote for the surgery but I’m really scared that she wouldn’t make it through. My other bunny Flapjack recently passed away so I’m really a mess.

Please let me know if you have any tips.
thanks,

Cora

Oh Cora!
I have no advice. I just want to say that I’m praying for you & Georgie!
I’ll keep following up to see how it goes. I’m also so sorry for your loss. I’m sure Flapjack was very loved! I can’t imagine losing our Hot Cocoa!
Hugs
Tara

Thank you so much, that means a lot

Cora, sorry you are dealing with this. I suggest, though, that you start a new thread since this one is so old. You are more likely to get more responses.

Just go under the health section to post. Be sure to include your rabbits age and how it happened (if you know).

If you were in Denver I'd say take her to Dr Jeff at planned pethood plus--he is a true animal lover, a Saint and he undercuts any price I've ever heard of and takes into account how much most of us love our companions and how much we can really afford.