Femoral head and neck excision or ostectomy is a salvage procedure used in the treatment and management of hip dysplasia, trauma, or other diseases of the hip. Hip dysplasia means malformation of the hip joints. It is the most common orthopedic disease in dogs, and a similar problem occurs in cats but much less often. The malformed hip will eventually develop some degree of arthritis and in some patients, pain. With trauma, patients can have fractures of the femoral head and often FHO surgery is indicated. There are other diseases of the hip, such as Legg Perthes’ Disease, where the blood supply to the femoral head is abnormal and causes aseptic necrosis of the femoral head. In instances like these, FHO surgery is indicated to remove the diseased portion of the bone.
