Dr. Tony Cambridge; Veterinary Surgical Specialists

February, 2009          

VSS has been at the fore front of total hip replacement technology, performing large numbers of non-cemented total hip replacements on juvenile dogs.  Because cemented hip replacement carried concerns of implant loosening we sought new methods. 

We performed over 50 non-cemented procedures with the BioMetrix system.  In some cases we faced complications of luxation and occasional femoral fractures.  Giant breeds were a significant challenge.  Most complications occurred in the first 2 weeks, beyond 6 weeks complications were, and still are, exceedingly rare.  Two years ago Medicatech began to market a new hip from Germany, the Innoplant-Helica hip (www.innoplant-vet.de/eng/). 

This hip has been used for one year now at VSS.  It lends itself to large and giant breed dogs with great success. The atypical femoral component is a short threaded implant that is placed into the femoral neck rather than the femoral shaft. This makes placement less hazardous to the femur.

The implant can withstand loads more than twice that of a standard femoral component.  The acetabular component is screwed into the pelvis. Its liner entraps the ball of the femoral component and essentially eliminates luxation. This is an exciting THR option.

The surgeons at VSS will continue to stay at the forefront of surgical technology to help bring progressive surgical procedures to our mutual patients.