Femoral head and neck excision in cats: medium- to long-term functional outcome in 18 cats.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the medium- to long-term functional outcome of cats after femoral head and neck excision (FHNE) using an owner-completed questionnaire. METHODS: Cats that had FHNE and were free of other orthopaedic or medical conditions that could affect their mobility, other than the studied coxofemoral joint(s), were included. A specific owner-completed questionnaire was used at a minimum of 4 months postoperatively. The questionnaire assessed the ability of the cats to perform normal feline activities, change of demeanour or behaviour, the necessity for long-term analgesia and the time taken to resume normal activities. RESULTS: Eighteen cats had undergone uni- or bilateral FHNE and met the inclusion criteria. All but one cat could perform normal feline activities without or with slight difficulty at follow-up. The aforementioned cat had notable, persistent difficulty in climbing. The majority of the cats took between 1 and 2 months to resume normal activity. No change in demeanour or behaviour was noted in any of the cats and none of the cats required long-term analgesia. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Based on the owner-completed questionnaire, cats have good-to-excellent medium- to long-term functional outcome after adequately performed FHNE.

Trans-iliac pin/bolt/screw internal fixation for sacroiliac luxation or separation in cats: six cases.

Trans-iliac pin, bolt or screw stabilisation was performed on six cats with sacroiliac (SI) luxation and separation. For the purpose of this study, SI luxation is defined as the separation of the iliac wing from the sacrum without fracture of the sacral or iliac wing; SI separation is defined as the separation of the iliac wing from the sacrum secondary to fracture of the sacrum and/or the iliac wing. Complications, surgical time and medium-to-long-term outcome were assessed by a retrospective review of the clinical records and owner questionnaires. Postoperative reduction of the SI joint was good-to-excellent in all cases and the outcome was considered good-excellent in all cats apart from one, where the trans-iliac bolt migrated dorsally from the iliac wing. This cat had bilateral SI luxations. Based on our results, trans-iliac fixation of SI luxation/separation is associated with good clinical outcome and should be considered as a treatment option in unilateral SI luxation in cats. Caution should be exercised in the use of trans-iliac pin/bolt as the sole method of stabilisation in bilateral SI luxations.