Surgeon Recommendation for Dog's Hip Dysplasia in Ontario

I know the femoral head ostectomy is a lot less expensive than a hip replacement and works well for bulldogs, but I have no knowledge how successful it is in Golden Retrievers. Hopefully someone knows a good surgeon to recommend. Best wishes !

jbman024 - This is such an awful time for your pup to require such a surgery. Did your primary vet make any referrals or have any suggestions?

I don't know whether the specialists at the OVC Health Sciences Centre. University of Guelph are still operating.
Most of the specialists who operate out of the ER on McMurrich St. in Toronto closed up shop on March 17. We have been to both, but much more recently to the eye specialist at the McMurich St. Clinic and before that with a different dog, a sudden surgery at the University of Guelph, performed late night by the on-call Neurosurgeon. You would need referrals for either from your primary veterinarian. They do see patients during the day at Guelph, it is just that our dog started to paralyze at 6:30 p.m. hence the need for the emergency surgery.

You will need an ortho surgeon for this particular procedure. The specialist will need to take his/her own X-Rays using their advanced imaging machines. I would try calling both places and see what they say. The number for the clinic on McMurrich St. is (416) 920-2002. The official name is the Veterinary Emergency Clinic and Referral Centre. Their specialists are excellent and it is possible that the ortho unit has not shut down. The clinic would probably be the best to advise you. One thing for sure though is that you won't be allowed inside - you will have to leave your dog while he is looked at and then the specialist will communicate with you by phone. I know, not ideal. I am suggesting that you first call the VEC because of the travel distance. Next (or instead of) I would call OVC at Guelph University at 519-823-8830. Maybe call both.

This surgery will not be inexpensive as I am sure you know. Best of luck to you and your pup. He has a lot of years ahead of him.

Thanks so much for the detailed response Blanche123. I have read that the surgery is only as good as the surgeon when it comes to hips (and that makes sense to me) so rather than rushing into it, I'm hoping to take my time to connect with someone that has gone to an ortho surgeon for one of the three surgeries I mentioned and had success. The surgeries that he will likely be a candidate for aren't time sensitive (other than the triple pelvic osteotomy but I think it's too late for that) which is another reason not to rush. What surgeries has your dog had?

Hi Jbman024 - We had back/neck disc surgery on our last Dachshund at Guelph. This required a board certified neurosurgeon. Unfortunately, while we had an appointment with the McMurrich St. neuro made by our primary vet, our pup started to paralyze and he had only 12 hours before it would be too late to do anything. So Guelph it was and it was quite the awful drive. Our pup's file was sent to Guelph by our vet and was reviewed before surgery. We absolutely loved the doctor at Guelph and he had recently done the same surgery on his 2 dogs. It was the follow-ups that were hard due to the distance. While Guelph is a teaching hospital, the surgery was performed by the very experienced neuro. The Neuro at the VEC is also excellent, as are all the doctors.

Our dog who unfortunately passed away last week of old age (16 +) had been seeing the pet ophthalmologist at the VEC for nearly 9 years. Fortunately, he did not have PRA. The vet is board certified and would perform surgery only as a last resort.

You definitely need to be careful in the surgeon you choose - and make certain that it is a specialist and a board certified one. Surgery was absolutely necessary for our Dachshund (and we had gone through the same surgery with another Dachshund). But for our recently passed pup, who was Spitz, it was not necessary, just several follow-up appointments and eye tests over the years and prescription eye drops.

Fortunately, our Spitz who passed did not develop Patellar Luxation or a torn ACL which shocked me. Had he I would have known of an ortho. But it would have been one referred to us by our primary vet.

I agree that you have some time, but you do not want to wait too long as appointments with a good board certified surgeon can take awhile and your pup's condition will only worsen. At least for pets it is private health care so that wait will not be nearly as long, but in these times I have no idea what the timing will be like. And until a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus is found, if one ever is, by the time it is tested it will be at least 2 to 4 years. As a result appointments are even harder to make.

I expect that there is a board specific site for Retrievers. I would check it out. You will definitely find other people who have been through this procedure. I would mention that you are in Ontario, Canada, as many of the posters may well be in the U.S. That is the way it was with our Spitz.

Best of luck to you and your pup. I haven't gotten over how fast the past 16 years have flown by.

Your dogs hips look very sad indeed.

Hip replacement is an insane cost. You're only real option is likely the FHO. Phone your vet and ask for a referral to a clinic that will perform this type of surgery. Perhaps they know of a clinic that does them that is not a speciality clinic, if you're ok without a board certified surgeon doing it then it can be a big money saver.

@jbman024 Good thing you live in Hamilton. You might try connecting with Upper Canada Vet Clinic, http://www.ucah.ca/ . My dog (9 Years old at time) needed knee replacement surgery in 2018 and I used this clinic as recommended. They did an excellent job and had top notch post care. They do not nickle and dime but instead charge one price which included post operative care, a couple of follow-up visits and needed medications. As to whether they actually treat the conditions your dog has I have no real idea, but it would be worth a call.

EDIT - I just reviewed the website and they do specialize in Hip Surgeries.

OP - my point about the cost of your pet's surgery not being "inexpensive" was my indirect way of saying it will cost a LOT. Hopefully, you have an idea of the cost so you won't be too shocked.

Watch out for surgeons who have just done a few surgeries.

As with rcpmvet, our cost for our Dachshund at Guelph included everything but only for 4 days. After that there would have been a daily charge. There was no charge for the follow-ups. This may have changed.

It is too bad we are not in England. Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, aka "The SuperVet" is wonderful - he and his team have developed treatments for dogs suffering from ortho, neuro and cancer that are groundbreaking. Our neuro at Guelph used one of Professor Fitzpatrick's techniques on our Dachshund. If you read about him you will be amazed. He is a wonderful vet - you also can see some of his TV shows - he loves animals but is no nonsense when it comes to treating them. He is refreshingly direct.

rcmpvet wrote: ↑ @jbman024 Good thing you live in Hamilton. You might try connecting with Upper Canada Vet Clinic, http://www.ucah.ca/ . My dog (9 Years old at time) needed knee replacement surgery in 2018 and I used this clinic as recommended. They did an excellent job and had top notch post care. They do not nickle and dime but instead charge one price which included post operative care, a couple of follow-up visits and needed medications. As to whether they actually treat the conditions your dog has I have no real idea, but it would be worth a call.

EDIT - I just reviewed the website and they do specialize in Hip Surgeries.

Thank you so much for this recommendation. I called today and the orthopedic surgeon there actually called me back with a ton of good advice about options for my dog. He even checked out my dog's x-rays and didn't charge anything. Really impressed. He seemed really good and if we go the FHO surgery route (since that's what he specializes in), I'll definitely be bringing my dog there. He said he doesn't know of anyone in particular that he can recommend that does Total Hip Replacement surgeries but if I do find someone, make sure they've done A LOT of those surgeries so I know they're experienced.

Blanche123 wrote: ↑ OP - my point about the cost of your pet's surgery not being "inexpensive" was my indirect way of saying it will cost a LOT. Hopefully, you have an idea of the cost so you won't be too shocked.

Watch out for surgeons who have just done a few surgeries.

As with rcpmvet, our cost for our Dachshund at Guelph included everything but only for 4 days. After that there would have been a daily charge. There was no charge for the follow-ups. This may have changed.

It is too bad we are not in England. Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, aka "The SuperVet" is wonderful - he and his team have developed treatments for dogs suffering from ortho, neuro and cancer that are groundbreaking. Our neuro at Guelph used one of Professor Fitzpatrick's techniques on our Dachshund. If you read about him you will be amazed. He is a wonderful vet - you also can see some of his TV shows - he loves animals but is no nonsense when it comes to treating them. He is refreshingly direct.

Thanks again for the responses. Ya I know the cost is crazy, but I'd still like to look into the options if they mean that he'll be able to live a much better life (even if i'm broke lol). But ya I really want to make sure that whatever surgeon we choose is honest and has a lot of experience because they are very intensive surgeries. I'll definitely look into Noel Fitzpatrick when I get a chance. Cheers!

Hi there,

Have you had any luck with locating a surgeon to do a Total Hip Replacement in Ontario. We have a dog Leah whom we adopted @ 3 yrs ago - she came from Greece. We were away on vac in Sept '18 and my mom was watching her. She got stuck under our bed and had a limp when we got home. Our vet thought possibly lyme disease b/c of the limping and did blood work to rule out. It was negative. Next thought was torn ACL. Xrays ruled that out, but showed bilateral Hip Dysplasia. Went to VTC in downtown TO. Recommendation of rest, anti inflammatory etc..waited 6 months with no change. Recommendation from the bet was for us to do FHO or Hip replacement. The only place she recommended was university of Columbus Ohio. So that's what we did last May '19. Drove 6 hrs and she had surgery by Dr. Jonathan Dyce. They were phenomenal and nothing but great things to say. They indicated 4/5 times, they do not require the 2nd Hip done. Well..we think she needs the 2nd one as she is at times very stiff legged and sometimes non weight bearing.
She LOVES to run a and play, but pays the price. We would like to consider having the 2nd Hip done, but unable to go to USA now b/c of COVID. Looking for options in Ontario
We were told before that University of Guelph may do 1 a year whereas University of Ohio was doing @ 5 a week. The only difference for us was paying the exchange and 2 night's accommodation. Well with it. Anyone know of surgeons in Ontario?

@JenniferF59500 Have you reviewed all the posts above and clicked on the links provided?

Wish I had seen this a few months back. My dog had triple pelvic osteotomy at 6 months on both hips. He's a very big dog now, 120lbs but loves life. Best money we have spent. He is almost 5 and runs and wrestles like a normal dog. We give him joint supplements every day and they have made a huge difference. We also have him in hydrotherapy as swimming is great exercise for dogs with mobility issues. I hope your surgery went well!

@jbman024 - My daughter's dog has just been diagnosed with dysplasia and will also need surgery. It will likely be FHO so this conversation is interesting to us. Have you had any luck?

@ilikebigmuttsandicannotlie - where was your surgery done

My daughter has had a referal quote through our local vet but she is a student with limited funds so we are trying to find the best balance between surgery and cost.