Toggle rod stabilization for treatment of hip joint luxation in dogs: 62 cases (2000-2005)

Objective-To determine outcome of open toggle rod stabilization in dogs with luxation of the hip joint. Design-Retrospective case series. Animals-62 dogs. Procedures-Information on signalment, surgical procedure, and postoperative care was obtained from the medical records. A questionnaire was sent to all owners to solicit follow-up information. Results-The distribution for time between luxation and surgery was bimodal, with 24 (39%) dogs examined <= 2 days after injury and 23 (37%) examined > 7 days after injury. Postoperative complications developed in 16 of the 62 (26%) dogs, with complications developing within 1 week after surgery in 10 of the 16. The most common complication was reluxation, which occurred in 7 dogs. Dogs in which surgery time was < 2 hours were significantly less likely to have a reluxation (2/40 [5%]) than were dogs in which surgery time was >= 2 hours (5/22 [23%]). When asked to rate current limb function (0 = no lameness and 5 = non-weight-bearing lame) a minimum of 6 months after surgery, 23 of 27 (85%) owners indicated a score of 0 or 1. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Results of the present study suggest that toggle rod stabilization is an effective treatment for hip joint luxation in dogs. However, complications, particularly reluxation, were common.