Time for the consult!

I scheduled an appointment for Morris to consult with Dr. Tibor Lazar of Veterinary Surgical Centers in Leesburg, VA. He came highly recommended by Dr. LaHaise at Stream Valley Veterinary Center in Ashburn, VA. Shout outs? You bet. These guys were professionals and truly cared about Morris and his plight.

Dr. Lazar had a heads up about Morris' condition and had already received X-ray films from Dr. LaHaise. When I scheduled Morris' appointment, I discussed the need for sedation with the staff. I knew there was no way Morris was going to cooperate during the exam. As a result, Morris wasn't able to take food in prior to the exam, which turned out to be fortuitous.

Dr. Lazar didn't really see the need to upset Morris with an examination, but took the time to discuss with me everything that was going on and Morris' options. He advised that performing a bilateral femoral head osteotomy was the best option for Morris. SPOILER ALERT: The next few sentences are going to be kind of gruesome. With an FHO, the socket part that goes into the hip is removed. This forces the surrounding muscles to form a sort of artificial socket allowing the hips to be more in alignment. The pelvis fracture would be left as is due to the number of complications associated with the surgery. By doing the surgery on both hips at the same time, Morris would be forced to use both legs thereby providing his own physical therapy.

When I asked Dr. Lazar what the next steps were, he said to me "Well, if you were leaving him today..." at which point, I interrupted him and said "Is that an option???" It most definitely was an option! Not only was there time available on the schedule, but since Morris hadn't had anything to eat since the night before, the fasting before surgery was already taken care of! Hallelujah! Morris would be that much closer to freedom from pain and I leapt at the opportunity (note to readers: this wasn't entirely selfless. It also meant I could minimize my trips to Leesburg). So, on Friday, March 11th, Morris had his bilateral FHO.

I gnawed my lip from 11 am to 5:30 when I finally heard back from Dr. Lazar. Morris came through the surgery with flying colors! Being able to go in and finally see the damage, Dr. Lazar said that the previously broken, now healed hip was causing a ton of pain for Morris. He, too, is hopefully that this surgery will turn Morris into a much much nicer kitty! That night, we spent some time preparing Morris' "condo" for the next couple of weeks: a ginormous dog airline crate with plenty of space for food, water, litterbox and sleeping. Morris would come home the very next day!