Christina Goff is wondering if veterinary surgeon Bill Liska implanted retriever parts when he gave her West Highland white terrier, Maggie, a Micro Hip prosthesis.
"Maggie is now enjoying swim rehab every evening," said Goff, noting that Maggie apparently has a new passion, not common for terriers, for retrieving a sporting dog training bumper thrown into the water.
Maggie, a 15-month-old West Highland white terrier, was lame for several months from hip problems affecting both legs. She couldn't run, but had to "bunny hop," and even walking was abnormal. In both her hips, the heads of the femurs or long leg bones were subluxated from the acetabulums —not sitting correctly in the hip sockets. It was very painful to extend her legs, hence her odd gait.
David Helms works at BioMedtrix, the company that designs and manufactures the specially designed Micro Hip for small dogs and cats. After Goff e-mailed Helms looking for help, he told her about Dr. Liska's veterinary orthopedic practice in Houston. Using an array of BioMedtrix prostheses and procedures, Liska also had the expertise and success record to be able to help Maggie. Although Goff lives in Arizona, she rented a motor home and drove Maggie to Texas.
Since the Westie's left hip was the worse, Liska performed a total hip replacement on that side. Instead of the ill-fitting hip bones, he implanted a correctly moving ball-and-socket joint prosthesis. Her second hip will be replaced later, after the first one is completely healed.
Maggie’s owner says the operation has been more than a success. Her physical therapy includes water exercise which has become a real pleasure, and since “terriers plus boredom equal terrorists,” Goff bought Maggie and her other Westie, Finn, a training bumper commonly used to train retrievers in water.
"We could not believe how fast Maggie understood what to do: She swam right up to it, grabbed it in her mouth and got it all the way to the exit ramp." Finn, on the other hand, was not impressed. "He tried it twice, got a lot of pool water in his mouth, and decided this was not for him."
Goff doesn't really care whether or not her terriers love water or retrieving. She’s just thrilled with Maggie's mobility and lack of pain after her Micro Hip implant.
Maggie, a 15-month-old West Highland white terrier, was lame for several months from hip problems affecting both legs. She couldn't run, but had to "bunny hop," and even walking was abnormal. In both her hips, the heads of the femurs or long leg bones were subluxated from the acetabulums —not sitting correctly in the hip sockets. It was very painful to extend her legs, hence her odd gait.
for help, he told her about Dr. Liska's veterinary orthopedic practice in Houston. Using an array of BioMedtrix prostheses and procedures, Liska also had the expertise and success record to be able to help Maggie. Although Goff lives in Arizona, she rented a motor home and drove Maggie to Texas.
"We could not believe how fast Maggie understood what to do: She swam right up to it, grabbed it in her mouth and got it all the way to the exit ramp." Finn, on the other hand, was not impressed. "He tried it twice, got a lot of pool water in his mouth, and decided this was not for him."
Christina Goff is wondering if veterinary surgeon Bill Liska implanted retriever parts when he gave her West Highland white terrier, Maggie, a Micro Hip prosthesis.