Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Long-term function after femoral head and neck removal in cats
By Norberg, L et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2025·School of Veterinary Science, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Factors associated with long-term function in cats treated with femoral head and neck excision.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 35 cats that had surgery to remove the femoral head and neck of their thigh bone were evaluated for their long-term recovery. After at least six months, most owners reported that their cats had a good or excellent quality of life, but about one-third of the cats showed some functional impairment. Interestingly, female cats were more likely to have these issues compared to males. Overall, while many cats did well after surgery, the results suggest that just asking owners about quality of life may not fully capture how well their cats are doing.
People also search for: cat femoral head excision recovery · female cat surgery complications · cat quality of life after surgery
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To assess long-term function in cats following femoral head and neck excision and to investigate if age, weight, sex, breed, outdoor access, multiple injuries, bilateral surgery, complications or physiotherapeutic treatment is associated with long-term function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cats treated with femoral head and neck excision without any postoperative major injury or disease were included in a case-control study. An owner-completed Feline Musculoskeletal Pain Index was used to assess function ≥6 months after surgery. Cats with a score of ≥3 were categorized as having functional impairment (cases). Cats with a score of <3 were categorized as having normal function (controls). Cats' medical records were used to collect information about characteristics, postoperative care and complications. RESULTS: Thirty-five cats which had undergone uni- or bilateral femoral head and neck excision met the inclusion criteria. Scores ranged from -14 to 11 (median 0, interquartile range 3), 23 (66%) of the cats had normal function and 12 (34%) of the cats had impaired function. Owners of 34 cats (97%) reported good or excellent quality of life. There was an association between being female and a score of ≥3 (odds ratio 24.9; 95% confidence interval: 1.2 to 512.6). No other factors were significantly associated with long-term function. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: At long-term follow-up, owner-reported quality of life was high. However, 34% of cats had functional impairment and female cats had higher odds of impaired function. This suggests that solely owner-reported quality of life should not be used to assess outcomes after femoral head and neck excision.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40329701/