Modified Ventral Femoral Head and Neck Ostectomy: A Canine Cadaver Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy and efficiency of performing modified ventral femoral head and neck ostectomy (mFHNO) after measuring the ideal femoral head and neck ostectomy angle (iFHNOA) on preoperative radiographs of the hip joints. Our modification of the FHNO consisted of removal of the femoral head and neck in stages. The study included cadavers of 10 adult large breed dogs (5 mongrel dogs, 4 German shepherds and 1 Gordon setter), 5 males and 5 females, weighing between 25 and 45 kg (36.2 ± 6.8 kg). There were 18 femoral head and neck ostectomies: 8 left and 10 right. The mean difference (d) between the achieved postoperative ostectomy angle and iFHNOA (± standard deviation) was 1.9° ± 7.8° (95% confidence interval: –4.6°; 8.4°) in the left limb and 0° ± 6.8° (95% confidence interval: –4.9°; 4.9°) in the right limb. Both mean d value were not statistically significantly different from 0° (p = 0.518 in the left limb and p = 0.999 in the right limb), which means that the ostectomy angles obtained by the modified method were performed nearly ideally in each case.