![\"Fridgey](\"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/fridgey-hipLO-1024x662.jpg\")
\nAs busy as it is beautiful, the Bengal cat is an energetic domestic breed that tends to have a lot in common with its cousins in the wild \u2013 high jumping, climbing and even a love for water. So, imagine the pain and disappointment when Fridgey, a two-year-old Bengal cat, started to have problems with his hips.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when Purdue Veterinary Medicine\u2019s Veterinary Teaching Hospital came in to help. The hospital\u2019s orthopedic surgery team began treating the cat in 2017, initially performing a commonly done surgery on his left hip called a femoral head ostectomy (FHO), which involves removing part of the femur bone.<\/p>\n
When Fridgey later began to have issues on his right side, his owner, Tyler Goldsberry of Schererville, Ind., again brought him to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.\u00a0 This time, the surgery team led by Dr. Mark Rochat, clinical professor of small animal orthopedic surgery, and Dr. Sarah Malek, assistant professor of small animal orthopedic surgery, proceeded to perform a procedure commonly used in human medicine, but never before used on a feline patient at Purdue \u2013 total hip replacement surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe technology has been around for years; it\u2019s just that the availability of the systems and training for the people performing the procedures weren\u2019t as commonplace in the past,\u201d Dr. Malek said. \u201cNow it\u2019s much more commercially available and technically feasible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Malek said the first human hip replacement actually was inspired by a procedure originally performed in dogs, and it has taken some time for the process to work its way from people back to small animals. \u00a0She also explained that total hip replacement surgery better addresses quality of life issues than the FHO procedure, which has been done for decades in dogs and cats to treat hip dysplasia, severe fractures, and arthritis.<\/p>\n
Fridgey\u2019s successful hip-replacement surgery was performed in March 2018, and while he\u2019s not yet ready to take any giant leaps, he\u2019s resting and continuing with physical therapy sessions, which he began with the hospital\u2019s physical rehabilitation service<\/a> immediately after surgery.<\/p>\n Just like human patients, animals benefit from physical therapy to increase their endurance and stamina following a surgical procedure.\u00a0 \u201cFor people, physical therapy isn\u2019t something that\u2019s \u2018recommended\u2019 after a procedure; it\u2019s required,\u201d said Jessica Bowditch, RVT, CCRP, rehabilitation and neurology technician at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. \u201cI think it\u2019s great that animals are now getting that same quality of care.\u201d<\/p>\n Technicians in the rehabilitation service set up physical therapy schedules with the pet owners, then use everything from an aquatic treadmill to balance boards, wheeled carts and a slalom course of orange cones to help a wide array of animal patients regain full strength and range of motion.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to get a goat and a 4-H calf walking again.\u00a0 We\u2019ve also helped rabbits, tons of dogs, and of course, a few cats,\u201d said Jessica. \u201cWe\u2019re up for doing rehab on any sort of animal.\u201d<\/p>\n