Orthopaedic Surgery
TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) is a surgery to correct the anatomical problem associated with ruptured ligaments of the knee. TPLO is a very intensive procedure requiring exact precision to treat the cranial cruciate ligament deficiency and is currently considered one of the only permanent types of repairs for this disease in dogs as it corrects the angular bone abnormality that predisposes to the problem.
The cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) is a structure in your dog’s knee joint that helps prevent excessive motion between the femur (thighbone) and the tibia (shin bone). The CCL may become injured, either from trauma or due to your dog’s natural leg conformation resulting in a sudden or a gradual tear of the ligament. A torn CCL causes the knee joint to be unstable, resulting in joint pain, inflammation and hind leg lameness.
Arthroscopic surgery allows examination and treatment of joints without the need for large and painful incisions. Joints typically affected with problems that can be treated arthroscopically are the knee, shoulder and elbow. Minimally invasive arthroscopic procedures allow patients to recover much faster than more invasive traditional surgery. We routinely perform arthroscopic surgery for OCD lesions in the shoulders, elbows and knees. Fragmented medial coronoid processes are a common developmental elbow problem that can be treated with arthroscopy. We are often called on to examine knee joints to confirm anterior cruciate ligament damage in the more complicated or subtle cases of partial ACL tear. Meniscal damage can also be diagnosed and treated at that time as well.
Other orthopaedic procedures that are routinely performed here at PetWorks are fracture repair, medial patellar luxation repair, femoral head osteotomy, extracapsular ACL repair, ununited anconeal process surgery and PAUL surgery for elbow dysplasia.
PAUL surgery (proximal abducting ulnar osteotomy) has been developed over the last 10 years to treat elbow dysplasia in dogs. It has been showing good results in reducing pain and discomfort and slowing the development of osteoarthritis in affected patients. We have experienced good results in improving the quality of mobility and life in our patients. The surgery is combined with arthroscopic examination of the joint and removal/repair of any pathology in the elbow at the time.