Orthopedic surgery is the surgical repair of bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints to restore mobility to your pet. When your pet has fractured or broken a bone due to trauma or is suffering from a congenital condition that has affected the joint it may require orthopedic surgery to make surgical corrections on the bone to alleviate pain and return your pet into its normal health. Here is a list of the types of orthopedic surgeries we perform.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Surgery

The cruciate ligament normally keeps the femur bone in position on top of the tibia. The meniscus which is a cartilage pad acts as a cushion between the bones.

When the ligament is torn and the dog bears weight on the leg, the femur slides down the tibia and scrapes back and forth. This causes damage to the meniscus and other cartilage in the joint. If untreated, it may lead to severe chronic degenerative joint disease (or arthritis) in the knee.

What Causes the ACL Tear?

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) otherwise known as the cranial cruciate ligament is a fibrous band of tissue that helps connect the thigh bone to the lower leg bone. There are many factors that contribute to the tearing of the ligament. Unlike people, where a traumatic event is a major cause, most times a dog’s ACL will tear unexpectedly and without an obvious cause.

How Can We Fix It?

The method that we perform is the extracapsular technique. This technique stabilizes the knee by using a heavy suture outside the joint capsule.

Femoral Head Ostectomy Surgery (FHO Surgery)

A femoral head ostectomy is a surgical operation to remove the head and neck from the femur. It is performed to alleviate pain and is a salvage procedure, reserved for conditions where pain cannot be alleviated in any other way.

Medial Patella Luxation (Trochlear Sulcoplasty)

Patella is a small bone known as the kneecap that is buried in the tendon of the exterior muscles of the thigh. Luxating patella is a condition that occurs when the patella moves out of its natural position. It occurs when the quadriceps muscles contract pulling the kneecap and the tendon. When patella is pulled out of its normal position the condition is called luxating patella. This condition causes stress and strain in the ligaments. It can be caused by trauma or congenital (something they are born with).

How Can We Fix It?

This surgical procedure involves deepening the trochlear groove. This is the area where the kneecap (patella) should reside. This technique involves cutting out a taco-shaped wedge of cartilage, removing a small portion of bone beneath it, and then replacing the cartilage. The result is a deeper groove with no cartilage being damaged.

Limb Amputation

This is a surgical operation to remove a diseased or injured leg.