At Wingham & Valley Vets, we are highly qualified to diagnose and treat your dog’s cruciate ligament disease.

What is ‘cruciate ligament disease’?

The cranial cruciate ligament (aka ‘ACL’ in humans) is a ligament inside the knee that strengthens and stabilises the knee joint during movement. Unfortunately, disease of this cruciate ligament is relatively common in dogs. Rather than a sudden trauma being the cause of the problem (as is common in humans), usually in dogs the cause is a gradual and progressive weakening and deterioration of the ligament, which leads to long-term pain and arthritis.

Treatment (surgery) for dogs with this problem is very successful, providing good long-term comfort and function.

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What are the Symptoms of Cruciate Ligament Disease?

A lameness (or limp) developing in the hindlimb. This can be either sudden or gradual in onset. The limp can be either mild or severe, depending on the case. If both hindlimbs are affected, a dog may have trouble lifting themselves from a lying or sitting position, and may be stiff or less able to jump and be generally active.

Diagnosis

There can be clues from examination of your dog’s leg in the consultation room. Often, radiographs (x-rays) are done to help confirm the diagnosis and also plan treatment (surgery).

Above: Radiograph of a dog’s stifle (knee joint) with swelling or effusion inside the joint, consistent with cruciate ligament disease.

Our Procedures

Non-surgical treatment options

Weight control, pain-relief (anti-inflammatories), knee braces and exercise restriction are sometimes recommended, and although improvement can be seen initially, long-term outcomes are poor in terms of pain and function.

For this reason, we do not recommend non-surgical treatment for this condition.

Surgical Management

We offer two types of surgery at Wingham and Valley Vets, to treat cruciate ligament disease.

One is the de Angelis surgery, which provides external support around the joint. Most commonly though, we recommend a surgery called the Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy, or TPLO.

Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy (TPLO)

During a TPLO surgery, the angle of the top of the tibia (or shin bone) is made more flat to improve the overall stability of the stifle (knee joint) when the dog is bearing weight on the leg.

A semi-circular cut is made in the top of the tibia, and the top section of the tibia is rotated and levelled. The cut bone is stabilised with a bone plate and screws, to hold the top of the tibia in its new position.

Once the bone is healed (usually 6-8 weeks post-surgery), the procedure is complete. We are very pro-active about providing good pain relief before, during and immediately after surgery, and as a result, many dogs are comfortable and bearing weight on the leg within a couple of days after surgery.

What is included with TPLO surgery?

We are committed to operating to extremely high standards, so that we can do the best possible job for your loved one, meaning the following are standard with every TPLO:

- Fear Free approach to patient handling and pain-relief to reduce the overall stress of the visit for your pet

- Pain relief before, during and after surgery, including ultrasound-guided local anaesthesia (nerve blocks) which greatly improve your pet’s comfort levels when they wake from surgery. We don’t want your pet to be in pain and will take pro-active steps to avoid pain

- Operating in a purpose-built, dedicated, enclosed surgical theatre, designed to optimise theatre cleanliness and sterility. This includes positive pressure air conditioning on its own dedicated circuit, to reduce the chance of contamination of the air with bacteria from the rest of the hospital. The overall aim is to reduce infection risk with surgery.

- Attention to detail with preparing your pet for surgery, with an experienced veterinary nursing team and surgeon.

- A surgical assistant scrubbing in on every surgery, to assist the chief surgeon

- Use of proven highest quality, market-leading implants and equipment

- Overnight hospitalisation to ensure pain-free recovery after surgery.

Above: TPLO performed at our hospital

Ready to Schedule an Appointment?

If you would like to know more about TPLO surgery for your dog, please contact the clinic to make an appointment to see Dr. Michael Healy, who is more than happy to answer any questions you may have, including what is involved in aftercare in the weeks after surgery.

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