Common Orthopaedic Surgeries
Orthopaedic surgery refers to any surgery of the bones and joints or the structures that act upon the bones and joints, such as tendons, ligaments and muscles.
Some of the common things we treat here at PVS are:
Joint Luxations
Replacement and stabilisation, utilising procedures such as Toggle Pinning for hips.
Jack Russel Terrier with toggle pin repairs for hip luxations
Border Collie with toggle pin repairs for hip luxations
Severe hock disarticulation ( talar luxation, fibular fracture ) in 10 yo Kelpie, repaired using screws, wire and pins.
Transarticular pinning was used very effectively for this 9 yo cat’s disarticulated stifle
Bilateral sacroiliac luxation treated with SI screwing in this 6 yo Jack Russell
Hip Dysplasia Treatment
Treatment options for HD can be divided into early, medium-term and late-term options. Early options (JPS) and medium-term options (DPO and TPO) seek to target laxity and conformational problems to eliminate or reduce undesirable remodelling and future osteoarthritis.
- Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis (JPS) is an effective preventive measure for those pups identified to be at high risk of HD later in their life. Pups must preferably be assessed by 14 weeks of age.
- For those dogs a little older, Double and Triple Pelvic Osteotomy procedures are well established effective means of rescuing lax hips from HD if performed prior to significant articular damage.
- Late options include conservative therapy (medications, physical therapy) and excision arthroplasty and THR surgery.
12 month old Labrador with a left Triple Pelvic Osteotomy for hip dysplasia
6 mth-old Labrador with hip laxity. Std VD view
Simulated weight-bearing preop view
Postop TPO right hip
Fracture Repair
Our surgery department offers the most advanced techniques for fracture repair, utilising internal and external fixation procedures to maximise the success rates for healing of the most challenging bone fractures.
Left ilial and acetabular fractures in 3 year old Retriever, repaired with reconstruction plate and screws
ESF combined with interfragmentary screwing, preop through to 8 weeks postop
18 mth old Kelpie-cross with highly comminuted formoral fracture, repaired using wires, tied-in IM pin and ESF
18 month old cat – screwing, wiring, pinning and plating of right femur
4 year old Border Collie with a mid-distal diaphyseal comminuted fracture left femur
4 year old German Shorthaired Pointer referred for surgical repair of right comminuted fractures of radius and ulna
Limb Deformity Correction
Utilising Xray and CT scanning techniques, we can map the type of deformities presented to us in order to achieve the best outcome with surgical correction procedures.
Cruciate Ligament Surgery
The basis of our surgical treatments for cruciate injuries are tibial osteotomy techniques. We have been employing these techniques since the mid 1990’s, from before the inception of PVS.
Triple Tibial Osteotomy performed on a 5 year old Golden Retriever to correct a ruptured CrCL
Tibial Wedge Osteotomy repair for ruptured CrCL
Arthrodesis
Arthrodesis may be employed as a relatively early treatment for severe ligamentous injury or as an end-stage rescue procedure to eliminate intractable pain.
Pantarsal hock arthrodesis for end-stage hock osteoarthritis.
Spinal surgery
We frequently operate on spines for conditions such as intervertebral disc disease or spinal fractures, luxations, tumours, and other conditions requiring surgical treatment. The outcome for animals suffering from spinal conditions is often very favourable and they can return to a high quality of life and run and play normally again.
