Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Dog Ligament Surgery Techniques And Methods

By Angel Dudley


Cruciate ligament injuries occur in dogs for a number of reasons. At certain times, it is the result of athletic injury in healthy dogs. This could be the case when the dog lands on the wrong foot when it is running or jumping. As is expected, obese or overweight dogs are likely to get these kinds of injuries because they have weakened joints due to their weight. There are many techniques involved in dog ligament surgery.

The first very important thing to do is determine the presence of injury. In the beginning, the animal is not able to put their weight on one leg, as they become lame with time. Irrespective of the amount of rest the animal has, the lameness is bound to persist. Depending on the severity of the injury, the first 24 hours may be accompanied with swelling of joints.

Whenever the animal moves, it is bound to experience some pain at the stifle. If however the particular injury occurred some time before the examination of the veterinary officer, the pain may not necessarily be there. For purposes of diagnosing the rupture in cranial cruciate ligament rupture, the doctor has to perform a complete physical and orthopedic examination. This focuses on the affected leg.

Whereas surgery is one of the best modes of treatment, it is not recommended for small dogs. These are able to get treated through the use of painkillers. After such treatment, it is likely that the animal will develop arthritis. In order to strengthen thigh muscles when treatment is over, physical therapy is recommended. Large dogs are treated using surgical methods.

There is the use of lateral suture repair. In this procedure, a thick filament similar to a fishing line is placed in a way that it mimics the action of the cranial cruciate ligament. As such, the needed joint stability is provided as the stifle heals. The knee joint is opened and inspected, with the torn ligaments being removed. Any bone spurs that are large are gotten rid of.

In the event that the meniscus is torn, the damaged portions are removed. After this is done, there is passing of a suture close to the fabella. The joints are tightened, something that restricts movement of the drawer and serves the function of cruciate ligaments.

Tibia Plateau Leveling Osteotomy is recommended for all large dogs. In this, the tibia gets cut, the joint angle changed, then a metal plate and screws are placed across the cut for altering joint mechanics and thus eliminating need for CCL to maintain stability. This surgery involves cutting the tibia and rotating it such that the natural ability of dogs to bear weight stabilizes the knee joint. Depending on the degree of damage, cruciate ligament remnants may or may not be removed.

In Tibial Tuberosity Advancement, TTA, the idea used is that whenever cruciate ligaments are torn, the tibial plateau ought to be repositioned at 90 degrees to each other if they are to combat the shear force generated whenever the dog walks. The leg affected will remain bandaged one week after surgery. The dogs should remain a bit docile during recovery. Thus depending on the injury experienced, there are several forms of dog ligament surgery.




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