Orthopaedic Surgery

At McIvor Road Veterinary centre, we have several Vets trained in Orthopaedic surgery.

What is Cruciate Ligament Disease?

The cruciate ligaments sit inside the knee joint. They assist to hold the knee joint together. Their main job is to prevent the tibia shifting forward relative to the femur.; they also prevent te stifle over extending or rotating. Cruciate injury or disease, is an injury to one of both ligaments. it can either be a tear, a partial rupture or a complete break. 

What are the signs of cruciate disease?

Some symptoms your dog may have damaged their cruciate ligament can be

  • Complete lameness in the hind leg
  • Trying to weight bare on their toes, called "Tip Toeing"
  • Pain or swelling over the knee joint
  • Muscle wastage around the knee joint 

How do we diagnose cruciate disease

If your dog is displaying any of the above symptoms, call the clinic and we will book in a consultation with one of our Vets. They will assess your animal and will perform a physical examination on your dogs leg involving a number of movements to assess the laxity of the joint. Radiographs may also be performed to assist in the diagnosis. They also allow us to asses the joint for any swelling of the joint and osteoarthritis.

They will then book you in a surgery day with one of our skilled surgeons and give you a range of information detailing the procedure and recovery.

Other Orthopaedic Surgeries

Our veterinarians’ high level of expertise and our practice’s fully equipped surgical suite allows us to perform certain orthopaedic surgical procedures that your pet may require. These may include:

  • TPLO
  • Lateral Stay Sutures
  • Fracture repairs
Cruciate disease in a dog 
Fracture (broken bone) repair
Radiograph of TPLO repair 

Complicated orthopaedic cases, such as spinal surgery, may need to be referred to a specialist orthopaedic surgeon. Our veterinarians will assess each case individually and provide the best advice for you and your pet.