TIBIAL TUBEROSITY ADVANCEMENT

The most common knee injury in the dog is rupture of the Cranial Cruciate Ligament.  This injury can occur at any age and in any breed, but most frequently occurs in middle aged, overweight, medium to large breed dogs.  This ligament frequently can suffer a partial tear, leading to slight instability of the knee. If this damage goes untreated, it most commonly leads to complete rupture and possibly damage to the medial meniscus of the knee. Complete rupture results causing knee instability.  Untreated legs usually become very arthritic and painful from the instability.

"Rama" a 5 year old very active German shepherd was deemed a poor candidate for the older prosthetic ligament technique and due to his size and activity level the TTA was recommended. Below is a bone model of the appearance of the canine stifle folowing TTA surgery

Unfortunately, most regular veterinary hospitals in Perth are only able to offer the traditional repair with a nylon ligament which is not an ideal solution as the artificial material stretches and eventually fails over time. This leads to some instability and will not completely stop the progression of the arthritis. Referral to a specialist for TTA or TPLO was necessary but now this procedure is available at Huntingdale Veterinary Centre.

The TTA operation alters the shape of the knee such that all strain is removed from the cruciate ligament, which is then no longer needed. The operation provides permanent stability of the knee improving both the short and long term outlooks for the dog.

"Rama" was booked in to have surgery having been receiving pain relief medication until surgery could be arranged. He was given a sedation which included pain relief opiate medication to assist in his recovery. Xrays where taken to assess for arthritis as well as to determine the size of the implants that would be required to repair his knee.

Above: "Rama's" knee with the implants almost fully in place

Below the post operative xray of "Rama's" knee showing a great result

"Rama" was rechecked 5 days post operatively and found to have minimal swelling and was already  standing on the leg and within 2 weeks was showing great progress with his limp having already improved greatly. It is hoped that with "Rama" having had the surgery using the latest sugical technique and with an appropriate recovery period will able to pursue his owners dreams of becoming a recreational tracking dog. Goodl uck "Rama"